Overview
- Speaking at Caltech and in an Axios interview, Gates called claims of a climate reversal a "gigantic misreading" of his 17-page memo.
- Gates maintains that climate change is serious but not civilization-ending and argues temperature is an imperfect progress metric compared with reducing human suffering.
- President Donald Trump declared victory on social media, while scientists and the World Health Organization criticized the framing as a false choice between mitigation and welfare.
- Gates said his funding for climate and health programs is increasing and cited practical investments such as AI advisories for Indian farmers and drought‑resistant crops.
- He warned that geoengineering research may be necessary to study, cautioned against overreliance on it, and highlighted constrained aid budgets that force difficult donor trade-offs like reduced Gavi funding.