In the early 2000s, former US Vice President Al Gore introduced the issue of global warming to Americans as an “inconvenient truth.” 20 years later, Microsoft founder Bill Gates has brought forward his own truth, a truth so inconvenient that no one has talked about it. The billionaire philanthropist, whose foundation has arguably done more for humanity in Africa and India over the past two decades than any other, posted his “three tough truths about climate” ahead of COP30 in Belem, Brazil.

First, “Climate change is a serious problem, but it will not be the end of civilization”; second, “Temperature is not the best way to measure our progress on climate”; and third, “Health and prosperity are the best defense against climate change.”

Those three statements go against much of the United Nations’ approach to climate issues. At a time when Americans and Europeans alike are slashing development aid programs, Gates has put the world’s poorest – especially those in Africa and India – at the center of his priorities. The urgency, he said, is now – not in 50 years, and the solution lies in health and development.

Gates challenges the “doomsday view” of a warming planet that “will decimate civilization” and for which “the evidence is all around us.” “Fortunately for all of us, this view is wrong,” he said, adding that “People will be able to live and thrive in most places on Earth for the forseeable future.” The philanthropist laments that “The doomsday outlook is causing much of the climate community to focus too much on near-term emissions goals, and it’s diverting resources from the most effective things.”

‘Doomsday view’ challenged

Gates takes aim – without naming it – at Sri Lanka, which has banned chemical fertilizers, as well as at major institutions that have refused to fund fossil-fueled electricity for the world’s poorest. “This pressure has had almost no impact on global emissions, but it has made it harder for low-income countries to get low-interest loans for power plants that would bring reliable electricity to their homes, schools and health clinics,” the billionaire argued, expressing his belief in technological innovation to develop decarbonized energy – and certainly in place of energy austerity.

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