SINGAPORE — Rich countries “owe it to the world” to get themselves down to net zero emissions, according to Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

Gates, who is also chairman of the non-profit Gates Foundation, was speaking at the opening dinner of Ecosperity in Singapore on Monday, the flagship sustainability event for state investor Temasek.

In a fireside chat with Singapore’s Ambassador for Climate Action Ravi Menon, Gates said that rich countries must get to net zero, regardless of “whether the entire world gets to [net zero].”

“There are levels of emissions that are small enough that the temperature worsening actually is not a problem,” he said.

Therefore, it is not a must for all countries to achieve “absolute zero,” but richer countries must do so in order to show that there are solutions to mitigate the effects of the climate crisis.

Net zero is defined by the United Nations as “cutting carbon emissions to a small amount of residual emissions that can be absorbed and durably stored by nature and other carbon dioxide removal measures, leaving zero in the atmosphere.”

Gates also called for the world to be more bold with innovation investments that seek to combat climate change, saying that even though he was a huge believer in innovation, “the notion that the entire world is going to get [to net zero] by 2050 is at this point not realistic.”

The UN has said that to keep global warming to no more than 1.5°C  — as called for in the Paris Agreement — emissions need to be reduced by 45% by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050.

“The sooner we get there, the better. [But] we need the examples.” Gates said, pointing out that the main obstacles include securing risk capital to fund these solutions.

On Monday, Gates also met with Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who said in the Gates Foundation would be setting up an office in the city state.

“We had a wide-ranging conversation on the challenges ahead, from clean energy to vaccine development. Singapore looks forward to working closely with the Gates Foundation to advance innovation and improve lives — here in Asia and around the world,” Wong said in a Facebook post.

The former Microsoft CEO also met with Singapore Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong to discuss how the foundation could work with more entities in the country, such as universities.

“We welcome the Gates Foundation and others to continue to bring their businesses and interests here to Singapore and invest in our ecosystem and deepen our ties with the region,” Lee said in a post on Facebook.