Fossil fuel divestment would be ineffective on its own as a means of halting global warming, software billionaire and philanthropist Bill Gates saidFossil fuel divestment would be ineffective on its own as a means of halting global warming, software billionaire and philanthropist Bill Gates said Friday. Pulling money out of carbon-heavy industry must be coupled with large spending on alternative technologies to make any difference, said the Microsoft mogul who is under fire for his charitable Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s reported $1.4-billion (1.3-billion-euro) investment in carbon-spewing companies like BP. The Financial Times reported an announcement Friday by Gates that he will invest $2 billion in green energy, but would not pull his money out of companies that pump out carbon emissions blamed for the planet-warming greenhouse effect.