Bill Gates: Don’t Tell the World to Give Up on 1.5 °C

According to a new report, someone dies from extreme heat every minute of every day. Think about that — a person, somewhere on Earth, is losing their life every 60 seconds because our planet is burning due to our inaction. 

Yet now, Bill Gates is urging world leaders to shift away from limiting global temperature rise. He says the world should focus on poverty and disease instead. But what could be more dangerous — or more out of touch — than downplaying the climate emergency that is driving poverty, hunger, and disease around the world?

A new global report from The Lancet – the most comprehensive in history – warns that climate change is already making life “unsustainable, unhealthy, and ultimately unliveable.” Every fraction of a degree we fail to prevent means more heat deaths, more lost crops, more people forced from their homes.

And here’s the truth: climate action saves lives. The report found that shifting away from coal — one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gases — can save roughly 4,000  lives every day thanks to cleaner air. Every step toward cutting emissions means fewer hospital visits, fewer funerals, and a more livable world for all of us. 

But instead of harnessing this information as a call to action, Bill Gates chose the day of its public release to give cover to world leaders like Donald Trump, who are moving us in the opposite direction — away from climate action and back to burning coal. If The Lancet report is correct, this will cost many their lives.

Bill Gates’ words matter. When he speaks, governments and other leaders listen. That’s why his call to move on from temperature goals is so dangerous — it gives a pass to fossil fuel companies and politicians who want to keep stalling to do just that.

We can’t let that happen. Tell Bill Gates to stand with humanity, not fossil fuel delay and defeatism.

We need leaders who fight for 1.5 °C — not ones who give up on it when challenges arise.. Please sign this petition now to demand that Bill Gates use his influence to push for bold emissions cuts, clean energy, and climate justice. 
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Source

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/oct/29/rising-heat-kills-one-person-a-minute-worldwide-lancet-countdown

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/28/bill-gates-climate-crisis-pivot