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Tech billionaire and philanthropist Bill Gates once again found himself in the hot seat this week over comments he made about the human-caused climate crisis.
The Microsoft founder — who scientists were quick to point out has no background in climate science — said in a Monday memo that climate change is a very serious issue, but called for related efforts to be focused on human welfare instead of what he deemed a "doomsday outlook."
"Although climate change will have serious consequences — particularly for people in the poorest countries — it will not lead to humanity's demise," the software tycoon said.
Gates, who has spent billions in the fight against climate change and whose foundation provides support for The Independent's Rethinking Global Aid project, also hit at using temperature as a measure of climate progress.
"People will be able to live and thrive in most places on Earth for the foreseeable future," the Breakthrough Energy founder wrote, adding that he'd "let the temperature go up 0.1 degree to get rid of malaria" — not noting the fact that the planet's warming is largely responsible for extending the reach of malaria- and other disease-carrying mosquitoes.
Gates, who has long been an advocate for climate optimism, has previously taken heat for controversial comments on climate, claiming the Earth would "be fine" and that planting trees is "complete nonsense."
He's also said climate change would make conditions "essentially unlivable at the Equator."
Since its release, the memo has been criticised by climatologists and environmentalists, who say his vague approach would doom species to extinction and uses arguments that are based on mistaken beliefs.
"Only someone ignorant of the science adopts the fallacy that we can treat global health and the climate crisis as separate threats," climatologist Dr. Michael Mann, Presidential Distinguished Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Science at the University of Pennsylvania, wrote on Bluesky.
The memo has also been praised by Republicans and climate-deniers, including U.S. President Donald Trump – who overstated the remarks from Gates.
"I (WE!) just won the War on the Climate Change Hoax. Bill Gates has finally admitted that he was completely WRONG on the issue," he wrote in a post on his platform Truth Social. "It took courage to do so, and for that we are all grateful."
The back-and-forth came as the strongest hurricane ever to hit Jamaica decimated the island nation, and ahead of a major climate report finding 22 of Earth's 34 "vital signs" are at record levels, "with many of them continuing to trend sharply in the wrong direction."
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