The American billionaire and the other founders of the Breakthrough Energy Coalition have launched a fund for the development of green energy and to combat climate change.
It is the response of Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson and Jack Ma to the statements of intent made by the newly elected President of the United States, Donald Trump. The four billionaires, already founders of the Breakthrough Energy Coalition, have launched the largest investment fund in green technologies currently in existence, the Breakthrough Energy Ventures Fund.
"To provide reliable and affordable energy without contributing to climate change we must reduce emissions in five key sectors: electricity, transport, agriculture, manufacturing and construction," reads the fund's official website. "We have mapped out a landscape of innovations that we believe can help humanity meet these challenges."
The new fund, with a 20-year lifespan, will not focus on a single investment segment. It will in fact be "open" to both startups and companies already established in the market. An approach designed to invest fundamentally in the energy sector, including electricity generation and storage, transport, industrial uses, agriculture and energy efficiency. The potential on the table is estimated at $170 billion, combining the wealth of the major participants.
Gates's initiative is only the latest in a series of records when it comes to sustainable investment. This is confirmed by the $118 billion invested in green bonds in 2016, that is, in bonds tied to combating climate change. Or the €100 billion committed by the European Investment Bank (EIB), which shows how banks are making a long-term commitment on climate issues. An interest also demonstrated by Italian investors themselves: 68 per cent of Italians, given equal returns, would prefer sustainable investment.
This is yet another show of strength in the face of Trump, who is instead surrounding himself with a team that could be described as, to say the least, "fossil". Climate change deniers, billionaires from "dirty" industry and, most recently, the appointment of a former oil executive, Rex Tillerson, as Secretary of State. What emerges is a picture that traces a deep rift between the old economic system and the new one, which aims for sustainable economic growth with a low carbon footprint.