Bill Gates shifts focus from climate change to human welfare

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is calling on world leaders to focus on broader human welfare goals, such as fighting poverty and disease, arguing that too many resources are currently devoted to curbing climate change.

In a new letter released ahead of the COP30 UN Climate Summit in Brazil, Gates said the climate movement has a “doomsday view” and should instead prioritize improving lives worldwide.

He criticized the Paris Agreement’s 1.5 degrees Celsius target as unrealistic, and expressed disappointment over the US scaling back on climate initiatives under the Trump administration.

The stance is quite stark from Gates’s previous views. He even authored a 2021 book titled How to Avoid a Climate Disaster. His climate-focused fund, Breakthrough Energy, reportedly cut dozens of staff this year as part of a strategic shift.

Critics say Gates is aligning with President Donald Trump’s views.

However, several Big Tech companies, including Meta, Alphabet, and Microsoft, have set goals to reach net-zero emissions or go carbon neutral by 2030.