In back-to-back events on Tuesday and Wednesday, Bill Gates launched a global commission to develop climate change adaptation measures and a European investment fund for clean energy innovation.
Both initiatives are aimed at supporting investment in nascent and risky technologies.
The Global Commission on Adaptation will focus on managing the effects already linked to climate change, for example by developing a seed for subsistence farmers that can withstand more frequent droughts. Gates will lead the commission with former UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon and World Bank chief executive Kristalina Georgieva.
The Breakthrough Energy Europe initiative, creates an initial €100m joint investment fund for technologies such as battery storage and zero-emission manufacturing processes. Gates, who is chairman of the $1bn Breakthrough Energy Ventures, launched the fund with the European Commission on Wednesday.
Together, they address the two-pronged challenge posed by climate change – mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to the changes, even if the global temperature rise is limited, Gates told reporters in Brussels.
“We want economies to grow. The amount of steel, cement, food, meat that gets produced globally – that is going to increase. But at the same time, we need to slash emissions,” he said. “But even if we achieve the 1.5C or 2C scenario, we still have subsistence farmers in Africa and a lot of people who live near the water, people who live on islands, and there will be suffering induced by climate.”
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