How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need
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- Create Date：2021-03-05 03:11:06
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Bill Gates
- ISBN：B07YTNGRCY
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Summary
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 toward 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 toward 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
Tenko Nikolov
，
Very pragmatic book。 Loads of interesting information and practical advices。
Carlos Liévano
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5 stars for being a great exploration on this very URGENT topic （probably more urgent than you might imagine， considering realistically all that needs to get done: exactly what the book covers）。 Probably one or two stars less for being biased towards developed vs。 developing countries （I can envision a situation in which the funding for what is needed is done as per the means and willingness of every country and citizen; he just outlines how rich countries can seize the opportunity to remain ric 5 stars for being a great exploration on this very URGENT topic （probably more urgent than you might imagine， considering realistically all that needs to get done: exactly what the book covers）。 Probably one or two stars less for being biased towards developed vs。 developing countries （I can envision a situation in which the funding for what is needed is done as per the means and willingness of every country and citizen; he just outlines how rich countries can seize the opportunity to remain richer， even if he makes a lot of emphasis in considering the situation of poor countries） and for lacking more information outside the US。 Also， while the growing population is factored on every impact he covers， no actions or policies on this are mentioned。 Perhaps because developed countries are using policies to do the opposite to deal with their aging population （and there are persistent religious and moral stigmas against birth control）， but it is clear it has the potential to lengthen the timeline for a solution， reduce the capital demand， and increase the wellbeing of poorer and richer countries。Still a must read。 Grab a copy as soon as you can， read it， discuss it。 。。。more
Mashrafi
，
This is a compelling book that succinctly presents Climate Change and the ongoing research of the last century。 I came out of this book knowing more than I knew before。 There is so much to do about climate change and so much global cooperation that is required for us to even BEGIN to solve the problems it presents。 Mr。 Gates presents this conundrum in an eloquent manner with easy to understand words。 For someone who isn't interested in reading about science， I was eager to turn each page and rea This is a compelling book that succinctly presents Climate Change and the ongoing research of the last century。 I came out of this book knowing more than I knew before。 There is so much to do about climate change and so much global cooperation that is required for us to even BEGIN to solve the problems it presents。 Mr。 Gates presents this conundrum in an eloquent manner with easy to understand words。 For someone who isn't interested in reading about science， I was eager to turn each page and read。 I really do recommend this book to anyone who wants a good introduction to climate change。 I wish Mr。 Gates would try to not include too many numbers as sometimes it can go over your head and you are left confused。 Regardless， this is a good book and I suggest everyone check it out。 Also， remember one thing: 51 Billion Tons of C02 in the atmosphere。 Every。 Single。 Year。 。。。more
Josh Czinger
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Gates looks at these issues from a practical perspective。 Solutions must be achievable， reasonable， and take local socio-economic factors into consideration。 There is no pie-in-the-sky thinking in this book， and he doesn't take things for granted。 Gates looks at these issues from a practical perspective。 Solutions must be achievable， reasonable， and take local socio-economic factors into consideration。 There is no pie-in-the-sky thinking in this book， and he doesn't take things for granted。 。。。more
Ingrid S
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An easy to read， down to earth book from one of the world's great philanthropists。 Should be required reading for the world at large， especially all political leaders。 An easy to read， down to earth book from one of the world's great philanthropists。 Should be required reading for the world at large， especially all political leaders。 。。。more
Mathias
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How to save our planet & why we need nuclearThis can be an environmentalists bible。 The book relies on empirical data & science to recommend our best course of action to save planet earth。 William Gates explains pedagogically why we need nuclear power to provide reliable， cheap & green energy。 Highly recommend。
Peter Brickwood
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Bill Gates was right about Pandemics。 Will anyone listen to him about climate change？
Harikrishnan Balachandran
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'How to avoid a Climate Disaster' is Bill Gates' guide on the radical transformation and changes needed to reverse the effects of years of greenhouse emissions。 Gates lays out that 51 billion tonnes is the target reduction required in emissions with an aim of achieving zero emissions by 2050。 With backing statistics， Gates highlights that we should spend the next decade focusing on the technologies， policies， and market structures that will put us on the path to eliminating greenhouse gases by 2 'How to avoid a Climate Disaster' is Bill Gates' guide on the radical transformation and changes needed to reverse the effects of years of greenhouse emissions。 Gates lays out that 51 billion tonnes is the target reduction required in emissions with an aim of achieving zero emissions by 2050。 With backing statistics， Gates highlights that we should spend the next decade focusing on the technologies， policies， and market structures that will put us on the path to eliminating greenhouse gases by 2050。 I felt the book really educates the reader on something we have taken for granted and the society conveniently ignores。 The optimism and innovative ideas laid out in this book may well see us achieving the goal of zero emissions in 2050 if we start making small changes today。 It's often small steps that make big changes。 。。。more
Katie Gardner
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This was an excellent， well written， and clear overview of climate change and how Bill Gates believes it should be solved。 As someone who thinks about these issues on a daily basis， I didn't necessarily learn anything new， but I feel he framed the issues and solutions in a clear， concise， and engaging manner。 For anyone who is looking to learn more about climate change and easy steps to take in their own lives， this book is fantastic as it provides evidence and studies but in a way we can all un This was an excellent， well written， and clear overview of climate change and how Bill Gates believes it should be solved。 As someone who thinks about these issues on a daily basis， I didn't necessarily learn anything new， but I feel he framed the issues and solutions in a clear， concise， and engaging manner。 For anyone who is looking to learn more about climate change and easy steps to take in their own lives， this book is fantastic as it provides evidence and studies but in a way we can all understand。 I appreciate that Gates has worked on these issues for many years， as an early funder of "breakthrough energy" technologies。 Yes， he is the typical technocrat billionare， but I appreciate his interest in equitable solutions （as this seems to be the genesis of the interest） and willingness to throw a lot of money at smart people and advocate for policies， as he has the access to the decision makers that most of us don't。 Overall， this book is worth a read， and a recommendation to your skeptical or less informed friends and family members。 I know I will be sharing it！ 。。。more
Natalie Lowe
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This book made me so grateful that Steve Jobs founded Apple because if we had just had Microsoft by Bill Gates， we would have missed all the great technology in the last 30 years。I am sure Gates is a well-intentioned man， but he is a product of the system he now says we can't "really" change except by tiny degrees。 He would have been the guy who said the iPhone was a bad idea - too crazy， too out there。 I learned a few things， mostly economic numbers， but all in all， Gates is not a visionary - h This book made me so grateful that Steve Jobs founded Apple because if we had just had Microsoft by Bill Gates， we would have missed all the great technology in the last 30 years。I am sure Gates is a well-intentioned man， but he is a product of the system he now says we can't "really" change except by tiny degrees。 He would have been the guy who said the iPhone was a bad idea - too crazy， too out there。 I learned a few things， mostly economic numbers， but all in all， Gates is not a visionary - he is an inch by inch it's a cinch kinda guy。 He does not have bold ideas， he has excel sheets。This book will not help us avoid a climate disaster。 Skip reading it and spend the time writing your politicians to take bolder action on climate change。 It will be time better spent。 Sorry Bill。 。。。more
Tim Dugan
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For content and information it was fairly goodBut honestly I got a little bored toward the end started skimming
lee pinion
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Highly recommendA must read for everyone， especially the naysayers who don't believe。 I liked this book because he explained things simply and precisely。 I especially liked that he would go back and reference points he already had made in the book。 I highly recommend it。 Highly recommendA must read for everyone， especially the naysayers who don't believe。 I liked this book because he explained things simply and precisely。 I especially liked that he would go back and reference points he already had made in the book。 I highly recommend it。 。。。more
Laura Narbutaite Marbach
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Very accessible and pragmatic overview of the topic。
Eric Baer
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A good， levelheaded， and comprehensive overview of climate change。 The unfortunate reality of the problem is that the answer is to change a tremendous number of small things which necessarily makes this book overwhelmingly broad。 This is no fault of the author - this is the nature of the problem。
Ron Peters
，
I was really prepared to dislike this book。 I have no love for billionaires who hide their money in tax havens but create big foundations named after themselves because， after all， they’re the only ones who know how to solve our problems。 Their solutions never involve raising their taxes， but often involve soliciting tax-deductible donations for their foundations。So， color me surprised when I found myself liking Bill Gates’ ideas。 More than anything it was the clear business thinking behind his I was really prepared to dislike this book。 I have no love for billionaires who hide their money in tax havens but create big foundations named after themselves because， after all， they’re the only ones who know how to solve our problems。 Their solutions never involve raising their taxes， but often involve soliciting tax-deductible donations for their foundations。So， color me surprised when I found myself liking Bill Gates’ ideas。 More than anything it was the clear business thinking behind his assessment of problems and the evaluation of alternative solutions。 Many ecologists I’ve read fill you with fear and moral indignation， but are dismissive of practicalities， simply averring that this must be done。 Gates acknowledges what voters， consumers， and investors are and are not likely to support。In this field， someone will disagree with at least part of what anyone writes。 Bill McKibben convincingly argues that Bill Gates is behind the time when it comes to the cost of solar power （https://is。gd/PKXcaM）。 Then again， McKibben does a bad job of addressing Gates’ point that solar suffers from problems with intermittent supply and inordinately high storage costs。Gates the engineer is overly optimistic about finding technical fixes for the many problems he identifies， e。g。， his “we’ll figure it out” attitude toward the disposal of nuclear waste and his surprising support for outré experiments in geoengineering。Gates also talks about reducing demand but never mentions slowing population growth – he seems to take this growth as a given。 Paul Hawken， for example， documents that one intervention with a big bang-for-buck is educating girls and women， because women with more education have fewer children， reducing global demand for activities that create atmospheric carbon （https://is。gd/fTp7Ao）。So， as with anything you read in this field， you need to pick and choose among the proposals on display。 But the urgent need for action is upon us， and Gates has good ideas to add to the mix。 。。。more
Will Corvin
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Bill Gates accomplishes what he wants in this book， which is to succinctly explain the climate crisis and clearly outline a path forward。 However， I would have preferred fewer self-congratulatory asides and unrelatable， billionaire-problem examples （such as green jet fuel）。
Ruben Montes
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One of the most important books of 2021。 Climate Change will affect you and your family sooner or later。
Lars Dradrach
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Living in Scandinavia where global warming has been an accepted fact， among the vast majority of people， for many years， it has been troubling to follow the development in America in the recent years， so now with a new administration in place I read this book to gain an understanding of the thoughts on the matter， that exists in the more enlightened （non-Trump） part of America。And having worked in the IT industry all my life I was also somewhat curious to read some of Bill Gates thoughts and ins Living in Scandinavia where global warming has been an accepted fact， among the vast majority of people， for many years， it has been troubling to follow the development in America in the recent years， so now with a new administration in place I read this book to gain an understanding of the thoughts on the matter， that exists in the more enlightened （non-Trump） part of America。And having worked in the IT industry all my life I was also somewhat curious to read some of Bill Gates thoughts and insights。So first the positive parts:The book is well written and breaks down the topics in easy to understand segments and most important of all， it acknowledges the fact that the crisis is real and that something must be done now。Then the more problematic issues:Bill gates comes from a technology background， where the solution to any problem is engineering， which means that his main approach to the climate crisis is to invent some new technologies that will allow us to consume in the same （or even higher） rate as before。Gates more or less discards the personal responsibility and puts the sole responsibility for action on governments。 Where I personally think that it matters what each of us does， especially because as consumers our actions indirectly changes the way businesses acts。There’s also a heavy bias towards expanding fission energy， with some tailored facts and omissions that seems somewhat lightweight compared to how elaborate some of the remaining topics are investigated。Finally there’s the issue about Gates writing this book at all， with him being who he are。 I have no doubt that he’s truly concerned about the climate and he’s hardly writing this book to earn more money。 But the problem is that a lot of the people who needs convincing， probably will avoid this book especially because he wrote it in the first place。 。。。more
Jaimie McDonald
，
Bill Gates provided a great overview of a deeply complex issue that requires innovation and participation from nearly every sector。 He positions himself as an expert on the topic， having access to nearly every top scientist/researcher in fields ranging from biology， engineering， economics， etc。 I did feel like I had to trudge through the ending， where he talks about government policies。 I'm not familiar with government structures， and for me， it was a lot of information to take in at once。 A lot Bill Gates provided a great overview of a deeply complex issue that requires innovation and participation from nearly every sector。 He positions himself as an expert on the topic， having access to nearly every top scientist/researcher in fields ranging from biology， engineering， economics， etc。 I did feel like I had to trudge through the ending， where he talks about government policies。 I'm not familiar with government structures， and for me， it was a lot of information to take in at once。 A lot of the information in Chapter 11 went in one ear and out the other。 Otherwise， this book is really accessible and you can really get a sense of Bill Gates as a person。 。。。more
Lupi P。
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Accessible and CompellingA comprehensive layperson’s guide to Cimate Change— both the existential threat and possible ways forward。 It does beg the question whatever happened to ZPG？ I guess we have thrown in the towel on that one。
Jiliac
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This is a down-to-earth book on how to act against climate change。 There is no finger pointing。 It's just about desgning the best plan we can to get where we want。 Short but impactful read。 If you want to know what YOU can do to help， read it and you won't get out of the book without your answer。 This is a down-to-earth book on how to act against climate change。 There is no finger pointing。 It's just about desgning the best plan we can to get where we want。 Short but impactful read。 If you want to know what YOU can do to help， read it and you won't get out of the book without your answer。 。。。more
Elise
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Not my favourite book about climate change。 I must prefer the science stuff with all the ecosystem collapse data etc。 and not just about industries and entrepreneurs。 But worth a read （or listen in my case）。
Michael Dominick
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This is a must-read for anyone concerned about climate change。 My only criticism of it is that Gates isn’t （in my opinion） cynical enough about the political and economic side of things。
Neel Gandhi
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Fantastic primer on climate change and the steps required to battle/combat with actions everyone can take。 Learned a lot about the topic and going to try to apply the learnings as much as I can。
Ophelia Alderton
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I heard this book gave lots of practical tips so I naively went into this thinking he would tell me to remember my canvas bags when I went shopping！ Thankfully， he did no such thing。 What Bill Gates and his team have done is provided great insight into some of the reasons we are contributing and accelerating global warming。 I had no idea cement and building was such a huge contributor。 I did know about the benefits of electric vehicles but I didn't know about other technology for transport that I heard this book gave lots of practical tips so I naively went into this thinking he would tell me to remember my canvas bags when I went shopping！ Thankfully， he did no such thing。 What Bill Gates and his team have done is provided great insight into some of the reasons we are contributing and accelerating global warming。 I had no idea cement and building was such a huge contributor。 I did know about the benefits of electric vehicles but I didn't know about other technology for transport that could really provide ingenious solutions that goes much further than we are now。 I definitely believe this book should be read by as many people as possible so that we can engage in good conversations and find ways that we can make changes ourselves and cultivate change with others。 。。。more
Rikke
，
I listened to the audiobook version which Will Wheaton narrates with gusto so that Gates’ passion and sense of humour comes through quite clearly。 I don’t have enough technical knowledge of the topic to assess the validity of the content， but it made me aware of challenges and possible solutions I hadn’t considered previously。
Brian Angle
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Good summary of all of the options for addressing our doom。 He's optimistic but I'm not sure why。 3 stars Good summary of all of the options for addressing our doom。 He's optimistic but I'm not sure why。 3 stars 。。。more
Cory
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All of the sudden I'm super into Microsoft products。 I've thrown my Apple stuff away， and am more enthusiastic than ever about the Surface Pro product line。 Oh， also this book was way good。 All of the sudden I'm super into Microsoft products。 I've thrown my Apple stuff away， and am more enthusiastic than ever about the Surface Pro product line。 Oh， also this book was way good。 。。。more
Simão Freitas
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Really insightful look at the situation in the world regarding pollution that contributes to climate change。 Proposes quite pragmatic and reasonable approaches for improvement。 It’s easy to read and accessible。
Justin Hall
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