Bill Gates Says This Key Climate Change Goal Is 'No Longer Within Reach'

Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates reportedly said “mind-blowing” work needs to be done to keep the planet below 2 degrees Celsius.

What Happened: Gates made the remark in an interview with Reuters. He touched on the Paris Agreement’s 1.5ºC goal and said that no one wants to be the first to “say it” but the math shows it’s no longer achievable.

Given “the overall scale of our industrial economy … we're going to have to do mind-blowing work to stay below 2 degrees,” said the billionaire philanthropist.

Gates made the comments ahead of the release of his annual letter. In this year’s edition Gates said that “climate change is leading to more frequent extreme weather” all the while the politics in the United States is more polarized than ever.

The former Microsoft executive explained in the letter Gates that most of his climate and clean energy efforts are housed in Breakthrough Energy — an umbrella moniker for several organizations founded by Gates.

I am in awe of people who have dedicated their lives to making the world a more equitable place, and I feel lucky to be able to support their efforts. https://t.co/It4s0WRzH5

— Bill Gates (@BillGates) December 20, 2022

He said there’s a “huge demand” for zero-carbon technologies and there’s a need for “investors and technical support” for companies so that they can prove their ideas and that’s why Breakthrough Energy is separate from the Gates Foundation — the philanthropic foundation led by Gates and his former wife Melinda French Gates.

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Why It Matters: Gates has taken a realist approach to climate change, noted Reuters. 

He has invested $2 billion towards climate technologies — which encompasses direct air capture, solar energy, and nuclear fission. Gates acknowledged in the interview that these efforts will take time.

“There's not enough money, and so you have to have some innovation,” Gates reportedly said. “The idea that it can be done by brute force, there's just no chance."

Even so, some of Gates’ plans have found roadblocks, such as the Russia-Ukriane conflict. Gates-backed TerraPower, which is set to build a $4 billion Natrium demonstration plant in Wyoming, is facing supply difficulties as the only company that sells its fuel is Russian. 

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