As Awful As This Pandemic Is, Climate Change Could Be Worse

Bill Gates issued a stark warning for the world saying that, "If you want to understand the kind of damage that climate change will inflict, look at COVID-19 and spread the pain out over a much longer period of time. 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."

In a blog he published on August 4, Gates compared the mortality rate of corona-virus — approximately 14 deaths per 100,000 — to the expected increase in mortality rate due to rising global temperatures

He continued to warn us and said, "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. By 2060, climate change could be just as deadly as COVID-19." He added, "and by 2100 it could be five times as deadly."

It's not about what we do, it is about what we don't do and the consequences of inaction

Gates continued, "The key point is not that climate change will be disastrous. The key point is that, if we learn the lessons of COVID-19, we can approach climate change more informed about the consequences of inaction, and more prepared to save lives and prevent the worst possible outcome. The current global crisis can inform our response to the next one."

And suggested the following simple 3 steps: