How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need
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- Create Date：2022-09-28 09:51:37
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Bill Gates
- ISBN：0593081854
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Summary
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER - In this urgent， authoritative book， Bill Gates sets out a wide-ranging， practical--and accessible--plan for how the world can get to zero greenhouse gas emissions in time to avoid a climate catastrophe。
Bill Gates has spent a decade investigating the causes and effects of climate change。 With the help of experts in the fields of physics， chemistry， biology， engineering， political science， and finance， he has focused on what must be done in order to stop the planet's slide to certain environmental disaster。 In this book， he not only explains why we need to work toward net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases， but also details what we need to do to achieve this profoundly important goal。
He gives us a clear-eyed description of the challenges we face。 Drawing on his understanding of innovation and what it takes to get new ideas into the market， he describes the areas in which technology is already helping to reduce emissions， where and how the current technology can be made to function more effectively， where breakthrough technologies are needed， and who is working on these essential innovations。 Finally， he lays out a concrete， practical plan for achieving the goal of zero emissions--suggesting not only policies that governments should adopt， but what we as individuals can do to keep our government， our employers， and ourselves accountable in this crucial enterprise。
As Bill Gates makes clear， achieving zero emissions will not be simple or easy to do， but if we follow the plan he sets out here， it is a goal firmly within our reach。
Bill Gates has spent a decade investigating the causes and effects of climate change。 With the help of experts in the fields of physics， chemistry， biology， engineering， political science， and finance， he has focused on what must be done in order to stop the planet's slide to certain environmental disaster。 In this book， he not only explains why we need to work toward net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases， but also details what we need to do to achieve this profoundly important goal。
He gives us a clear-eyed description of the challenges we face。 Drawing on his understanding of innovation and what it takes to get new ideas into the market， he describes the areas in which technology is already helping to reduce emissions， where and how the current technology can be made to function more effectively， where breakthrough technologies are needed， and who is working on these essential innovations。 Finally， he lays out a concrete， practical plan for achieving the goal of zero emissions--suggesting not only policies that governments should adopt， but what we as individuals can do to keep our government， our employers， and ourselves accountable in this crucial enterprise。
As Bill Gates makes clear， achieving zero emissions will not be simple or easy to do， but if we follow the plan he sets out here， it is a goal firmly within our reach。
Reviews
Arved
，
I finally got through and read what probably is the most famous book on climate change which I believe has partially to do with the fact that it was written by Bill Gates。 This has two major effects on the book which are both ambivalent。He mentions himself， his investments， connections， and experiences he made。 Sometimes this distracted me more than it helped other times it was insightful。The other is closely related to this and it has to do with his position and his view on the world which brin I finally got through and read what probably is the most famous book on climate change which I believe has partially to do with the fact that it was written by Bill Gates。 This has two major effects on the book which are both ambivalent。He mentions himself， his investments， connections， and experiences he made。 Sometimes this distracted me more than it helped other times it was insightful。The other is closely related to this and it has to do with his position and his view on the world which brings certain ideas and ideologies。 His beliefs in markets and companies seem a bit optimistic in my opinion but that isn't to say that he's wrong。 I might just as well be wrong。 In the end， I support whatever helps us get to net zero s quickly as possible while helping the poor。This leads me to a very positive aspect I have to point out which is that he realizes that we have to take all the possibilities we have into consideration。 For the production of electricity， this means for example that he looks beyond wind and solar because they are great but have a few downsides that need to be compensated for with， other includes nuclear fission and fusion as well as carbon capture technologies。 It is also explained why we'll need these other methods。 Sometimes it even feels like he's even overdoing this by pointing out carbon capture so often that it almost seems it could be a universal solution。While explaining the technological concepts of fighting climate change really well， I believe he is a bit hesitant to point out that we will have to change as a society。 Not only away from fossil fuels but also rethinking our values in relation to consumerism for example。 I don't know if he did it because he was scared to tell people they need to change， if he doesn’t see this aspect or if he simply decided it wouldn't fit。I also thought that he could have explored more thoroughly why we even need to change and what levels of warming have what effect。 For someone who already read some other books， this won't be a problem but as this might be the first or only book on the subject somebody reads it would have given valuable insight。 To be fair though the title already says that it's about the solution rather than the problem。 While this might come over as being negative， I learned many new things and got new ideas。 The two last points are made don't lower the importance of all the other things written because it is a very well written， structured， and thought-through book that I can recommend to everyone as the problem will only be solved if people know about the problem and the solutions。 。。。more
Mohammad
，
I liked the book， it was very informative and surprisingly simple。 it was just a bit long but maybe that's just because I don't often read non-fiction。The first chapters basically introduce the Climate change problem and its effects on people especially the poorest of themthen the next 4 or 5 chapters go through how much fossil fuels we go through， and the amount of green house gases we release into the atmosphere。 and what areas do we need to burn fossil fuel in。the chapters that come after dis I liked the book， it was very informative and surprisingly simple。 it was just a bit long but maybe that's just because I don't often read non-fiction。The first chapters basically introduce the Climate change problem and its effects on people especially the poorest of themthen the next 4 or 5 chapters go through how much fossil fuels we go through， and the amount of green house gases we release into the atmosphere。 and what areas do we need to burn fossil fuel in。the chapters that come after discusses how we can change that and some solutions， and eventually what's at stake。All in all， I really liked the book and it gave me a much better perspective of the crisis。 totally recommened 。。。more
Taras Vasylyshyn
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Безперечно цікава і актуальна книга。 Тільки рішень у автора немає。 І поки зелений премімум буде значно дорожчий за звичайні аналоги - змін добитись важко。 Особливо в бідних країнах та Китаї。 Чи може кожен з нас вплинути на клімат？ Може， але цього впливу не достатньо。 Потрібна підтримка держав， бізнесу та винахідників。 Але дійти до нуля реально і тому про це варто говорити
Cory Knipp
，
Bill Gates's approach to solving climate change is 100% correct。 And even better， he lays out the problem simply and presents his practical solutions。 This book is probably best suited to those who recognize climate change as a huge issue but are also at the beginning of their climate change research。 However， even though I've read multiple books on climate change， and even briefly worked in environmental politics， I found his scientific explanations of our warming globe a superb masterclass in Bill Gates's approach to solving climate change is 100% correct。 And even better， he lays out the problem simply and presents his practical solutions。 This book is probably best suited to those who recognize climate change as a huge issue but are also at the beginning of their climate change research。 However， even though I've read multiple books on climate change， and even briefly worked in environmental politics， I found his scientific explanations of our warming globe a superb masterclass in communicating a complex idea in a simple way。 Additionally， Bill Gates lays out what local and state governments can do to contribute to climate change solutions。 A good portion of the conversation on government intervention is surrounded by what the federal government should be doing （probably for good reason， since climate change is a global problem and federal governments often are the only institutions with significant resources to fight it）。 However， there is still a lot that state and local governments can contribute。 Setting up green local infrastructure， greener energy utility requirements， and writing energy-efficient building codes are just a few ways state and local governments can have a great impact。 As I said， Bill Gates is 100% correct in his analysis， but he treats Climate Change solely as a technical problem that can be fixed。 This makes him quite the optimist。 If you treat climate change as merely a technical engineering and economic problem， then the only thing in the way of progress is knowledge about the subject。 This is the area that Bill Gates tries to address。 This book aims to spread knowledge of the problems and solutions to climate change。 I think he hopes that those who are skeptical， will change their minds given the new information。 There is nothing wrong with addressing technical problems and solutions。 They are a necessary component to the issue， but only a component。 Climate Change is more of an adaptive problem rather than a technical one。 An adaptive problem is complex and ambiguous。 It requires addressing deep-rooted values， beliefs， and relationships。 Adaptive challenges require a more holistic approach and are much more difficult to solve。 Climate Change is the perfect example of this。 We have known the technical challenges behind Climate Change for decades， and even Bill Gates acknowledges that we have been way too slow to react。 Were we slow because of our lack of knowledge of market forces or the emergence of new technologies？ No。 We have been slow to address climate change because we have been in a global battle of values。 Those who reject climate change as a serious issue are usually well educated on the technical problems and solutions to the issue， yet they still reject it。 This is because the pure scale of the issue forces us to rethink how we live。 Climate Change invites the idea that we need to radically rethink the way we operate in society， address the limitations of our dominion over nature， and accept responsibility for our actions of hurting the planet that will in turn hurt the poorest nations the most。 To force people to address their humanity， admit that their actions indirectly hurt others， and assign responsibility to a great problem is really hard。 This is especially hard on those that have benefited from fossil fuels their entire lives！ I'm not even talking about the fossil fuel CEOs and lobbyists we love to demonize， but the coal miner， the oil rigger， and the millions who work in transportation， energy， and construction。 They owe their livelihoods to the very fuels that are killing this planet。 Additionally， trust in government has gone down due to a variety of reasons from stagnating wages， a financial crisis， political polarization and so much more， yet the size of government and its influence needs to grow to address the issue。 This presents a problem in implementing many of the good ideas that Gates proposes。 In summary， Bill Gates presents a great and simple explanation of Climate Change and its solutions， but to avoid a climate disaster you can't avoid addressing the adaptive challenges that go along with it， You have to face them head-on。 This is something that Bill Gates fails to do。 。。。more
Eldad
，
Really liked this book， easy to read and holds lots of interesting take aways。
Ines Salen
，
Great overview of what can be done to reach carbon neutrality with practical examples for ourselves as citizens and decision makers
Jadyn
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Was turned off by the intro but I think he has good ideas
María Reboredo
，
Accesible guide to climate change and what we， and specially our government and companies， can do to solve it。 Gates introduces some guides on how to evaluate effectiveness of environmental measures which I found very useful。 He also reviews all the major sources of greenhouse gases as well as the technologies we currently have and the ones we need to develop to reduce those emissions。 Optimistic， illustrative and clear。
Freya Inston
，
I found this a positive outlook on climate change， which is unique， and supportive of his approach。 Not overly actionable， but informative and has guided my view。
Samuel Kumar
，
A must read book。 With so much we hear and see about unseasonal ， freak ，unusual and devastating effects around us because of climate ， we mumble to ourselves that it was never before that we have seen it before in our life time。 That’s good starting point to know about climate change ，the cause for the looming disaster around us。 With so many major crisis we face in the world today ， climate disaster is one of the critical point which is threatening the world。This book defines the problem， caus A must read book。 With so much we hear and see about unseasonal ， freak ，unusual and devastating effects around us because of climate ， we mumble to ourselves that it was never before that we have seen it before in our life time。 That’s good starting point to know about climate change ，the cause for the looming disaster around us。 With so many major crisis we face in the world today ， climate disaster is one of the critical point which is threatening the world。This book defines the problem， causes in easy ， readable and comprehensive language and discuss the possibilities of mitigating them。 The role of science，innovation， co-operation and policy interventions are well explained。Well thought with incisive insights that grapples with the problem and solutions and hope for the humanity ！Besides the excellent narrative and mindful explanations which might have demanded huge time in research and learning ， I could not refrain from admiring the efforts taken by the author towards the concern for humanity and spending millions of dollars towards cause of climate change and its mitigation 。 Yes he does invest some with hope of returns。Do the Indian Billionaires listening ？ Or the common man hearing in India where we need to celebrate people and personalities …。 。。。more
Rolande
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Bill knows his stuff。 He'll go far in this world， just you wait and see Bill knows his stuff。 He'll go far in this world， just you wait and see 。。。more
Basil Latif
，
Bill Gates is an incredibly clear thinker。 From the way he structured this book to the way that he is able to simplify complex physical and chemical processes when describing global warming， I was amazed by Bill’s sharp thinking and analytical mindWith regards to substance in this book， Gates lays out this problem of global warming as a problem of reducing the amount of annual global carbon dioxide emissions down from 52 billion tons per year to 0。 He lays out each economic sector that contribut Bill Gates is an incredibly clear thinker。 From the way he structured this book to the way that he is able to simplify complex physical and chemical processes when describing global warming， I was amazed by Bill’s sharp thinking and analytical mindWith regards to substance in this book， Gates lays out this problem of global warming as a problem of reducing the amount of annual global carbon dioxide emissions down from 52 billion tons per year to 0。 He lays out each economic sector that contributes to this massive emissions total。 Further， he discusses the innovations that have to be achieved to enact zero-emission solutions。 For most green technologies that we need to implement， he calculates a “green premium” for it –– the extra cost that the green solution costs compared to what we currently pay。 The Contributors to 52 Billion Tons of Global CO2 Emissions:How we plug in （electricity generation） -> 26%How we make things （plastics， steel， and cement） -> 29%How we grow things （fertilizers） 22%How we get around （gas to fuel cars） 16%How we keep cool and stay warm （gas-powered furnaces and water heaters）7%Gates starts the book by saying that although he’s a rich guy who has polluted a lot and caused a lot of global warming himself （by flying around in his private jets etc。）， he is now trying to undo all of that and fund research that can provide solutions to the climate crisis。 In one anecdote， he casually mentions that he lost $50 million dollars by investing in some energy generation process that failed。 His main call to action is for governments to fund massive R&D projects to find new ways of producing clean electricity and for us as citizens to remain engaged about solving this problem。 Overall， this is a great book to learn about the climate crisis and potential solutions to it。 。。。more
Chau
，
Bill Gates didn't write about something really new， actually， he wrote about things we have already known - but in a more systematic way。 This book listed different ways we generated greenhouse gas， each comes with how we could reduce the impact and why we have not made much progress。 I would highly recommend this book to someone who just started researching climate change since the knowledge in this book is very easy to understand and is sorted logically。 You don't need a big vocabulary especia Bill Gates didn't write about something really new， actually， he wrote about things we have already known - but in a more systematic way。 This book listed different ways we generated greenhouse gas， each comes with how we could reduce the impact and why we have not made much progress。 I would highly recommend this book to someone who just started researching climate change since the knowledge in this book is very easy to understand and is sorted logically。 You don't need a big vocabulary especially specialized terms on climate change to get the main idea of this book。Nice read！ 。。。more
Radoslaw SZabla
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Easy to read - with many statistics nice thing to read。 Good to know what kind of problems is facing our world 。
Estelle BookWithTchoupie
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If this book was mostly insightful overall， it was very usa-centrist （for developed country） and lacks of input regarding pretty much all the other western countries。Politics and societal ideas looked only at USA level， example and data too。A small example among many was air conditioning。 It was use for so long as a example even if usa is one of the few developed country to use it as much。 It would have been a better choice to switch example from one country to an other。
Giacomo Rivolta
，
Illuminante。
Pontus Lund
，
Kanske den mest konkreta och tydliga boken om det troligtvis viktigaste uppdraget vi i mänskligheten har under 2000-talet。 Bill Gates förklarar med precision vad utmaningen egentligen är med klimatkrisen， målet vi har och deadlinen som finns。 Därefter berättar han om de fem områden vi behöver fokusera vår innovationskraft på för att nå vårt mål: （1） How we plug in， （2） How we make things， （3） How we grow things， （4） How we get around och （5） How we keep cool and stay warm。 Därefter avslutar han Kanske den mest konkreta och tydliga boken om det troligtvis viktigaste uppdraget vi i mänskligheten har under 2000-talet。 Bill Gates förklarar med precision vad utmaningen egentligen är med klimatkrisen， målet vi har och deadlinen som finns。 Därefter berättar han om de fem områden vi behöver fokusera vår innovationskraft på för att nå vårt mål: （1） How we plug in， （2） How we make things， （3） How we grow things， （4） How we get around och （5） How we keep cool and stay warm。 Därefter avslutar han vad vi som ett samhälle och som individer kan göra för att påverka klimatkrisen och ta oss i rätt riktning。 Efter att ha läst den här boken vet jag vad klimatkrisen handlar om， vilka de största utmaningarna är och även vad vi behöver göra framåt。 Varm bokrekommendation！ 📖 。。。more
Khaled
，
Well rounded balanced book about a complex subject。 Dove into several aspects of the issue dissecting the economic， political， and global impediments that slows down our progress regarding this issue
Matthew Dahlhausen
，
I wouldn't normally bother reading an introductory book on climate change。 But enough acquaintances read it as their introduction to the topic that I figured I'd see what the book got right and wrong。 As an introductory book， it is fine。 I'm rating it as 2/5 stars， because I think there are clearer， shorter introductory texts on the climate challenge that say similar things。 Bret Victor's piece "What can a technologist do about climate change？" （2015， http://worrydream。com/ClimateChange/） is a l I wouldn't normally bother reading an introductory book on climate change。 But enough acquaintances read it as their introduction to the topic that I figured I'd see what the book got right and wrong。 As an introductory book， it is fine。 I'm rating it as 2/5 stars， because I think there are clearer， shorter introductory texts on the climate challenge that say similar things。 Bret Victor's piece "What can a technologist do about climate change？" （2015， http://worrydream。com/ClimateChange/） is a long-form blog post that presents similar content to "How to Avoid A Climate Disaster" in a clearer， concise fashion and yet still manages to capture more nuance。 Other contenders are David McKay's "Sustainable Energy Without the Hot Air" （2009）， or Amory Lovin's "Reinventing Fire" （2014）。 For engineers and academics who want full， exhaustive treatment of the topic， see L。 D。 Danny Harvey's "Energy and the New Reality" Volumes 1 and 2 （2010）。There are parts of the book that are factually wrong or misleading。 In particular Chapter 4 - "How We Plug In" is filled with misperceptions of renewable intermittency， electricity markets， and grid demand。 It's a common editorial choice to conceptually separate grid supply versus demand （75% of which is buildings）。 That choice is fine if demand is given equal treatment， but that isn't done here。 The book misses the importance of building standards that are moving towards net-zero energy as code minimum。 Gates says "I used to scoff at the notion that using power more efficiently would make a dent in climate change。。。" and that "I haven't abandoned that view entirely。。。"。 Building and appliance efficiency efforts have made the U。S。 economy about 3 times more efficient since 1970， and without those efforts we'd need about 60% more generation resources。 Efficiency plays an equal and complementary role to clean energy in cleaning up the grid。 Put another way， a book that spends paragraphs talking about the need for seasonal storage but NOT insulation and air sealing （as this book omits） is missing something fundamental and important。It's hard to read the book without thinking about its reception。 There are tens of thousands climate mitigation experts， and many of them have written clear， insightful introductory texts。 So why do people care what Bill Gates has to say about climate change？ Bill isn't an expert on the topic; this book is a collection of others' work， thoughts， and ideas that he is passing off as his own。 That's common for Bill。 See: Microsoft and "Pirates of Silicon Valley"。Is it that people tend to confuse wealth and fame with intelligence and knowledge？ Or perhaps it matters what Bill thinks because he has enough money and influence to make his preferred solutions a reality？I'm worried about it for the latter reason - Bill is heavily invested in certain technologies in the energy transition， and lobbies hard for public and government support for those technologies。 He's getting it too。 The U。S。 DOE is investing hundreds of millions of dollars in Bill-founded TerraPower's demonstration facility in Idaho。 I do believe he is well-intentioned and isn't just doing it for money。 But to the extent that government funding for the energy transition is somewhat zero-sum， Bill's lobbying is diverting money from other areas。 If Bill's assessment of the problem is accurate and impartial， then this lobbying isn't problematic。 But in this case， Bill's assessment is incomplete and he has a significant conflict of interest。 Take from that what you will。 My recommendation is to read Chapter 4 - "How We Plug In" with extra skepticism， and pay more attention to Chapter 9 - "Adapting to a Warmer World" where Bill actually does have comparative expertise。 。。。more
Geoffrey
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 A great overview of the current state of the world regarding climate change。 Bill Gate’s interest and expertise in technology really shines through - I appreciate the primer on the current status of ‘green’ tech and what other innovations are required to reach zero carbon emissions。If there is one major takeaway from the book， I think it would be innovation alone cannot fix climate change。 The scale and urgency of man-made climate is so severe and so complex that the solution requires unpreceden A great overview of the current state of the world regarding climate change。 Bill Gate’s interest and expertise in technology really shines through - I appreciate the primer on the current status of ‘green’ tech and what other innovations are required to reach zero carbon emissions。If there is one major takeaway from the book， I think it would be innovation alone cannot fix climate change。 The scale and urgency of man-made climate is so severe and so complex that the solution requires unprecedented cooperation from business， policymakers， and individuals。 As future green innovations are created， we will need additional cooperation on bringing the tech to the market and scaling it out so that every household on the planet has no other logical choice than to use the zero-carbon option。And if we don’t manage to achieve this unprecedented level of cooperation， the consequences are also unprecedentedly severe which Bill expands on in the first of couple of chapters。 。。。more
Nick
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[Audiobook]
Alexandra Bruni-Bossio
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SUPER structured and digestible take on the climate crisis。 If you want a run down on where the emissions sit and what the technical solutions are for each emissions category - this is for you。
Elliot Martin
，
Sometimes can be economically dense， but full of good information about how the big fossil fuel companies can switch to sustainable energy at a cost。
Nina
，
a decent overview of 2021-onwards roadmap for climate change resolution
Saarous
，
I recommend everybody to read this book。 It manages to offer a simple overview of the challenges that we face today and the actions that need to be taken。 If every politician would read this book， I believe the world could look a whole lot better in the future
Alex Frame
，
Embarrassing piece of hogwash by a man who has raped and pillaged for decades across tech， pharma and now this。Can anyone tell me what this charlatans carbon footprint is and here he is trying to lecture the rest of us？He should be ashamed of himself。
Eduardo Telles
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Alerta do Bill Gates sobre o desafio de se atingir a neutralidade nas emissões de carbono e as consequências caso a humanidade falhe nesta tarefa。 Bem didático， o livro quantifica as emissões de co2 e de outros gases gerados por atividades humanas com maior impacto sobre o meio ambiente como a produção de cimento e aço， a geração de energia através de combustíveis fósseis， a produção agropecuária e transporte de diversos modais。 Paralelamente， expõe as alternativas para reduzir cada uma das form Alerta do Bill Gates sobre o desafio de se atingir a neutralidade nas emissões de carbono e as consequências caso a humanidade falhe nesta tarefa。 Bem didático， o livro quantifica as emissões de co2 e de outros gases gerados por atividades humanas com maior impacto sobre o meio ambiente como a produção de cimento e aço， a geração de energia através de combustíveis fósseis， a produção agropecuária e transporte de diversos modais。 Paralelamente， expõe as alternativas para reduzir cada uma das formas de emissões， as necessidades de melhoria tecnológica e os custos de implantação。 Por fim， o autor propõe um plano para atingir esse objetivo e o que devemos fazer como cidadãos pra contribuir com ele 。。。more
pajama_plants_221015
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Rich guy solutions for climate change
Vitória
，
It would be great if he took his own advice
Stefanie
，