Bill Gates, the Microsoft co-founder who has invested billions of dollars to address climate change, has recently shifted his stance on climate change, drawing attention to the reasons behind it. As the U.S. Senate launches an investigation into the Gates Foundation, some suggest that political pressure may have influenced his change in position.
Earlier, on the 28th (local time), Gates wrote on his blog, GatesNotes, in a post titled "Three harsh truths about the climate," that "climate change is clearly a serious problem, and people in poor countries will be hit the hardest," but added, "that does not mean humanity is going to go extinct."
Gates said, "We must address climate change, but a 'Doomsday outlook' makes us fixate only on short-term carbon reductions," emphasizing that investment should focus on cutting the cost of clean energy technologies and developing pollution-reduction technologies in agriculture, manufacturing, and transportation.
The remarks drew worldwide attention because they conflicted with Gates' previous position. The Gates Foundation has poured substantial funding into corporations aiming to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, and Gates himself maintained a doomsday stance on climate change, publishing a book four years ago titled "How to avoid a climate disaster."
Some suggest that the U.S. Senate's probe targeting the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation may have influenced Gates' abrupt shift. David Blackmon, a U.S. energy industry journalist, said on his Substack (newsletter platform) that "this sudden philosophical pivot by Gates may be tied to his interests, and it may not be unrelated to the fact that Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (Republican-Iowa) released the launch of an investigation into the Gates Foundation."
On the same day Gates posted the article, Senator Grassley cited a report by the Washington Examiner, a Washington-based outlet, saying allegations had surfaced that the Gates Foundation provided subsidies and cash support to the Chinese Communist Party and related organizations, and said he would investigate the veracity of the report.
According to the Examiner's report, the Gates Foundation provided about $11.7 million (about 16.9 billion won) in 2023 to multiple entities controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. In addition, it reportedly gave $2 million (about 2.9 billion won) to China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC), a state-owned train manufacturer, and $6.7 million (about 9.7 billion won) to Chinese state universities. In 2022, it gave about $23 million (about 33.3 billion won) to more than 20 Chinese entities, some of which were categorized under the funding purpose as "foreign government."
In a letter sent to the Gates Foundation, Senator Grassley noted, "The Gates Foundation labels most of its subsidies to the Chinese government as serving public health purposes such as research, raising global health awareness, and sanitation improvements," adding, "However, the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) confers tax-exempt status only when an organization is organized and operated exclusively for charitable purposes." In other words, the argument is that the Gates Foundation, which sent funds to the Chinese government, may not meet the tax-exempt requirements.
Blackmon said, "What matters is that some of the Chinese organizations to which Gates sent money poured millions of dollars into U.S. NGOs that push the logic of exaggerating the climate crisis." The interpretation is that Chinese organizations backed by Gates and the Gates Foundation influenced the spread of climate alarm discourse in the United States, and that once the Senate investigation began, Gates felt pressure and changed his position.
Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have maintained a negative stance on responding to the climate crisis, arguing that "climate change is a hoax." After Gates released his change in stance on climate change, Trump wrote on his Truth Social account, "I (we) won the climate change hoax war!"