Billionaire tech founder Bill Gates has walked back his longtime climate change alarmism, now saying that there are more issues for humanity to address.
In a new memo published Tuesday titled “Three Tough Truths About Climate,” Gates acknowledged that while climate change remains serious, it is not the world’s most pressing problem.
“Climate change, disease, and poverty are all major problems,” Gates said. “We should deal with them in proportion to the suffering they cause.”
Gates dialed back his past alarmism, admitting that the Earth’s temperature is not the most pressing factor to improve human life on the planet. He agreed that this “doomsday” view of climate change is “wrong.”
“Although climate change will have serious consequences — particularly for people in the poorest countries — it will not lead to humanity’s demise,” Gates continued. “This is a chance to refocus on the metric that should count even more than emissions and temperature change: improving lives. Our chief goal should be to prevent suffering, particularly for those in the toughest conditions who live in the world’s poorest countries.”
“Although climate change will hurt poor people more than anyone else, for the vast majority of them it will not be the only or even the biggest threat to their lives and welfare,” he added.
The remarks come ahead of a United Nations climate conference scheduled for next month in Brazil. According to the Associated Press, Gates told reporters, “If you think climate is not important, you won’t agree with the memo. If you think climate is the only cause and apocalyptic, you won’t agree with the memo.”
“It’s kind of this pragmatic view of somebody who’s, you know, trying to maximize the money and the innovation that goes to help in these poor countries,” he said.
The Gates Foundation has previously spent tens of billions of dollars on initiatives focused on healthcare, education, and economic development around the world.
