Not him, though. He’ll keep living in his megamansion, flying his five planes and multiple helicopters, all his yachts, buying whatever he wants, living the high life
Bill Gates explains what you can do now to fight climate change
Climate change is such an overwhelming and systemic problem, it’s easy to feel there’s nothing one individual can do to fight it.
But Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates gave some concrete suggestions in an online question and answer session on Reddit on Thursday.
As a consumer, if you opt to buy more expensive products that contribute less carbon emissions, it may feel like a drop in the bucket. But if enough people buy those products, it will drive demand, leading to larger scale and pushing down the price of those climate conscious options, he said.
“As green products come out like electric cars or synthetic meat or heat pumps for home heating/cooling they will cost a bit extra. By buying these products you drive scaling up which will lead to lower prices so ‘green premiums’ are reduced,” Gates said on Reddit.
The idea of a “green premium” is one that Gates has discussed often. It’s the difference in price between a conventional product and the climate-friendly alternative.
We can all afford to overspend, right? So says the billionaire
Governments can help reduce the green premium by implementing policies that reduce the price of the climate conscious option and make the conventional variety more expensive, Gates said in a 2020 blog post about green premiums. Companies and investors can also help reduce the green premium by spending on climate friendly alternatives, investing in innovation and advocating governments.
Ah, so government can set the price? He’d be fine with that for Microsoft, right?
“When you buy an electric vehicle or a plant-based burger even though it costs more than the alternative, you’re saying to the companies that make these products: ‘There’s demand for these items. Make more and we’ll buy them,’” Gates wrote in a blog post on the topic published in 2020. “That will drive investment in research, which helps decrease the price and ultimately makes clean products more affordable and available for everyone.”
It’s so easy! On the bright side, he supports nuclear power. On the other
It’s impossible to ignore that Gates is one of the wealthiest people in the world, and with his big homes and private jets, he’s a heavy carbon emitter, and he acknowledges that. He said in his 2021 blog post that he offsets his emissions and considers his investment in climate innovations an antidote of sorts to his high emissions.
So, he’s not willing to give up his big carbon lifestyle, just pay to offset it.
Read: Bill Gates Explains What You Can Do To Help Fight Climate Apocalypse »