Bill Gates Urges $35 Billion per Year for Renewable Energy Research

Guest essay by Eric Worrall

When he isn’t dissing “representative democracy” for its failure to address the climate crisis, urging ordinary people to accept higher green energy utility bills because the sacrifice is worth it, or spending quality time at his beachfront mansion, Bill Gates advocates for more money to be spent on climate research, in the hope that someone out there will discover the magic energy solution which has eluded his personal efforts.

Bill Gates just released a plan for US leadership on climate change, including $35B in funding

Jonathan Shieber @jshieber / 4:39 AM GMT+10•December 4, 2020

Bill Gates,  the co-founder of Microsoft and one of the world’s richest men and most prolific philanthropists, has just released a broad new plan on how the U.S. could take the lead in the fight against climate change.

“[We] need to revolutionize the world’s physical economy—and that will take, among other things, a dramatic infusion of ingenuity, funding, and focus from the federal government. No one else has the resources to drive the research we need,” Gates writes. 

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Gates calls for a dramatic $25 billion boost in spending that would bring clean energy research spending to $35 billion a year (in line with medical spending from the government). Gates notes that this could lead to the creation of more than 370,000 jobs while boosting a clean-energy agenda.

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“This is the most important thing the U.S. can do to lead the world in innovations that will solve climate change,” Gates wrote.

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Read more: https://techcrunch.com/2020/12/03/bill-gates-just-released-a-plan-for-us-leadership-on-climate-change-including-35b-in-funding/

What does Gates think the USA should do with all that climate research money? How does Bill Gates think the USA should up its game on climate research?

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There is a better way. To reduce duplication, focus the government’s efforts, and get the most innovation out of every dollar of funding, we should create a new organization: the National Institutes of Energy Innovation. This the most important thing the U.S. can do to lead the world in innovations that will solve climate change. 

Creating these institutes wouldn’t be an exercise in simply moving boxes around an organizational chart and hoping for a better outcome. We actually have a model for setting things up in a better way, and evidence that it produces results. That model is the National Institutes of Health. 

The NIH is the largest single funder of biomedical research in the world, and its impact is simply mind-blowing. Scientists supported by the NIH have mapped the human genome, resulting in tests or treatments for dozens of genetic diseases. They have helped cut deaths from heart disease by two thirds in the past 50 years. Since 1980, NIH-supported research has contributed to the discovery of more than 150 new drugs, vaccines, and novel uses for existing drugs. The Gates Foundation’s work in global health simply would not be possible without the countless advances made by the NIH. 

Why is the NIH so successful? It has a clear and specific mission. It has apolitical leaders who let independent researchers follow the science, rather than political staff who change priorities every few years. It’s organized in a way that empowers each of its separate institutes and research centers. And it has strong bipartisan support from policymakers and the public.

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Read more: https://www.gatesnotes.com/Energy/How-the-US-can-lead-on-climate-change-innovation

Yep, Bill Gates solution to the climate innovation crisis is centralisation and bureaucracy. In no time at all the regimented teams of well funded renewable energy public servants will be pouring out world changing green energy innovations, to liberate us all from fossil fuel.