Bill Gates says climate change “will not lead to humanity’s demise,” urging the world to move past “doomsday outlooks” and focus instead on improving lives in poorer nations.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has said climate change will not lead to humanity’s extinction, pushing back against what he called a “doomsday outlook” and urging renewed focus on improving lives in developing nations.
In a memo released Tuesday, Gates wrote, “Although climate change will have serious consequences — particularly for people in the poorest countries — it will not lead to humanity’s demise.”
His statement marks a shift from his earlier tone in How to Avoid a Climate Disaster, published in 2021. The memo comes ahead of the COP30 summit in Belém, Brazil, where world leaders will gather next week.
Critics, including Princeton professor Michael Oppenheimer, warned Gates’s comments could be misused by climate skeptics. “Despite his efforts to make clear that he takes climate change seriously, his words are bound to be misused,” Oppenheimer said.
Gates has invested heavily in clean energy through Breakthrough Energy Ventures and TerraPower, but his recent statements signal a move toward poverty reduction and adaptation. “The doomsday outlook is causing much of the climate community to focus too much on near-term emissions goals,” he wrote. “That diverts resources from the most effective things we should be doing to improve life in a warming world.”