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Cipher executive editor Amy Harder and Bill Gates at the Breakthrough Energy Summit in Seattle on Oct. 19, 2022. (GeekWire Photo / Lisa Stiffler)
Breakthrough Energy, the climate-focused global initiative created by Bill Gates, has cut dozens of staff, reports the New York Times.
The organization has scrapped its U.S. climate policy team, its European team and employees working in partnership with other climate groups, said the New York Times, citing an internal memo issued Tuesday and unnamed sources.
“Bill Gates remains as committed as ever to advancing the clean energy innovations needed to address climate change,” according to a statement provided to GeekWire by a Breakthrough Energy spokesperson.
“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,” she added.
The retrenchment comes as the Trump administration continues its efforts to erase climate language from federal agencies, aims to drastically cut scientific climate research at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and tries to stop funding for clean energy investments through the U.S. Department of Energy and elsewhere.
Breakthrough Energy, which is based in Seattle, began with a venture fund in 2015 that drew support from ultra-wealthy investors worldwide. Over time it evolved into an umbrella organization working on climate policy, support for basic research and new startups, and funding for companies ready to scale.
The layoffs cleave away significant initiatives within the organization’s previously holistic approach to battling climate change. In a past interview with GeekWire, Gates noted it was “government policy [that] has to carry” the charge, while philanthropy can get things started on the climate front.
Gates, who is worth $106.5 billion, donated $50 million to the presidential campaign to elect Kamala Harris, according to earlier reports from the New York Times.
The climate organization will now focus on its entrepreneurial programs, reports the New York Times, which includes Breakthrough Energy Venture, the Breakthrough Energy Catalyst program and the Breakthrough Energy Fellows.
Gates over the past decade has become a leader on climate issues, investing roughly $4 billion of his own money into climate efforts by next year, and expanding Breakthrough Energy’s reach. In 2021, he published “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster,” a book outlining the climate challenge and strategies for cutting carbon emissions. He helped launch TerraPower, a Seattle-area company preparing to deploy small, modular nuclear reactors — an area of clean energy that has drawn bipartisan support.
An SEC filing last summer revealed that Breakthrough Energy Ventures was raising a $839 million fund. A spokesperson for Breakthrough Energy confirmed at the time it was working on a third fund, but did not share details about timing or total capital raised. The group previously raised $2 billion in two rounds.
“The investment focus for the fund will be similar to BEVI and BEVII, encompassing climate innovations in five key investment areas: Electricity, Transportation, Manufacturing, Buildings, and Food and Agriculture,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
The venture fund has invested in roughly 100 companies developing technologies for energy storage, sustainable aviation and carbon capture, among other sectors.
