We spoke to @BillGates about his new book, “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster,” the limits of his optimism, and how his thinking on climate change has evolved. This is a thread about that conversation. technologyreview.com/2021/02/14/101…
Question: In the past, it seemed you would distance yourself from the policy side of climate change. Was there a shift in your thinking, or was it a deliberate choice to lay out the policy side in your book? 
Q: How do you feel about our chances of making real political progress, particularly in the US, in the moment we find ourselves in?
Q: You’ve said a couple of times you’re optimistic, and that’s sort of famously your position on these things. But of course, optimism is a relative term. Do you think we can realistically hold warming to or below a 2 °C increase at this point?
Q: In the book you cover a broad array of hard-to-solve sectors. The one I still have the hardest time with, in terms of fully addressing it, is food. How hopeful are you about agriculture and climate emissions?
Q: Do you think plant-based and lab-grown meats could be the solution to the protein problem globally, even in poor nations? Or will it be some fraction because of the cultural love of a hamburger and the way livestock is so central to economies around the world?
Q: What’s your reaction to things like the Trillion Trees Initiative and the large number of corporations announcing plans to achieve negative emissions at least in part through reforestation and offsets? technologyreview.com/2020/01/28/276…
Q: What’s your reaction to things like the Trillion Trees Initiative and the large number of corporations announcing plans to achieve negative emissions at least in part through reforestation and offsets? technologyreview.com/2020/01/28/276…
Microsoft is in the process of trying to eliminate its entire historic emissions. The company apparently wants to do it at $20 a ton? Do you think we can achieve reliable permanent carbon removal for $20 a ton eventually? bloomberg.com/news/features/…
These quotes are excerpts from @jtemple's interview with @BillGates in December. Read the full Q&A here: technologyreview.com/2021/02/14/101…
Want more news like this? Sign up for The Download newsletter, sent to your email inbox each weekday morning: forms.technologyreview.com/newsletters/br…
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
