Climate Change: Bill Gates, Zuckerberg, Others Join Forces To Invest in Clean Energy Technology
Tech most powerful figures around the world have launched a Breakthrough Energy Coalition to invest in zero-carbon energy technology aimed at bringing affordable and reliable clean energy to the planet.
The Energy coalition comprise of Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Alibaba executive chairman Jack Ma among others, will work with countries committed to developing zero-emissions energy solutions.
The announcement coincides with the UN Climate Control Conference which kicked off in Paris today, 30th November 2015.
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The initiative includes $10bn of new spending commitments from 20 governments, among them the US, China, India and Brazil.
The movement will not focus solely on renewable power, such as wind and solar, but also nuclear energy, power grid technology, advanced transportation systems, and ways of capturing carbon from fossil fuel combustion.
The billionaires are vowing to build on government research with their own capital to help commercialise low-emission technology.
More specifically, the group will consider early stage investment opportunities in sectors like electricity generation and storage, transportation, agriculture and energy system efficiency.
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The group’s website says its members will “form a network of private capital” committed to taking risks that mainstream investors will not accept, while still seeking big long-term returns.
