Rishi Sunak and Bill Gates met yesterday to greet a new wave of innovative British companies using technology to combat climate change.
The Prime Minister and the billionaire founder of Microsoft attended the launch at Imperial College London of so-called cleantech companies that hope to “power the UK’s green economy”.
Sunak’s father-in-law, Narayana Murthy, is also a billionaire businessman who has met Gates several times and has been dubbed “India’s Bill Gates” for his software company Infosys.
Sunak and Gates met a startup that uses captured carbon dioxide to make plastic, another that develops ways to store hydrogen and a third that can turn air pollution into food for plants.
The pair, who previously met in Downing Street in 2021, also had a private meeting to discuss the “strategic challenges” facing the world, No 10 said.
Meeting: Rishi Sunak and Bill Gates at Imperial College London yesterday
Father-in-law: Billionaire businessman Narayana Murthy and Mr. Gates in 2000
The Prime Minister said: ‘It’s fantastic to see these researchers, scientists and entrepreneurs solving the challenges of net zero and creating jobs in the process. That is incredible.’
And Gates said: “The UK has all the ingredients to become a major player in the global drive to build a net-zero emissions future.”