The lesson of Covid to combat the greenhouse effect. Bill Gates’ recipe

by time news

Time.news – For years now Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft and one of the richest men in the world, left his business (in very good hands, as he continues to earn billions of dollars) to devote himself with his foundation to fund research in every direction to make the world a better place. A philanthropist who allocates millions of dollars for targeted projects to bring medicines to inhospitable places, to fight hunger in the world, a improve the lives of third world populations. And to fight the greenhouse effect and climate change.

For some initiatives it goes on alone (like the search for antibiotics resistant to high temperatures to take to Africa where there are no refrigerators). For others, however, it exploits its popularity and prestige for to stimulate the great of the Earth to overcome selfishness and mere immediate economic convenience and fight not to destroy the planet. The most pressing battle concerns climate change.

Bill Gates has many ideas and many funded projects, but it cannot do anything without the action of the great nations. This is also why he published his ‘recipe’ to combat the greenhouse effect in a book to prevent global warming from believing irreparable damage. The volume, published in Italy by The ship of Theseus has a rather eloquent title: ‘Climate – How to avoid a disaster. Today’s solutions, tomorrow’s challenges’ (Series’ i Fari ‘, p. 368 – Price 22 euros).

Bill Gates wants to present yours program to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions in time to avoid a climate disaster. An emergency that today is such and has ancient origins, that date back to the industrial revolution, to the use of coal, to the economic growth of developing countries, at industrial and daily needs of the western world. An emergency that today could find unexpected ally in the biggest pandemic in history, that of Covid-19. Like?

“Many of the lessons learned from the pandemic and many of the values ​​and principles that guide the way we deal with it – writes the founder of Microsoft – apply equally well to climate change ”. Then he adds that “it is easy to dismiss the phrase ‘we must work together’ like a stereotype, but it’s true. When governments, researchers and pharmaceutical companies have joined their efforts to fight Covid-19 – explains Bill Gates – the world has made significant progress, for example in the development and testing of the vaccine in record time ”.

Similarly, the author reasons, it can be done with the fight against climate change: “If rich countries are concerned only with reducing their emissions and do not dedicate themselves to the task of making green technologies affordable for everyone, we will never get to climate neutrality. In this sense – he adds – helping others it is not simply an altruistic gesture, but it is also in our interest“. It will then be from post-pandemic economic policies that it may come the momentum to fight greenhouse gases. According to Gates, in fact, the funds of aid packages for the Covid-19 emergency can be used to expand the use of renewable energy and build integrated power grids.

Books bill gates climate lessons covid against greenhouse effect

Bill Gates a Davos

“By investing in research and development of clean energy – says the author – governments can foster an economic recovery which also contributes to reducing emissions “.

In his ‘Climate – How to avoid a disastero ‘Bill Gates analyzes all energy sources that emit carbon dioxide and proposes alternatives, underlining the importance of two numbers: 51 billion and zero. The first is that relating to the annual tons of carbon dioxide emissions in the way while zero is the amount of emission to aim at to abate the serr gasesto. The book analyzes the sources of greenhouse gases and proposes solutions. But to do this first of all a parameter is introduced which Bill Gates calls’ Green Premium‘, that is the extra cost that an energy producer has to face to make it clean (reducing carbon dioxide emissions).

Explaining that there is not just one, but that there are several – that for zero-emission fuel is different from that for generated electricity from solar panels for example – the invitation that comes from the pages of the book to the rulers is to consider that the Green Premium is only apparently an extra cost, because safeguarding the environment it is also a huge saving on an economic level (suffice it to suffer from diseases caused by greenhouse gas pollution or natural disasters). IS the extra expense is often largely sustainable for a Western state (converting the entire American electricity system to zero-emission sources would rise average retail prices of $ 18 per month for an average home).

A Green Premium like this, however, instead it would be very expensive for a poor state. So Bill Gates also makes the request to the governments of the richest states help those who are less well, to ‘work together’ and make the world a better place. A speech that seems almost a utopia but which must instead become reality because it is perhaps the only way for the world, for all of us, to survive.

@andreacauti

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