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Bill Gates has been a notable supporter of measures to curb the impacts of climate change, yet he didn't quite expect US President Donald Trump to respond how he did to a new memo calling for a revised look at the crisis of global warming.
The Microsoft co-founder has pledged a significant amount of his own money into climate research, and even recently funded an experimental project that aims to use a giant space umbrella to block out Sun rays.
However, he has presented a new perspective and argument in a memo posted on 'GatesNotes' last week, revealing what he calls 'three tough truths' about global warming and the climate.
Gates suggests he's as serious as ever about tackling the climate crisis, and encourages continued funding and research into the topic, yet urges governments not to cut funding for health and development in lieu of spending on the climate, arguing that human welfare always needs to be prioritised.
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You might not fully agree with his argument but it's a valid perspective that is worthy of debate, but President Donald Trump predictably interpreted it a different way, writing on social media that he had "just won the War on the Climate Change Hoax" because Gates had "finally admitted he was completely WRONG on the issue," as reported by the Independent.
This, of course, is not what Gates is saying in the slightest, but Trump alongside a number of prominent anti-climate change activists are taking it as 'confirmation' that there was nothing to be worried about in the first place.
Now, the Gates has responded to Trump's comments, asserting that it is "a gigantic misreading of the memo" in a statement to Axios.
"I didn't think the memo was going to convert the non-believers into believers, and sure enough, it didn't convert them," he added, before questioning: "What world do they live in?"
He also continued to emphasize the original message he was attempting to put forward, asserting that "this is a numeric game in a world with very finite resources, more finite than they should be," conceding that it is admittedly hard to get "nuanced positions" like those he has put forward across to some people.
It's effectively a message that favors short-term improvements over long-term preservation, and while some would argue that there's benefits in that approach for people generally, others aren't quite as convinced.
Speaking to the Independent, climatologist Dr Michael Mann called Gates' suggestions "pathetic," adding that if he "really cares about the health of poor and downtrodden people in Africa, he should be providing more support for the needed clean energy transition, not less support."
Dr Mann also claimed that "it's particularly galling to see him repeat the myth that we cannot actually walk and chew gum at the same time," inferring that the economic choices that Gates refers to aren't quite as 'impossible' as he might be putting forward.
