Bill Gates Says Climate Change Threat 'Dire' But Opportunities 'Immense'

Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates said that the “threat of climate change is dire,” in response to the sixth assessment report from the Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change. 

What Happened: Gates tweeted the report on Wednesday and said, “the threat of climate change is dire. But if we act with ambition, unleash innovation, and meet this moment with the urgency it demands, the opportunities are immense.”

IPCC said the challenge “required to keep warming to 1.5ºC” has become even “greater” due to the continued rise in greenhouse gas emissions since the Panel’s 2018 meeting.

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Why It Matters: “The solution lies in climate-resilient development. This involves integrating measures to adapt to climate change with actions to reduce or avoid greenhouse gas emissions in ways that provide wider benefits,” said IPCC in a statement.

Gates said in December that the Paris Agreement’s 1.5ºC goal is no longer achievable.

He said at the time that given “the overall scale of our industrial economy … we're going to have to do mind-blowing work to stay below 2 degrees.”

The Microsoft co-founder has pushed for a more realistic approach to climate change. He has invested $2 billion toward climate technologies spanning direct air capture, solar energy, and nuclear fission.

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