'Imperfect messenger' Bill Gates on what needs to change to avoid climate disaster

New book by Microsoft billionaire plays down impact of flying and driving and calls for focus on steel, meat and cement

The world is not lacking rich men with big ideas, Bill Gates has acknowledged. But having pumped $100m into Covid research, the Microsoft billionaire has turned to the climate emergency and the urgent need to slash carbon emissions to zero, undeterred by being a self-confessed imperfect messenger" for the cause.

With a personal fortune of around $120bn, the world's former richest man reveals in his new book, How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: the Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need, that he has poured more than $1bn into innovative approaches to achieving carbon neutrality, investing in zero-carbon technologies and affordable and reliable clean energy.