"Now, we put out a lot of carbon dioxide every year, over 26 billion tons. For each American, it's about 20 tons. For people in poor countries, it's less than one ton. It's an average of about five tons for everyone on the planet. And, somehow, we have to make changes that will bring that down to zero"
About this Quote
The subtext is policy shaped like pragmatism. Gates isn t asking for vibes or virtue; he s laying out the constraints of physics and fairness. The phrase "somehow" is doing sly rhetorical work: it acknowledges uncertainty about the path while insisting on certainty about the destination. "Zero" lands like a CEO s OKR: clear, uncompromising, measurable. It s also a provocation, because zero implies reengineering energy, industry, agriculture, and consumption, not just swapping lightbulbs or buying offsets.
Context matters: Gates speaks from the post-Microsoft era, when billionaire philanthropy and technocratic problem-solving became a cultural language of legitimacy. He s selling a worldview where innovation and systems change, not individual guilt, are the main levers. The quote is engineered to make the impossible feel like a project plan.
Quote Details
| Topic | Science |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite | Cite this Quote |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Gates, Bill. (n.d.). Now, we put out a lot of carbon dioxide every year, over 26 billion tons. For each American, it's about 20 tons. For people in poor countries, it's less than one ton. It's an average of about five tons for everyone on the planet. And, somehow, we have to make changes that will bring that down to zero. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/now-we-put-out-a-lot-of-carbon-dioxide-every-year-29384/
Chicago Style
Gates, Bill. "Now, we put out a lot of carbon dioxide every year, over 26 billion tons. For each American, it's about 20 tons. For people in poor countries, it's less than one ton. It's an average of about five tons for everyone on the planet. And, somehow, we have to make changes that will bring that down to zero." FixQuotes. Accessed February 1, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/now-we-put-out-a-lot-of-carbon-dioxide-every-year-29384/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Now, we put out a lot of carbon dioxide every year, over 26 billion tons. For each American, it's about 20 tons. For people in poor countries, it's less than one ton. It's an average of about five tons for everyone on the planet. And, somehow, we have to make changes that will bring that down to zero." FixQuotes, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/now-we-put-out-a-lot-of-carbon-dioxide-every-year-29384/. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
