Video: Bill Gates Champions Innovation as Way to Combat Climate ... - The New York Times
Bill Gates Champions Innovation as Way to Combat Climate Change - The New York Times
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Bill Gates Champions Innovation as Way to Combat Climate Change
“Are we the science people or are we the idiots?” asked Bill Gates, during a discussion about his pragmatic strategy to fighting climate change.
“If you try to do climate things brute force, you’ll sometimes get people say, ‘Hey, I like climate, I’m for climate, but I don’t want to bear that cost and reduce my standard of living.’ The political realities are such that without innovation, it’s unlikely, particularly in middle-income countries, that the brute force approach will be successful. I’m the person who’s doing the most on climate in terms of the innovation and how we can square multiple goals. I don’t use some of the less proven approaches.” Moderator: “Such as.” “I don’t plant trees. “There’s a lot of people who are very enamored with trees. We’ve got trees on this stage. Some people would even say that if you just planted enough trees, it could take care of the climate issue altogether.” “And that’s complete nonsense.” “OK.” “I mean, are we the science people or are we the idiots? Which one do we want to be?”
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Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”