Microsoft founder Bill Gates, co-chairman of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is giving a speech at the National Assembly Budget Committee plenary session on August 16./Photo by the National Assembly Press Corps
Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft (MS), stated that addressing the climate change crisis requires technological development, and reducing consumption cannot be an alternative.
According to US CNBC on the 29th (local time), Gates appeared on Bloomberg's podcast 'Zero' and referred to environmental activists' advocacy for reducing consumption, so-called 'degrowth,' as a "Don Quixote-like idea" in response to their claims that it is a solution to climate change.
He said, "It is unrealistic to say that people will completely change their lifestyles because of concerns about climate change." The majority of individuals do not change their lifestyles to be less comfortable in order to help with global issues.
He also pointed out that while some countries or individuals with affluent living conditions may have the capacity to actually reduce consumption, they alone cannot reduce greenhouse gas emissions enough to curb climate change.
He further mentioned that besides the greenhouse gas issue, there are various other issues requiring funds and attention, such as global pandemics, rising medical costs, support for poor countries, and the war in Ukraine.
He added that climate change activists seem unaware of how many issues are competing for limited finite resources that are not abundant.
He identified technological development that can achieve the same goals as existing methods at the same or lower cost while considering climate change as the solution to climate change.
To achieve meaningful change, the additional cost that must be borne for environmentally friendly methods that do not emit greenhouse gases, called the 'green premium,' must be gradually reduced across all sectors of the economy and eventually eliminated.
Gates added that his investment fund, Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV), which he established in 2015, is investing in early-stage startups developing new ways to reduce greenhouse gases.
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