Overview
- At a Caltech event, Bill Gates defended his 17‑page memo, arguing resources are finite and saying he is shifting more philanthropic focus to disease and malnutrition in a warmer world.
- The memo asserts climate change is serious but not civilization‑ending, a stance climate scientists including Katharine Hayhoe, Daniel Swain, and Michael E. Mann criticized as a straw man that sets up a misleading zero‑sum choice.
- President Donald Trump claimed Gates had recanted on climate; Gates called that a giant misreading, reiterating support for decarbonization and innovation.
- Gates emphasized lowering the “green premium” and backed future‑leaning technologies such as fusion and geoengineering, drawing concern over reliance on unproven tech versus scaling existing solutions.
- The letter’s release ahead of COP30, alongside the UN Emissions Gap Report projecting roughly 2.0–2.4°C warming by 2100 (which Gates said could be nearer 3°C), has intensified debate over climate finance, messaging, and priorities for the world’s poorest countries.