Bill Gates has highlighted China's rapid progress in nuclear energy ahead of his 70th birthday.
The tech billionaire suggesting the country may soon challenge the US and others in developing next-generation reactors, as per a report by Bloomberg.
He thinks scientific innovation will curb it, and itâs instead time for a âstrategic pivotâ in the global climate fight: from focusing on limiting rising temperatures to fighting poverty and preventing disease.
A doomsday outlook has led the climate community to focus too much on near-term goals to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that cause warming, diverting resources from the most effective things that can be done to improve life in a warming world, Gates said.
In a memo released Tuesday, Gates said the worldâs primary goal should instead be to prevent suffering, particularly for those in the toughest conditions in the worldâs poorest countries.
If given a choice between eradicating malaria and a tenth of a degree increase in warming, Gates told reporters, âIâll let the temperature go up 0.1 degree to get rid of malaria. People donât understand the suffering that exists today.â
The Microsoft co-founder spends most of his time now on the goals of the Gates Foundation, which has poured tens of billions of dollars into health care, education and development initiatives worldwide, including combating HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. He started Breakthrough Energy in 2015 to speed up innovation in clean energy.
He wrote his 17-page memo hoping to have an impact on next monthâs United Nations climate change conference in Brazil.
The 70-year-old urged world leaders to ask whether the little money designated for climate is being spent on the right things.
Gates, whose foundation provides financial support for coverage of health and development in Africa, is influential in the climate change conversation. He expects his âtough truths about climateâ memo will be controversial.
