Can Bill Gates Fix Climate Change?

Bill Gates is preparing the biggest clean energy fund in history according to ClimateWire. The former Microsoft CEO doesn’t usually direct his charities towards clean energy, but he hopes the research can help those people most at risk from climate change.

Gates plans to announce the multi-billion dollar clean energy research and develop fund on the opening day of the U.N. Climate Summit in Paris next week. Bill Gates and some other billionaires will pool some of their vast fortunes together for the effort, and a coalition of developed and developing countries, including the U.S. and India, will also contribute by doubling their national research efforts.

For the U.S., maintaining that promise would reverse decades of decay in public research into energy innovation.

So far, the early details for the plans are coming from leaks from people close the program’s development.

The hope is the new commitment in researching critically needed technologies to shift away from fossil fuels will add momentum to the Paris Climate Summit.

According to the New York Times, a major sticking point for large developing world economies was receiving aid from the developed world to transition from CO2 producing energy sources to clean energy. India has been particularly relentless, demanding that the Paris Summit end with specific language guaranteeing public money for clean energy transitions.

That has been a difficult sticking point for developed world officials.

Nevertheless, during her time as Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton pledged $100 billion annually to underdeveloped countries from the rich world to replace older infrastructure with clean energy sources as part of the Copenhagen agreement in 2009.

As for Bill Gates’ fund, the billionaire promised to give $1 billion over the summer, but sources say there will be much larger contributions on Monday.

Even without Gates’ help, the Paris Summit is being considered a mild success even before it has started. CNBC reports that many countries have already submitted “Intended Nationally Determined Contributions,” voluntary commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The commitments cover almost all global emissions — compared to just 14 percent under the Kyoto Protocol.

Critics are still concerned.

They argue that the promises made so far would not keep global warming below two degrees Celsius, the point where scientists say humans would face the more dangerous effects of climate change. With the current voluntary commitments, global temperatures would rise 2.7 to 3.7 degrees, compared to 4 to 6 degrees without any change.

As for Bill Gates contribution, the billionaire wrote in his personal blog why he thinks this issue is so critical, even for a philanthropist focused on poverty.

“I think this issue is especially important because, of all the people who will be affected by climate change, those in poor countries will suffer the most. Higher temperatures and less-predictable weather would hurt poor farmers, most of whom live on the edge and can be devastated by a single bad crop.”

Hal Harvey, head of the clean energy consultancy Energy Innovation, says contributions to research like in Bill Gates’ plan is desperately needed, calling the $5 billion in U.S. public clean energy research a paltry sum.

“It’s spectacular what public research and development has created in this country. You cannot name a single technology that hasn’t had a huge boost [from public funding]. We’re not going to be in it if we don’t decide R&D is one of our core strengths.”

Bill Gates won’t be the only making an impact at the Paris Summit — over one hundred heads of state and Pope Francis will be there to create a world-changing deal.

[Photo by JP Yim/Getty Images]