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   From: MEjercit@HotMail.com   
      
   https://reason.com/2026/01/12/bill-gates-cools-the-climate-debate/   
      
   Bill Gates Isn't the Only One Shifting From Climate Doomerism to Energy   
   Abundance   
   Is this "the end of the climate hawk era"?   
   Jeff Luse | From the February/March 2026 issue   
      
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   Bill Gates | Photo: Bill Gates; Bogdan Hoyaux/European Union   
   (Photo: Bill Gates; Bogdan Hoyaux/European Union)   
   In October 2025, Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates made   
   headlines by declaring that "climate change is a serious problem, but it   
   will not be the end of civilization." The admission came in a letter to   
   world leaders weeks before COP30, the United Nations' 30th annual   
   climate change summit, and focused on "adjust[ing] strategies for   
   dealing with
climate change."   
      
   The environmental movement has espoused alarmist warnings about   
   humanity's future for decades, most of which have not panned out, such   
   as Paul Ehrlich's 1968 prediction that population growth and   
   environmental decline would lead to mass starvation. More recently, Rep.   
   Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D–N.Y.) warned dubiously in 2019 that "the   
   world is going to end in 12 years if we don't address" climate change.   
   Now it appears the climate discussion is being carried out with more   
   deliberation and less fear.   
      
   Rather than focusing on global temperatures or greenhouse gas emissions,   
   Gates said governments and technologists should worry about a more   
   important metric: improving global living standards. "Our chief goal,"   
   according to Gates, "should be to prevent suffering, particularly for   
   those in the toughest conditions who live in the world's poorest countries."   
      
   Despite being consistently optimistic about innovation's potential in   
   addressing the challenge, Gates has indulged in alarmist rhetoric of his   
   own, making his recent statement a sign of a real shift in the debate. A   
   growing coalition of leaders and experts is pushing for more pragmatism   
   about climate change.   
      
   President Donald Trump's top energy advisers—Interior Secretary Doug   
   Burgum and Energy Secretary Chris Wright—have long said climate change   
   is a challenge, but not the biggest one that humanity faces. "That   
   distinction belongs to global energy poverty," Wright said in the   
   foreword of a report he commissioned, which challenged many mainstream   
   climate narratives.   
      
   The two secretaries have since
replaced the Biden administration's   
   whole-of-government climate strategy with an "energy dominance agenda"   
   that aims to couple affordable energy and economic growth with climate   
   progress. Democrats in Congress, meanwhile, aren't ringing climate alarm   
   bells as much as they once did, and global leaders have walked back some   
   of their more extreme policies and rhetoric on the issue.   
      
   The Breakthrough Institute's Alex Trembath has coined this shift as "the   
   end of the climate hawk era." Gone are the days of rigid net-zero   
   commitment. Energy affordability is now in vogue. Paradoxically, this   
   realignment is more likely to deliver the type of climate progress   
   advocates have long wished for.   
      
   For most people in the world, climate change is a luxury concern. Even   
   in prosperous countries like the U.S., climate change regularly polls   
   below economic issues, and most Americans wouldn't pay $10 per month in   
   higher electricity costs to fix the problem. With most future emissions   
   expected to come from developing nations, the answer, as Gates pointed   
   out, lies in preventing human suffering. People are more likely to care   
   about environmental issues when they have access to basic needs like   
   clean water, food, and reliable electricity.   
      
   Economic growth enables societies to invest in mitigation strategies   
   such as
carbon-free energy sources and adaptation measures, including   
   seawalls and air conditioning. This has already begun to pay off;   
   climate-related deaths are declining thanks to higher global prosperity,   
   and global temperatures are expected to be lower than initially   
   projected a decade ago.   
      
   More progress is needed, but restricting access to affordable energy or   
   implementing population control schemes are not the best approach. A   
   better way is to improve human flourishing, unleash
innovation, and   
   accelerate economic growth through capitalism.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)