In their 2016 Annual Letter, Bill and Melinda Gates, co-chairs of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, ask: “if you could have one superpower, what would it be?” Their answers point to key opportunities to improve the lives of the world’s poorest families: more energy and more time.
“Poverty is not just about a lack of money. It’s about the absence of the resources the poor need to realize their potential. Two critical ones are time and energy,” they write.
In the face of climate change, the world needs an “energy miracle,” the letter states. After all, “the truth is, the people who will be hit the hardest [by climate change] are the world’s poorest. Millions of the poorest families work as farmers. Changes in weather often mean that their crops won’t grow because of too little rain or too much rain. That sinks them deeper into poverty. That’s particularly unfair because they’re the least responsible for emitting CO2, which is causing the problem in the first place.”
But innovations in the world’s energy sources can reduce CO2 and can also make energy more affordable for everyone. And, with 1.3 billion people – 18 percent of the world’s population – who lack access to electricity, affordable energy can unleash the opportunities and benefits that come with access to a steady source of power.
As the letter points out, the world’s poor don’t just lack access to energy – they lack time, particularly women, who worldwide spend an average of 4.5 hours a day on unpaid work. This means less time spent in the labor market, on their education, or on their well-being.
The solution, they write, lies in principles known as “Recognize, Reduce, and Redistribute: Recognize that unpaid work is still work. Reduce the amount of time and energy it takes. And Redistribute it more evenly between women and men.” Here, again, innovation plays a key role in increasing the amount of time available to women: better roads and running water and labor-saving technologies can go a long way in allowing women to spend their time more efficiently.
Ultimately, the superpower that they call on everyone to unleash is the power to make a difference in the lives of others.
To learn more, read the 2016 Annual Letter at gatesletter.com.
Gates Letter 2016: The Superpowers That Will Change the World
About
The Global Food and Agriculture Program aims to inform the development of US policy on global agricultural development and food security by raising awareness and providing resources, information, and policy analysis to the US Administration, Congress, and interested experts and organizations.
The Global Food and Agriculture Program is housed within the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, an independent, nonpartisan organization that provides insight – and influences the public discourse – on critical global issues. The Council on Global Affairs convenes leading global voices and conducts independent research to bring clarity and offer solutions to challenges and opportunities across the globe. The Council is committed to engaging the public and raising global awareness of issues that transcend borders and transform how people, business, and governments engage the world.
Support for the Global Food and Agriculture Program is generously provided by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Blogroll
1,000 Days Blog, 1,000 Days
Africa Can End Poverty, World Bank
Agrilinks Blog
Bread Blog, Bread for the World
Can We Feed the World Blog, Agriculture for Impact
Concern Blogs, Concern Worldwide
Institute Insights, Bread for the World Institute
End Poverty in South Asia, World Bank
Global Development Blog, Center for Global Development
The Global Food Banking Network
Harvest 2050, Global Harvest Initiative
The Hunger and Undernutrition Blog, Humanitas Global Development
International Food Policy Research Institute News, IFPRI
International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center Blog, CIMMYT
ONE Blog, ONE Campaign
One Acre Fund Blog, One Acre Fund
Overseas Development Institute Blog, Overseas Development Institute
Oxfam America Blog, Oxfam America
Preventing Postharvest Loss, ADM Institute
Sense & Sustainability Blog, Sense & Sustainability
WFP USA Blog, World Food Program USA
Archive
Expert Commentary – Eliminating the Scourge of Stunting
Much of the malnutrition in the world today is invisible to policy makers, politicians, and families.
Advancing Global Food Security in the Face of a Changing Climate
The Chicago Council on Global Affairs released a report urging the US government to take action to curb the risks climate change poses to global food security.
Commentary - Climate Smart Agriculture: An Opportunity to Secure the Future
The Chicago Council’s 2014 flagship agriculture publication, points to two large and interrelated challenges. I term them a ‘double whammy’: the prospects of increasing food insecurity in the wake of climate change and consequent volatile weather.
Live Blog Post - Every Farmer Wants What I Have
A recap of the "Managing Risks Associated with Volatile Weather, Changing Climates, and Resource Scarcity" panel at our fifth Global Food Security Symposium 2014 in Washington, DC.
Food Security From the Ground Up
Taking on food security amidst the threat of increased climate instability is a formidable task.
Expert Commentary by Trey Hill
As a large grain producer, living in the mid Atlantic, I am able to see agriculture and food production from a unique perspective.
Commentary - Models Agree: Climate Change Will Put Pressure on Crop Yields in Large Areas of the Developing World
The Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP)’s global gridded crop model results, cited in the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report, show that crop yields without adaptation will decline in large areas of the developing world by the end of the century.
Live Blog Post - Climate-Smart Food Security
At the Chicago Council’s Global Food Security Symposium today in Washington, DC, a panel on “Climate-Smart Food Security” addressed the role of family farmers in mitigating the effects of climate change including: climate-smart approaches already being used by smallholder farmers, opportunities to preserve natural resources, and the need for a “brown revolution.”
Expert Commentary by James Cameron
There remains a stubborn lack of understanding about the systemic connection between water, food, energy and the climate – and what this means for the future feeding of the world.
Commentary - Optimism about Agriculture’s Adaptive Capacity
The impacts of a changing climate on food security projected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the National Climate Assessment and now the Chicago Council on Global Affairs raise legitimate concerns about the global food system’s ability to meet increasing challenges.
Expert Commentary by Chris Policinski
Discussions this week about the impact weather volatility and climate change have on global food production provide additional, powerful evidence of the fragile state of our world’s food security.
Live Blog Post - The Climate-Food Nexus and What It Means for Conflict, Economic Growth, and Sustainability
The first session of the 2014 Symposium brought together a renowned panel with a wide range of backgrounds including a journalist, two private sector representatives , an NGO executive, a farmer, and a scientist.
Commentary - Combating Hunger is Common Ground for Mothers Worldwide
As a mother, nothing is more important to me than the health and safety of my children.
Commentary - Resilient Smallholder Farming Systems Are Vital for Global Food Security and Nutrition
The growing incidence and intensity of extreme weather events and rising price volatility are cases in point of shocks that increasingly threaten the global food system.
Commentary - Advancing Sustainable Solutions for Global Access to Nutrition
Given the unprecedented scale and scope of changes taking place around the world today—societal, climatic, technological—we need to be more strategic, active and cooperative than ever before to achieve the solutions we need for a healthy planet and thriving global society.