NEW YORK, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has called for strengthened investment in innovation in key areas so that related industries can continue to develop without worsening climate change.
To solve climate change, people need to get to near-zero emissions on all the things that drive it -- agriculture, electricity, manufacturing, transportation and buildings, he said in the Bill and Melinda Gates 2019 annual letter released on Tuesday.
"We need breakthrough inventions in each of the grand challenges," he said.
As renewables get cheaper, some progress has been made on electricity. But electricity accounts for only a quarter of all the greenhouse gases emitted around the world. Manufacturing is not far behind, at 21 percent, according to the letter.
When most people think of manufacturing, they picture widgets on assembly lines, but it also includes the materials used in buildings. Making cement and steel requires lots of energy from fossil fuels, and the processes involved release of carbon as a byproduct.
As the urban population continues to grow in the coming decades, the world's building stock is expected to double by 2060 -- the equivalent of adding another New York City monthly between now and then. That's a lot of cement and steel.
"We need to find a way to make it all without worsening climate change," he said.
Manufacturing is not the only big emitter. Agriculture accounts for 24 percent of greenhouse gases. That includes cattle, which give off methane when they belch and pass gas.
He said it's not realistic to think that people will simply stop using fertilizer, running cargo ships, building offices, or flying airplanes. Nor is it fair to ask developing countries to curtail their growth for the sake of everyone else. For example, for many people in low- and middle-income countries, cattle are an essential source of income and nutrients.
"Part of the solution is to invest in innovation in all five sectors so we can do these things without destroying the climate," he said.
He said some progress has been made in this respect, but "we need to do a much better job of informing people about the challenges."
"It would help if media coverage matched the breadth of the problem. Solar panels are great, but we should be hearing about trucks, cement and cow farts too," he added.
