Mark Zuckerberg And Bill Gates Launch Breakthrough Energy Coalition
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft founder Bill Gates, business magnates famous for their philanthropy, recently announced a new global initiative, the Breakthrough Energy Coalition, which is aimed at promoting private sector investment in new clean energy technologies.
In a Facebook photo posted on Nov. 30, Zuckerberg said: "Solving the clean energy problem is an essential part of building a better world. We won't be able to make meaningful progress on other challenges - like educating or connecting the world - without secure energy and a stable climate."
The announcement was made ahead of the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) climate change conference talks, which are being held this week in Paris. Global leaders are aiming to reach an agreement on putting a cap on the rise in global temperatures over several meetings scheduled between November 30 and December 11, 2015.
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Gates, Zuckerberg, and Zuckerberg's wife, Priscilla Chan, are launching the Breakthrough Energy Coalition along with Virgin founder Richard Branson, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, and Alibaba executive chairman Jack Ma. In his post, Zuckerberg said that he hopes the initiative will inspire more partners to make clean energy innovations a priority in the battle against climate change.
Along with U.S. President Barack Obama, Gates is expected to announce a separate clean energy project at the Paris climate change conference. This initiative, dubbed "Mission Innovation," aims to increase the energy research investments of 19 participating countries twofold, from $10 billion in 2015 to $20 billion, within the next five years.
Working with the countries participating in Mission Innovation, the Breakthrough Energy Coalition will focus its funds on "early stage companies that have the potential of an energy future that produces near zero carbon emissions and provides everyone with affordable, reliable energy," according to its website.
Zuckerberg, who, on Dec. 2, promised his newborn daughter Maxima that he will donate 99% (amounting to $45 billion) of his Facebook shares, said, " ... we believe that building a positive future for the next generation also means investing in long term projects that companies and governments don't fund."
