Bill Gates considers himself a realist when it comes to climate change. Even if that means conceding the world has little chance of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Given the whole size of the overall industrial sector, according to Gates, staying below 2 degrees would require mind-boggling labor.
But what about the 1.5C target set by the Paris Agreement? No one wants to be the messenger, but Gates told the media that the math indicates that it is no longer possible.
Innovations are possible to slow climate change
Despite this, the software developer-turned-philanthropist was optimistic about climate innovation. He lists several areas where low-carbon solutions were being advanced. That was due to support from the Breakthrough Energy Group. Gates formed the Group in 2015.
Direct air capture, solar energy, and nuclear fission are just a few of the climate technologies in which Gates has made more than $2 billion in investments. By 2030, TerraPower, a fission firm with a 14-year history and part of Breakthrough, wants to have a demonstration reactor operational.
The co-founder of Microsoft Corp., Bill Gates, noted that these things take time.
Billionaires to push innovations slowing climate change
Prior to the publication of his yearly letter, Gates reflected on 2022 and outlined his top priorities for the upcoming year.
He gave the Gates Foundation’s endowment $20 billion of his money, with the intention of increasing philanthropy spending on public health and education from $6 billion to $9 billion over the following several years.
Gates also lauded Warren Buffett for his contributions, which he said reached $45 billion since 2006 when Berkshire Hathaway stock appreciation was taken into account.
However, Breakthrough Energy runs independently of the Gates Foundation organization. In his letter to shareholders, Gates argues that the scale of the climate crisis makes it impossible for philanthropy to solve it on its own.
No money? Use creativity
He said that because there isn’t enough money, creativity is necessary. There is simply no hope for the notion that accomplishment is possible through force.
According to him, businesses require financial backing and technical assistance in order to scale up production after their low-carbon innovations have passed the pilot stage. However, any Breakthrough Energy revenue is reinvested in the organization or donated to a foundation.
Approximately of the Breakthrough-affiliated businesses working on Direct Air Capture (DAC), a method for removing CO2 directly from the environment, have their sights set on some $3.5 billion in recently announced U.S. contracts for the construction of DAC units and for research funds.
Policy to help slow climate change
Gates thinks that the recent Inflation Reduction Act legislation has improved chances for climate innovation and that several Direct Air Capture companies will bid on participating in those projects. On the plans of the DAC firms, he made no further mention.
He noted that the industrial sector had improved fantastically, in contrast to his concerns two years ago regarding the steel and cement industries.
They produce a third of the emissions that contribute to global warming.
He added that he doesn’t feel that there is a full exploration of any aspect of climate mitigation.
Climate goal 1.5C warming? Mission impossible
He claimed that now that the globe is on track to surpass 1.5C of warming, the focus should be on assisting people in adjusting to a harsher, hotter future.
His Foundation will =fund adaptation-related work in addition to mitigation, which will still account for the majority of Breakthrough Energy’s spending. This can involve developing agricultural strains that can endure drought, employing coral reef-like structures to construct flood barriers, or using technology to assist control forest fires.