Bill Gates: We have 30 years left to get our carbon emissions to zero

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Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates warned that there will be dire consequences if the world does not achieve zero net carbon emissions by the year 2050.

In his new book, “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster,” Gates says that it is imperative that the world go from the current 51 billion tons of emissions to zero within the next 30 years to avoid catastrophe.

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“The migration that we saw out of Syria for their civil war, which was somewhat weather dependent, we’re going to have 10 times as much migration because the equatorial areas will become unlivable," Gates told “Fox News Sunday” host Chris Wallace, warning what will happen if the goal is not reached. "We won't be able to farm or go outside during the summer. Wildfires, even the farming productivity in the south of the U.S. – the droughts – will reduce productivity in the area dramatically."

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While 2050 is Gates' cutoff point, he said this is really just a matter of "degree."

"If we wait 10 more years it's not as bad as if we wait 20 or we wait 30, because the temperature just keeps going up," he said. Gates said he is looking at 2050 because it "happens to be the soonest realistic date for the world to change all of these sorts of emissions."

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Gates defended himself against criticisms from the left and right. Those on the left claim that he is not going far enough, and that he needs to support the Green New Deal, with efforts to reduce net emissions to zero by 2030.

"It's completely unrealistic," Gates said about the 2030 goal, saying that it will take at least 30 years to accomplish this.

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