Mr. Bill Gates, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
500 Fifth Avenue North
Seattle, WA 98109
USA

September 14, 2020

Dear Mr. Gates,

CLINTEL Respectfully Challenges Your Article: ‘COVID-19 is awful. Climate change could be worse’

The Climate Intelligence Group (CLINTEL) represents 900 scientists, engineers and other professionals from 33 countries in climate and related fields.

One of the questions we are working intensively on is climate sensitivity – how much global warming is natural and how much is caused by our enterprises and industries. Contrary to what current theoretical models project, we have concluded that the actual climate sensitivity to doubled CO2 is far from alarming, in fact at less than half of the IPCC value. Our conclusion fits with all observations that have been made in the past 60 years.

With all respect, your statement that climate change could be worse than the current pandemic, follows the multitude of ‘copy-cat’ statements by the climate catastrophe consensus claims. The proclaimed “climate crisis” exists in the computer models only. Many scientists have already shown that the most often referred to doom scenario RCP 8.5 is extremely unlikely. Latest insight and observations clearly confirm that there is no climate catastrophe. Why scaring school kids to death with your frightening stories? Instead, you need to inspire them!

CLINTEL invites you to consider scientific questions such as these:

  1. How much – or how little – global warming does mankind really cause on top of the natural contribution?
  2. Why does projected global warming exceed observationally-derived warming by more than 200%?
  3. Have the large benefits of more CO2 in the atmosphere been properly accounted for?
  4. Does the cost of attempting to abate global warming exceed the benefit in the avoided cost of adaptation?
  5. What of the tens of millions who die every year because they cannot afford expensive “renewable” electricity and are denied affordable, reliable alternatives?
  6. Has history not shown us repeatedly that adaptation to change presents a powerful survival and evolutionary strategy?

The world needs to follow a prudent multi-decadal adaptation and energy strategy that is technically feasible, economically affordable and socially enhancing (particularly in the developing world). I attach several links to CLINTEL’s own position on climate change.

In addition, CLINTEL is just finalizing a ‘No Regret Energy Policy’, which demonstrates that without the utopian role of sun and wind ‘there does exist an attractive green substitute for how the industrial economy runs today’. We would be very happy to facilitate a fruitful dialogue between your climate team and a selection of our world-class scientists.

On behalf of CLINTEL’s 22 ambassadors, I send you our best wishes,

Guus Berkhout
President, CLINTEL
guus.berkhout@clintelgroup.org

See:
CLINTEL’s World Climate Declaration:            https://clintel.org/world-climate-declaration/
CLINTEL’s Scientific Manifesto:          https://clintel.org/scientific-manifesto
Climate Change and COVID-19 panic:   https://clintel.org/dont-fight-nature-adapt/