Microsoft founder, philanthropist and innovator Bill Gates has just released his much anticipated book, How to avoid a climate catastrophe: the solutions we have and the breakthroughs we need. He simply describes it as “a plan to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions.” And as usual, the internet is responding with polarized excitement and conspiracy theories.
Gates’ Climate Book
Gates drew attention to climate change through its Gates Foundation work on the problem of energy poverty in places such as sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
He was hosted for Fortune magazine today on a package called Blueprint for a climate breakthrough – the very first guest editor in Fortune‘s 91-year history. Clifton Leaf, editor-in-chief of Fortune, explains why Gates’s climate book inspired their editors to ask him to work with them:
Amid the death and economic destruction of the coronavirus, Bill – like so many other experts and global citizens – could see what lay just beyond the horizon: an even greater danger to life as we know it.
And it turns out he wrote a book about it.
When I read that book, How to avoid a climate disaster, which is the first time today, has struck me by the clear message. In my opinion, Bill wrote the most understandable statement for what drives our warming planet; how to measure the impact of the myriad contributions to this staggering and seemingly unpredictable problem; and finally how to find more effective approaches to each. This is the closest I have seen as a guide to dealing with the climate crisis. And then I knew I wanted to dedicate Fortune, at least for a day to get that message out. The next step was to see if Bill wanted to be part of the effort, and I’m glad he agreed.
Gates also released a video on February 14 explaining his reasoning for writing How to avoid a climate disaster, and says of his view: “It is our ability to find out what makes me hopeful”:
Breakthrough energy
As Electrek reported in December 2016, Gates and other notable billionaires founded from Richard Branson to Jack Ma Breakthrough Energy, a $ 1 billion fund to invest in and scale clean energy technology and innovation to help the world net zero to reach by 2050.
It’s grown since its inception, and today in a report, Gates Breakthrough Energy explains to Fortune:
[Breakthrough Energy] is a network of programs, funds and advocacy efforts, all designed to bring faster energy technologies to market.
And then deployed to scale.
While tweeting Amy Harder of Breakthrough Energy, it’s redesigned his website to make it easier for everyone to understand what he wants to achieve:
Gates sees Breakthrough Energy as one tool to implement the ideas in his book, as he explains on his blog. Gates Notes:
We will support major thinkers and leading technologies and enterprises, as well as pursue policies in the public and private sectors that will accelerate the transition to clean energy. Over the coming weeks and months, we are going to transform the ideas in my book and try to make this plan a reality.
It is managed by three basic premises:
- To avoid a climate catastrophe, we must make zero greenhouse gas emissions.
- We need to use the tools we already have, such as solar and wind, faster and smarter.
- And we need to create and roll out groundbreaking technologies that we can take the rest of the way.
Why do so many people distrust Bill Gates?
In the first place an indemnity. I used to write and edit for News Deeply, and one of our projects, Women’s Advancement Deeply, was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. We need to do good, meaningful work on important issues. We were grateful for the financial support.
And Gates is once again putting his money behind another topic I care about. As a result, I have a positive prejudice against him.
So I do not understand the hatred or the fear that other people experience. I googled, “Why do people hate Bill Gates?” There is a very of articles. It appears, for example, that a Forbes author does not understand it either. John Brandon investigated the conspiracy theory that Gates wanted to inject microchips into humans. He concluded that the theories are so bizarre that people should just hate billionaires.
Oh yes, and he’s not responsible for COVID either – Reuters checked that bizarre theory. Reuters helpfully cites all the COVID conspiracy theories about Gates:
Many cases of misinformation regarding COVID-19 referred to Gates. This includes, but is not limited to, a false claim that the pandemic is a hoax using an old Gates quote about pandemic preparedness (here); false or misconceptions that Gates intends to microchip humans to fight coronavirus (here and here); a false claim that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was linked to conspiracy over patents (here); and a false allegation that Bill Gates linked to a pharmaceutical company that could develop a vaccine for the virus (here).
Today, Twitter is angry about Gates suggesting that we reduce our meat consumption, just one small part of its proposals to tackle climate change. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) dived this afternoon with an answer (since nothing else is going on in Texas):
So I will be honest. I find the hysteria disturbing. I leave you with another Gates video that I find very helpful in explaining what we can all do to fight climate change. And no, I’m not worried about him putting a microchip in my vegetable burger or my much anticipated COVID vaccine. He has better things to do.
Let us know your thoughts (non-conspiracy theory based) in the comments below.
Photo: Luke MacGregor via TIME
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