Bill and Melinda Gates Want the UN to Get Real

On Thursday morning, Bill and Melinda Gates issued their annual letter—an update on the thoughts occupying the leaders of the $42 billion foundation that bears their name. The 2015 edition is based around a series of predictions about global progress over the next 15 years, and the authors bet that by 2030 we will have made some considerable advances.

As interesting as the progress they expect is the timing of their forecasts. The letter is clearly designed to influence a round of goal-setting negotiations that will be concluded by the world’s prime ministers and presidents at the United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York in September. There’s also a hint the Gateses fear an implausible and broad UN agenda that prioritizes nothing by prioritizing everything.