Overview
- Bill Gates’ pre-COP30 memo argues climate change is serious but not civilization-ending and urges a strategic pivot toward improving human welfare, development and innovation alongside emissions goals.
- Coverage notes Gates reaffirmed that every tenth of a degree of avoided warming matters, countering claims amplified by President Trump that he reversed his stance on climate.
- Scientists including Michael Mann and Daniel Swain criticized the memo’s techno-optimism and framing, warning it could distract from proven mitigation and enable continued fossil-fuel use.
- At COP30 in Belém, Al Gore called Gates’s position “silly” and speculated that fear of being bullied by President Trump may have influenced him, framing it as his view rather than established fact.
- The Atlantic highlights long-standing Global South demands for adaptation and development finance, noting adaptation drew less than 10% of climate funding in 2022 and official development assistance fell 7% in 2024, even as Gates cites contested IEA forecast shifts as evidence of progress.