I believe we’ll be able to avoid a climate disaster. The ultimate measure of success is global greenhouse-gas emissions: we need to go from 51 billion tons a year to 0 in the next three decades. I’m optimistic we can get there – if we take the right steps. This week, @Breakthrough Energy is starting an annual tradition. We’re hosting a gathering in Seattle where scientists, inventors, entrepreneurs, public officials, and corporate leaders from around the world will talk about what it’s going to take to get to net-zero emissions.

Seven years ago, world leaders agreed to 17 ambitious goals to reduce inequality by 2030. The 2022 Goalkeepers report is an essential update on the progress. #Goalkeepers2030 b-gat.es/3ByqrF1 Economic inequality is one of the biggest barriers to gender equality. True equality depends not only on a woman’s ability to access money, but also on her ability to fully control it.

Several huge global setbacks over the past few years have left many people discouraged and wondering whether the world is destined to get worse. The pandemic is one of the biggest setbacks in history. The war on Ukraine is a gigantic tragedy for the entire world. The damage from climate change is already worse than most models predicted. The U.S. has taken a huge step backwards for gender equality and women’s health.

I recently published a list of books you might want to read this summer. Each of the writers took a meaty subject and made it compelling without sacrificing any complexity: gatesnot.es/3MNan5v I’m glad that I followed @jenngates1996’s recommendation for The Power by @NaomiAllthenews. I gained a more visceral sense of the abuse and injustice women experience today. The people who tackle these issues around the world are truly heroes: gatesnot.es/3xHCOh6

Meet some of the brilliant people behind the breakthroughs that could help the world get to net-zero carbon emissions. Geochemist @mgrace_andrews of @Vestas is exploring how the mineral olivine can be spread across oceans to remove a trillion tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Even though my dad is no longer with us, his wisdom and generosity lives on through the work of @Gates_Cambridge scholars. This year, 3 exceptional scholars received the Bill Gates Sr. Prize for outstanding research and leadership. b-gat.es/3MfCavf Reetika’s research explores gender violence and the climate crisis – lifting up the experiences of Dalit and Adivasi girls. Here’s a look at @reetiks’s award-winning comic book. b-gat.es/3xkbFQY

I've tested positive for COVID. I'm experiencing mild symptoms and am following the experts' advice by isolating until I'm healthy again. I'm fortunate to be vaccinated and boosted and have access to testing and great medical care.

I've been lucky to meet and learn from so many changemakers. These incredible women continue to inspire me. ⬇️ Kakenya Ntaiya founded @KakenyasDream to enable girls’ education and end harmful traditional practices like child marriage. Her story is a powerful example of how one person’s act of bravery can spark dramatic change. b-gat.es/3D0ZTME

What a devastating loss. Paul is a hero, and I was fortunate to call him a friend. I have never known anyone who was more passionate about reducing the world’s worst inequities in health—or who did more to live by his values.

https://twitter.com/PIH/status/1495806101769670658

Paul was never happier than when he was caring for patients in one of the clinics he helped create. My heart goes out to his family and friends, his colleagues, and all the people whose lives he touched.

Just when it seemed like life would return to normal, we could be entering the worst part of the pandemic. Omicron will hit home for all of us. Close friends of mine now have it, and I’ve canceled most of my holiday plans. Omicron is spreading faster than any virus in history. It will soon be in every country in the world.

I made this video a few months ago to help explain what happens when a virus mutates. You can read more about the ways in which new variants are (and aren’t) complicating the pandemic here: gatesnot.es/3E1S8pw Experts like Trevor Bedford have done an excellent job explaining what scientists have learned so far about the new variant of concern known as Omicron.

https://twitter.com/trvrb/status/1465364300936085506

I recently had the chance to meet 36 incredible graduate students working to #endmalaria. Here are some of my favorite questions they asked. Nobody can be an expert in all things at once. To end malaria—or any disease—leaders from around the world need to collaborate to make sustainable progress: gatesnot.es/3FeS8Td

If we’re going to end the acute phase of the pandemic, life-saving drugs like molnupiravir must be available to everyone who needs them.

https://twitter.com/gatesfoundation/status/1450673899620892672

We’ve done this before. In 2017, the @gatesfoundation worked with partners and generic suppliers to bring improved HIV therapies to more than 18 million people in lower-income countries.

When the pandemic hit, many feared the worst when it came to maintaining progress on fighting other diseases. But all over the world people stepped up to avert the worst-case scenarios. One example is malaria: b-gat.es/2VQxgkn Initial projections about the pandemic’s impact on the fight against malaria were dire. But that projection spurred many countries to action to ensure that bed nets were distributed and that testing and antimalarial drugs remained available.

Today’s United Nations climate report is an urgent call to action for the world: we must reach net-zero emissions by 2050 to avoid a climate disaster. b-gat.es/3s4RRNh Avoiding a disaster will require courage, ambition, and partnership among leaders in every sector around the globe. As the report makes clear, no region will be spared by climate change. It will take all of us to meet this challenge.

I look forward to working with President @JoeBiden and Vice President @KamalaHarris to tackle some of our toughest challenges like COVID-19 and climate change. This has been a troubling time in America, but I see promise in the months and years ahead. With Americans across the country working together, more people get a COVID-19 vaccine every day, bringing us closer to a time when life will look much more like normal. Until then, we can slow the spread of the virus and save lives by continuing to distance and wear masks.

There’s no question the United States missed the opportunity to get ahead of the novel #coronavirus. But the window for making important decisions hasn’t closed. The choices we and our leaders make now will have an enormous impact. wapo.st/2R4BKho Extreme physical distancing measures will make a big difference in the U.S., but we need a consistent nationwide approach. Until the case numbers start to go down across America—which could take 10 weeks or more—no one can continue business as usual or relax the shutdown.

When I was younger, I loved science fiction. The author I read the most was Robert Heinlein (“The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress” was a favorite). As a teenager, I remember watching an episode of the original Star Trek where the bad guy is a shapeshifter who turns himself into a second Captain Kirk.

.@melindagates is the most important person in my life: an amazing partner, wife, mother, and friend (and now accomplished author!). Her new book is a terrific read that will leave you feeling enlightened and inspired: b-gat.es/2G0gtzp “The Moment of Lift” is a wise, honest, and beautifully written book about how empowering women lifts up everyone.

Yesterday, a bipartisan group of leaders in the U.S. Senate introduced the Nuclear Energy Leadership Act, which establishes an ambitious plan to accelerate the development of advanced nuclear reactor technologies. I can’t overstate how important this is.

https://twitter.com/lisamurkowski/status/1110994821630619649

To prevent the worst effects of climate change, we need to reach near-zero emissions on all the things that drive it—agriculture, electricity, manufacturing, transportation, and buildings—by investing in innovation across all sectors while deploying low cost renewables.

1/ What a year. If you’re anything like me, you’re taking stock of your work and your life, and wondering where all the time went. Here are a few of my thoughts as 2018 wraps up. b-gat.es/2BSfgYC Just over a year ago, I made my first investment in Alzheimer’s research. I’m hopeful that we can make a lot of progress in the coming years.