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The European energy crisis is “good for the long run,” because it will force countries to go green, Bill Gates says. Gas shortages and unaffordable supply will make countries switch to renewables, the billionaire said.

Europe’s gas supply and affordability crisis is actually “good for the long run,” Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates told CNBC on Tuesday. Elaborating on the matter, the founder of climate-oriented venture capital fund Breakthrough Energy Ventures published an essay titled ‘State of the Energy Transition’ on his blog on the same day. Speaking about global greenhouse gas emissions, Gates noted that the ultimate goal of going “from 51 billion tons a year to zero” should be achieved “in the next three decades.” 

The EU recently agreed to cut gas demand by 15% this winter “in order to prepare for possible disruptions of gas supplies from Russia.’’ Earlier this month, however, Germany’s natural gas regulator revealed that the country had actually used 14.5% more gas in September than the five-year average, warning that a shortage would be unavoidable unless Germans cut back on their usage.

Steve Watson via Summit News continues the story:

While people in Europe face the prospect of not being able to afford to heat their homes this winter, and experiencing freezing dark blackouts, Bill Gates declared that “in the long run” the energy crisis is a “good” thing.

Touting his Breakthrough Energy Ventures climate-technology (carbon tax) investment company, Gates told CNBC “People did get a little optimistic about how quickly the transition could be done.”

“Without the Russian natural gas being available in Europe… it’s a setback,” Gates continued.

“We need to find non Russian hydrocarbon sources to substitute for those so there’s coal plants running and variety of things, because, you know, keeping, you know, people warm, keeping those economies in decent shape is a priority,” Gates asserted.

He continued, “Now, on the other hand, it’s good for the long run, because people won’t want to be dependent on Russian natural gas so they’ll move to these new approaches more rapidly.”

Watch:

.⁦@BillGates⁩ on the European energy crisis: “It’s good for the long run, because people don’t want to be dependent on Russian natural gas, so they’ll move to these new approaches, more rapidly”

He writes “Many countries in Europe and North America filled the atmosphere with carbon to achieve prosperity, and it is both unrealistic and unfair to expect everyone else to forgo a more comfortable life because that carbon turned out to change the climate.”

Gates also writes “I don’t think the market by itself can press reset on an entire economy in just a few decades,” adding “We need a plan to speed the process up.”

Meanwhile…