Bill Gates is ready to provide $1.5 billion for infrastructure projects

Gates: The money will be spent on projects that slow down greenhouse gas emissions.

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Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates announced yesterday that his Climate Investment Fund will commit $1.5 billion to joint projects with the US government if Congress passes a program to develop technologies that reduce carbon emissions.

On Tuesday, the Senate approved a $1.2 trillion investment plan, which includes $550 billion in federal spending to renovate roads, bridges and transportation, and to invest in high-speed internet as well as to combat climate change, for example by creating a network of charging stations for electric cars.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Gates said that the 1.5 billion could be spent over three years on projects aimed at slowing greenhouse gas emissions responsible for climate change.

Projects could include producing zero-emission fuels for aircraft and developing technology to capture carbon dioxide in the air.

"It is necessary to reduce the costs of these technologies and to spread them widely," Gates added.

"Displacing (these technologies) on this scale means that the government is coming up with the right policies, and that's exactly what is in the infrastructure bill," he said.

But the plan has yet to get the green light from the House of Representatives, and a final vote is not expected until the fall.

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