Bill Gates' Climate Group Lays Off US, Europe Policy Teams

Breakthrough Energy, the climate group founded by Bill Gates, has laid off dozens of employees in the U.S. and Europe, eliminating its public policy and partnerships teams as it shifts away from advocacy work. Its investment and grantmaking divisions will remain unaffected. The Detroit News reports: Breakthrough Energy is an umbrella organization founded by Gates that houses various initiatives aimed at accelerating the clean energy transition. It also encompasses Breakthrough Energy Ventures, one of the biggest investors in early-stage climate technologies with stakes in more than 120 companies, as well as a grantmaking program for early-seed stage company founders and Breakthrough Catalyst, a funding platform focused on emergent climate technologies. None of those divisions of the group were impacted by cuts, which were reported earlier by the New York Times.

'In the United States especially, the conversation about climate has been sidetracked by politics,' Gates wrote in the introduction to his 2021 book. 'Some days, it can seem as if we have little hope of getting anything done.' The climate pullback is happening at the same time as the US cuts foreign aid, a field where Gates is also a major donor. His nonprofit, the Gates Foundation, operates with a budget of billions and has a strong focus on overseas development. 'Bill Gates remains as committed as ever to advancing the clean energy innovations needed to address climate change,' a Breakthrough Energy spokesperson said in an emailed statement. 'His work in this area will continue and is focused on helping drive reliable affordable, clean energy solutions that will enable people everywhere to thrive.'

On Wednesday, the EPA announced the agency will 'undertake 31 historic actions in the greatest and most consequential day of deregulation in U.S. history...'

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