Bill Gates criticizes “apocalyptic” vision about the climate and calls for the fight against poverty at the COP

In a memo published this Tuesday (28), Gates questioned what he called the “apocalyptic vision of climate change”.

According to him — who has been defending the need to combat global warming for years — prioritizing exclusively the reduction of temperatures can cause issues such as health and inequality to take a backseat.

“Climate change is serious, but we have already made great progress,” he said. “We need to continue supporting innovations that will help the world reach zero emissions. But we cannot cut resources from health and development programs — which make people more resilient in the face of climate change — to do so.”

For Gates, it is time to “put human well-being at the center of climate strategies, which includes reducing the green premium to zero and improving agriculture and health in poor countries.”

The businessman, who this year fired part of the team at his climate organization, Breakthrough Energy, warned that excessive pessimism has led activists to focus too much on immediate emissions targets, diverting resources from more effective solutions to improve life on a hotter planet.

He said that the UN climate conference, COP30 — which will be held in Brazil next month — should focus efforts on adapting to reality and ensuring that human well-being is a priority.

“This is an opportunity to refocus on the indicator that should be worth more than emissions or temperature variation: improving lives,” he stated. “COP30 takes place at a time when it is essential to get the maximum return on every dollar spent to help the poorest.”

Gates acknowledged that his statements could attract criticism from climate activists, but emphasized that he continues to consider combating climate change a priority. He said his vision is influenced by the work of the Gates Foundation, whose main mission is to promote health and development in poor countries.

“Sometimes the world acts as if any effort against climate change has the same value as another,” he said. “As a result, less effective projects end up diverting resources and attention from initiatives with a greater impact on people’s lives — especially those that make it feasible to eliminate all greenhouse gas emissions and reduce extreme poverty through improvements in agriculture and health.”

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