Billionaire Bill Gates offers a strategy to fight climate change

Gates has changed our lives through his Microsoft software; he has improved countless things in life through his charity work to eliminate polio, tuberculosis and malaria; and now he’s offering to help save our lives by fighting climate change.

Given the fact that climate change is so overwhelming and so systemic, it’s easy to feel that there’s nothing an individual can do to combat it. But Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates made some specific suggestions on May 20 on Reddit, via the “Ask Me Anything” online chat.

Buy climate-friendly products to help keep costs down

As a consumer, if you choose to buy more expensive products that contribute to less carbon emissions, you may feel like a drop in the water. But if enough people buy those products, it will drive high demand, lead to a larger scale of consumption, and will soon push down the prices of those climate-conscious options rapidly, he said.

“When you buy an electric car or a plant-based burger, even though it’s more expensive than the alternatives, once you tell the companies that make these products: you have a need for it. these items and we’ll buy them,” Gates wrote in a blog post on the topic published in 2020. “That will drive investment in research, help lower prices, and ultimately make cleaner products are more affordable and available to everyone”. Of course, for some, the more expensive alternative is not financially viable, and Gates acknowledges this in his blog post.

Vote and get started locally

In addition to supporting new green industries, individuals can help fight climate change, by influencing the companies where they work, and voting for elected officials who will prioritizing climate policies, Gates said.

In his Reddit reply, Gates linked to a 2021 blog post excerpting a chapter from his book, “How to Avoid Climate Disasters,” in which he emphasized the importance of of voting, unlike buying green products, there is no need to spend money.

“Participating in the political process is the single most important step people from all walks of life can take to help avoid climate catastrophe,” Gates writes in his book.

Gates wrote in his book, “Whatever other resource you may have, you can always use your voice and vote to make change. Call, write letters, attend courts. What you can help your leaders understand is that they think about the long-term problem of climate change as much as they think about jobs, education or health care.” Also, when using your voice politically, be specific and start local, says Gates.

Infrastructure change

Gates also weighed in on the industry-level infrastructure changes that need to be made to address climate change. “The key is to be able to generate things like electricity, steel, cement and meat without any emissions, but at the same or less cost than today,” Gates said. is investing in businesses and startups working in those areas, through its climate investment fund, Breakthrough Energy Ventures.

He also expressed his support for energy nuclear, including time-tested fission – “It can address cost, safety and waste concerns – and future fusion, although a lot of work has to be done to commercialize and expand that technology,” the billionaire said. But Gates also admits he’s a bit “biased” because he’s an investor in nuclear energy. He founded TerraPower, a company working to commercialize advanced nuclear fission reactors.

As you can see, Gates is one of the richest people in the world, and with his big houses and private jet, he is a heavy carbon emitter, and he admits it. He said in his 2021 blog post that he has worked to reduce emissions and sees his investment in climate improvements as an antidote to his high emissions.

“Investing in companies that don’t make my carbon footprint smaller. But if I pick out any winners, they’ll be responsible for removing more carbon than I’m responsible for creating,” Gates said. write.