Bill Gates: "Limiting Global Warming to 1.5 Degrees Will Be Difficult"

Bill Gates attending the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) held in Glasgow, Scotland, UK (Photo by AFP)

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft (MS), attending the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties, stated that achieving the goal of limiting the global average temperature rise to within 1.5 degrees Celsius seems difficult.

On the 3rd (local time), according to the US economic media CNBC, in a video interview released on Twitter by Jeremy Hunt, a former UK Foreign Secretary, Gates expressed skepticism about achieving climate change goals.

Gates said, "Climate change goals are about degrees," adding, "2.5 degrees is better than 3 degrees, and 2 degrees is better than 2.5 degrees." He continued, "1.5 degrees will be extremely difficult. I doubt whether we can achieve that."

Experts consider a 1.5-degree Celsius rise in the global average temperature as the tipping point for climate change. The goal to limit the global average temperature rise to 1.5 degrees is based on the assumption that if the Earth's annual average temperature rises 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels, extreme weather events will increase explosively. This was included in the Paris Agreement adopted by 195 countries at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties.

Before this statement, Gates evaluated the achievements humanity has already made in addressing climate change but emphasized the difficulty of achieving additional necessary accomplishments.

However, Gates said, "What happened with now cheaper solar panels and lithium-ion batteries, we need to do that with six other technologies," pointing to green steel, affordable hydrogen, and offshore wind power.

He added, "This requires a lot of money," and said, "We are not relying on just one path and must achieve rapid innovation."

When asked by Hunt about how well the UK has dealt with climate change issues, Gates replied, "The UK is practically exemplary," and said, "The UK has received very good evaluations for its climate progress."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.