Overview
- Publishing a pre‑COP30 memorandum, Gates argues climate change will not cause human extinction and calls for a pivot toward reducing present suffering in the poorest countries.
- He urges investments in energy access, healthcare and resilient agriculture, with all climate and aid spending judged by cost‑effective impacts on lives saved and improved.
- To counter what he calls apocalyptic messaging, Gates cites a roughly 90% decline in direct disaster deaths over the past century, a claim scientists challenge as they warn about cumulative risks and tipping points.
- He will not attend COP30 in Belém next month, positioning the memo as a bid to influence priorities heading into the UN climate summit.
- Recent Breakthrough Energy policy‑staff cuts and plans to scale back some Gates Foundation activities are reported as part of a broader shift toward global health and development, even as he continues backing clean‑technology cost reductions, including nuclear through TerraPower.