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Bill Gates has warned that by 2060, climate change could be just as deadly as the coronavirus pandemic. By 2100, it could be five times as deadly.
The billionaire, who recently stepped down from Microsoft’s board to spend more time tackling the climate crisis, penned an Op-Ed on his blog Gates Notes comparing the death rate between the two crises.
Global mortality rates
“As of last week, more than 600,000 people are known to have died from COVID-19 worldwide. On an annualized basis, that is a death rate of 14 per 100,000 people,” Gates wrote.
“How does that compare to climate change? Within the next 40 years, increases in global temperatures are projected to raise global mortality rates by the same amount—14 deaths per 100,000.
“By the end of the century, if emissions growth stays high, climate change could be responsible for 73 extra deaths per 100,000 people. In a lower emissions scenario, the death rate drops to 10 per 100,000.”
‘Economic misery’
The billionaire added that it was ‘human nature’ to only worry about our immediate needs in the case of COVID-19 – but said efforts need to be accelerated to avoid ‘the worst possible climate outcome’.
He continued: “The loss of life and economic misery caused by this pandemic are on par with what will happen regularly if we do not eliminate the world’s carbon emissions.”
You can read the full piece here
