Climate change is the most pressing phenomenon these days, and in the coming years, its negative effects will become more prominent for us. Carbon emissions, environmental pollution, and the melting of glaciers are all factors that have a detrimental impact on our Earth, in one way or the other. However, Bill Gates, who is the founder of Microsoft and a great philanthropist, has come forward in this quest to make our environment ecologically sound and has outlined some remedial measures in his blog post on how we can urge ourselves and our surroundings to work for a greener environment and adhere to the sustainable development goals. The video depicted below, which he also posted on his YouTube channel, outlines the same concerns:
He acknowledges the fact that a lot of people tend to buy products that are environmentally friendly, but still, there is a huge gap between their buying habits and the fight against this overwhelming problem. He has an opinion that if more people started buying these ecological products, then the demand would increase, which would ultimately force the markets to pull down the prices. This is because the prices of these commodities are already soaring through the skies and when more people start to buy these products, then they become easily available to the general public this is the only way through which we can reduce the carbon footprint on our environment.
Gates said, “As green products come out like electric cars, synthetic meat, or heat pumps for home heating and cooling, they will cost a bit extra.” By buying these products, you drive scaling up which will lead to lower prices so “green premiums” are reduced”. Moreover, apart from the general public, the government can also take measures to help control the prices of these green products to the minimum by investing in environment-friendly alternatives.
In a blog post by Gates, which was published in 2020, he wrote, “When you buy an electric vehicle or a plant-based burger even though it costs more than the alternative, you’re saying to the companies that make these products: “There’s demand for these items. Make more and we’ll buy them. That will drive investment in research, which helps decrease the price and ultimately makes clean products more affordable and available for everyone.”
To that end, not only the government but external investors can be impacted by the country’s sustainable goals and should be encouraged to contribute to the formulation of a healthy environment for the sake of our future generations.
