CaliToday (29/10/2025): In a stunning reversal, the tech billionaire argued against "doomsday" predictions, prompting critics to point to his "pro-profit" investments in unproven "technofixes" like nuclear reactors and sun-dimming.
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| Bill Gates, chair of the Gates Foundation, during the Bloomberg Philanthropies 2025 Global Business Forum in New York on Sept. 24, 2025. Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images |
Bill Gates, the billionaire philanthropist who just three years ago published the bestseller "How to Avoid a Climate Disaster," has ignited a fierce debate by dramatically shifting his tone, claiming that climate change "will not lead to humanity's demise."
In a lengthy memo released just a week before the United Nation’s annual climate summit in Brazil, the Microsoft co-founder argued that the global outlook on climate change is overly focused on "doomsday" scenarios.
In a move that stunned environmental advocates, Gates claimed the idea that climate change is the "greatest threat to life on Earth" is "wrong."
Instead, he argued that many of the resources currently dedicated to fighting climate change (mitigation) should be reallocated to "adaptation" helping people, particularly in poor nations, live with the consequences. He advocated for focusing on "poverty and poor health so that extreme weather isn’t such a threat to them."
The memo was met with immediate and forceful backlash from prominent climate scientists, who accused Gates of promoting a dangerous and self-serving narrative that aligns with his own financial investments.
'Follow the Money': Critics Point to Gates's Investments
Leading the criticism was climate scientist Michael Mann, who pointed to Gates’s advocacy for "so-called ‘modular nuclear reactors’ and, especially worrisome, potentially very dangerous ‘geoengineering’ schemes" that could do more harm than good.
Mann insisted that the public should "take note that the Microsoft co-founder’s climate talking points align with his financial investments."
TerraPower: Gates's nuclear reactor company, TerraPower, heavily promotes small modular reactors (SMRs) as a cleaner, cheaper alternative to large nuclear plants. Scientists critical of this technology, including Mann, argue that SMRs are unreliable, still pose serious safety risks, and produce significant, high-level radioactive waste.
"Sun-Dimming" Geoengineering: Gates has also financially backed the development of "sun-dimming" technology a controversial proposal to spray particles into the atmosphere to reflect sunlight and cool the planet. Scientists have raised profound ethical concerns about this, warning that human interference with the planet's processes could create an array of catastrophic new problems, such as disrupting global weather patterns.
"Gates, in short, has talked down the potential for clean energy," Mann argued, "and has instead advocated for unproven technology (in which he has invested for profit)."
A "Diversionary Tactic" for Polluters?
Mann, who writes critically about Gates in his recent book "Science Under Siege," warned that this narrative provides a convenient excuse for inaction on emissions.
"The idea that a technofix exists," Mann warned, "enables business-as-usual carbon pollution now."
This, he argued, is precisely why "fossil fuel companies are fond of this diversionary tactic." It allows them to continue polluting under the assumption that a magical technology will arrive later to solve the problem.
Michael Oppenheimer, a professor of geosciences and international affairs at Princeton University, echoed these concerns to The New York Times. He warned that Gates's memo creates a "false choice" between fighting climate change and helping the world's poor, arguing the two are deeply intertwined.
Oppenheimer fears that Gates's high-profile reversal will be weaponized by those with a vested interest in stopping climate action.
"Despite his efforts to make clear that he takes climate change seriously," Oppenheimer said, "his words are bound to be misused by those who would like nothing more than to destroy efforts to deal with climate change."
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