When Bill Gates published his recent open letter on climate action, critics were quick to accuse him of being soft on climate change. But the real story isn’t about retreating — it’s about redefining how to move forward. And he’s right: Fear-based messages, however accurate, have reached the limits of their effectiveness.
If we want to drive action at the scale we need, we need a new narrative that engages people more, doesn’t overwhelm them, and shows how climate solutions can improve health, strengthen communities, and promote financial well-being.
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Consider what has happened in recent years. In eastern China, air pollution has fallen as a huge expansion of wind, solar and clean energy, combined with strict pollution control policies, has begun to reduce dependence on coal.
In Brazil, nearly 90% of electricity now comes from clean energy sources, allowing communities from São Paulo to small towns in the Amazon to power their daily lives with renewable sources.
These are not isolated cases of success; they reflect global action that has already reduced the projection of future warming from around 4°C to approximately 2.7°C.
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We are on the right path. In 2024 alone, 92% of all new electrical capacity added in the world came from clean sources. That represents a record 585 gigawatts that now power millions of homes and businesses.
For the first time, solar energy generated more electricity than coal across the European Union. And in the United States, California’s power grid reached 100% clean energy for several hours most days this year — a milestone that reflects a historic leap in renewable energy use across the state.
This progress is at the heart of Gates’ message. To build a broader coalition for climate action, we need to move beyond fear-based narratives and focus on what people value most.
Gates warns that preaching with an “apocalyptic mindset” has had the opposite effect, leading to paralysis rather than action, and reducing investment in solutions that help people thrive — especially in communities most affected by climate change. Gates’s reframe is simple but powerful: measure climate action by improved lives, not just reduced emissions.
And, crucially, this shift must place at the center the countries that have contributed least to climate change, but are suffering its most severe impacts. This means giving climate adaptation the same priority as mitigation — investing in resilience, food security and health in climate-vulnerable regions. For billions of people, adapting to a warming world is not optional; It’s a question of survival.
Climate solutions that put human well-being at the center generate positive ripple effects. As Gates often emphasizes, it is innovation that turns promising ideas into scalable solutions capable of reaching millions.
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For example, climate-smart agriculture reduces emissions, improves food security and increases farmers’ incomes. Access to clean energy not only prevents millions of premature deaths caused by air pollution, it also boosts economic growth.
And investing in adaptation—from flood-resistant infrastructure to drought-tolerant crops—helps communities face the realities of climate change while creating jobs and stability.
When we frame climate action as a path to better lives, we draw more people into the movement and build a lasting coalition to sustain long-term progress.
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The financial returns behind this progress reinforce Gates’ message. Investors are committing capital to clean energy not out of altruism, but because it generates strong returns.
Clean energy funds often offer internal rates of return between 6% and 10%, and in the first half of 2025 alone global investment reached $386 billion. Profitability accelerates human impact: When clean solutions make economic sense, they scale faster and reach more people.
In Kenya, the Menengai geothermal project (105 MW) is under development near Nakuru, while solar microgrids and community projects around Lake Victoria expand access to electricity in rural areas.
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In Indonesia, the World Bank-backed ISLE-2 program seeks to provide clean electricity to around 3.5 million people in Sumatra and Kalimantan, with approximately 540 MW of solar and wind capacity installed as part of a financing package in excess of US$2 billion.
These are not compromises between climate and development — they are complementary investments that uplift communities and reduce emissions at the same time.
The enthusiasm I see among our students proves that this positive approach works. Today’s young people are not motivated by apocalyptic warnings, but rather by the growing array of climate solutions and the opportunity to play an active role in building a brighter future.
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Gates is not backing down from climate urgency; he is showing her how to support her. The next chapter of climate action must be driven by possibility, not paralysis.
Gates understands that the most effective way to protect the planet is to improve the world we live in now. This is not to soften the speech — it is to make it more lasting. Climate action will thrive when people believe in the future it creates — and that’s the narrative we need right now.
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