Gates Raises Over $1 Billion For Green Technologies As Part Of Climate Change Pledge

By News Creatives Authors , in Business , at September 20, 2021

Topline

Billionaire Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, who Forbes lists as fourth richest man in the world, has secured more than $1 billion from corporations to reduce the cost of clean technologies in four sectors — green hydrogen, direct air capture, sustainable aviation fuel and long duration energy storage — as part of a pledge he made to fight climate change through his non-profit, Breakthrough Energy.

LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 18: American businessman and philanthropist Bill Gates makes a speech at the … [+] Malaria Summit at 8 Northumberland Avenue on April 18, 2018 in London, England. The Malaria Summit is being held today to urge Commonwealth leaders to commit to halve cases of malaria across the Commonwealth within the next five years with a target to 650,000 lives. (Photo by Jack Taylor/Getty Images)

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Key Facts

Seven U.S. companies — American Airlines, ArcelorMittal, Bank of America, The BlackRock Foundation, Boston Consulting Group, General Motors and Microsoft – have in total committed more than $1 billion to Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, a program focused on developing green technologies, which was first reported by Bloomberg and Forbes has confirmed.

The funds will be used to make eco-friendly technologies more affordable to help build a net-zero economy by 2050, said Breakthrough Energy in a statement.

Crucial Quote

“Avoiding a climate disaster will require a new industrial revolution,” Gates said in a statement. “Half the technology needed to get to zero emissions either doesn’t exist yet or is too expensive for much of the world to afford.”

Key Background

This commitment is part of a pledge the 65-year-old philanthropist made last month for joint projects with the federal government to tackle the climate crisis, through Breakthrough Energy, to lower greenhouse-gas emissions over three years. The pledge was made under the condition the Congress passes the infrastructure bill that would provide public funding for clean technologies. (Projects selected by Breakthrough Energy would have to be chosen by the government to receive funding.) Gates told Forbes, “I’ll put in at least $2 billion” toward zero-carbon technologies over the next five years.

Tangent

In 2016, Gates launched the $1 billion Breakthrough Energy Ventures fund that now has the backing of more than 25 investors to develop affordable clean energy. The fund has supported a range of startups, including those that work to replace fossil fuels and make meat alternatives. Billionaires taking part in the fund include Indian tycoon Mukesh Ambani, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Bloomberg LP founder Michael Bloomberg, Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, Alibaba cofounder Jack Ma and mutual fund giant Fidelity CEO Abigail Johnson.