On May 27, 2014, Sigma posted a blog, “Climate Change: The Useful Debate.”
We suggested that “the useful debate should be, is it better to try to slow the pace of climate change or prepare to live with the “inevitable”?”
Now we have Bill Gates, a Microsoft billionaire, who is saying that the “doomsday view” of climate change is wrong. This is a material deviation from his 2021 book titled “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster,” and reflects a major diversion from the views of the climate activists.
Mr. Gates is now of the opinion that climate change will hurt poor people more than anyone else, but the biggest problems remain poverty and disease, just as they always have been. Mr. Gates also has come around to recognizing that using more energy is a good thing, because it means economic growth.
Readers might find the concluding paragraph of our May 2014 blog of some interest. “Investors should recognize that climate change is likely to remain a high-profile issue and that it is probable that a great deal of money will be spent (typically someone else’s) and perhaps not wisely. For investors, the intriguing questions include: whose money will be spent, who will be the biggest beneficiaries, and how best to invest?
All comments and suggestions are welcome.
Walter J. Kirchberger, CFA
