Ending COVID-19 'very, very easy' compared to tackling climate change: Gates

New York, Feb 16: Bill Gates has said ending the global COVID-19 pandemic will be "very, very easy" compared to the task of addressing the climate crisis.

Solving climate change would be "the most amazing thing humanity has ever done", he told BBC.

He further said that governments need to do more to help deter people from using fossil fuels. Gates's new book, How to Avoid a Climate Disaster, is a guide to tackling global warming.

Don't underestimate the scale of the challenge, Gates said.

"We've never made a transition like we're talking about doing in the next 30 years. There is no precedent for this."

Fifty-one billion is how many tonnes of greenhouse gases the world typically adds to the atmosphere each year. Net zero is where we need to get to, Gates further said.

This means cutting emissions to a level where any remaining greenhouse gas releases are balanced out by absorbing an equivalent amount from the atmosphere. One way to do this is by planting trees, which soak up CO2 through their leaves.