Bill Gates is investing $2 billion in renewable technology over next five years

By Jonathan Fisher

Bill Gates believes that the best way to "bend the curve" on climate change is through innovation, in the same vein as his accomplishments with Microsoft years ago. To prove his point, Gates is doubling his investment in renewable energy projects to $2 billion over the next five years.

Speaking to the Financial Times, Gates says that he is already investing in early-stage companies that are working on battery storage, next-generation nuclear, solar-chemical power, high-wind power, and free air carbon capture, amounting to around 45 companies both directly and indirectly.

He believes that the onus falls on the government to spur greater innovation, saying that investment in green technology "should be like the Manhattan Project and the Apollo Project in the sense that the government should put in a serious amount of R&D."

At the same time, Gates is unwilling to divest from fossil fuel companies - including BP - remarking that he "doesn't see a direct path between divesting and solving climate change."