“Republicans for climate change action are gold,” exclaimed Bill Gates, the billionaire climate philanthropist and investor, during his speech at the Climate Forward event in New York City on Thursday.
Gates emphasized the need to increase the number of Republicans who prioritize responding to climate change. According to him, this is crucial because both the public and private sectors must sustainably invest in and support climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts.
Highlighting the political divide on this issue, Gates mentioned the Inflation Reduction Act, which unanimously passed in both the House and Senate but without any Republican votes. This political divide mirrors the opinions of the general public.
According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, 54% of Americans consider climate change a “major threat” to the United States’ well-being. However, this viewpoint is starkly divided by party lines. Approximately 78% of Democrats view climate change as a major threat, an increase from 58% a decade ago. Conversely, only 23% of Republicans consider climate change a major threat, similar to the percentage from ten years ago. The survey, conducted in March 2022, provided these insights.
The IRA included tax credits specifically designed to facilitate the development of clean hydrogen, long-duration energy storage, and carbon capture and removal technologies. Gates commended the IRA, calling it a “fantastic climate bill” that supports crucial areas often overlooked in climate discussions, such as industrial processes.
However, the future of the IRA and its tax credits depends on the ruling party in Washington D.C. Gates expressed concerns about the limited time available to maintain the current state of things. He explained that tax credits can be repealed with a change in political control, which poses a problem considering the time required to build and scale complex technologies involving heavy equipment and infrastructure solutions.
Gates emphasized the need to engage Republicans seriously in climate policy discussions without demonizing them. He raised the crucial question of why more people have not been convinced and stressed the importance of engaging philanthropists who have relationships with Republicans. Gates believes working together to increase their commitment to climate is an invaluable approach.
Gates stressed that the United States’ sustained investment in climate technology is vital in having global implications. While middle-income countries contribute the majority of global emissions, wealthier nations like the United States need to lead the way in developing and reducing the cost of new technologies. Gates emphasized that clean technologies must be superior and more affordable for them to scale in less affluent countries. Expecting rich countries to fund the distribution of clean technologies in poorer nations is unrealistic unless these technologies outperform the traditional, polluting alternatives.
Gates stated that subsidizing clean technologies at the required scale would far exceed the foreign aid budget and lack the necessary voter support. Thus, he highlighted innovation as the sole way to achieve climate goals.
Considering the current trajectory, reaching the goal outlined by the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels seems unlikely. Gates expressed his concern, stating that the planet is currently on track to have a temperature rise of 2.8 degrees Celsius or more than 5 degrees Fahrenheit, as also acknowledged by António Guterres, the secretary-general of the United Nations.
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