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How to Avoid a Climate Disaster

The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need

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How to Avoid a Climate Disaster

By: Bill Gates
Narrated by: Wil Wheaton, Bill Gates
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

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 2020 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

Business Development Business Development & Entrepreneurship Engineering Environment Politics & Government Programming & Software Development Science Software Development & Engineering Business Thought-Provoking Inspiring Pollution

Critic Reviews

Gates' book is compulsively readable. His ambition was to 'cut through the noise' and give consumers better tools for understanding what works, an ambition he meets admirably. It more than that, however. Gates can get an audience with anyone, can marshal almost limitless resources, and is dogged in the detail. The result - particularly in the wake of the Trump presidency - is thrilling (Emma Brockes)
Of the many books I have come across recently making the case that climate change will be a catastrophe, but we can do something about it, this is the best ... The relentless practicality of the book combined with Gates's firm faith in innovation do not promote despair. He exudes optimism; things will get better, not least because, as John Lennon once sang, they can't get no worse (Bryan Appleyard)
It is mostly concerned with solutions rather than problems. This already marks it out as something of an outlier within environmental literature... if you're after an approachable book about what needs to happen next, this is a great place to start (Ed Conway)
Bold but well argued ... a compelling explanation of how the world can stop global warming by reducing greenhouse gas emissions effectively to zero... [Gates] is a serious and genuine force for good on climate change (Bob Ward)
How to Avoid a Climate Disaster is clear, concise on a colossal subject, and intelligently holistic in its approach to the problem. (Adam Vaughan)
It all makes for a meaty manifesto which Gates hopes can offer sufficient variety to appeal across political divides and "shift the conversation" away from the polarisation and misinformation that has clouded discussion about climate change up until now. (Martin Bentham)
Books about the environment can induce a paralysing despair. The billionaire Bill Gates is a can-do, problem-solving chap, and his book is full of detailed, practical plans
Gates's carefully packaged nuggets of information are not only easy to understand, but they aim to provide the reader with practical tools to engage with the density of climate change information ... What Gates has achieved with his book is something rare in the swelling arena of popular climate literature. The Microsoft co-founder turned philanthropist has compiled a solutions-based strategy that is as informed on the commercial realities of scaling new technologies as it is on the environmental consequences of not doing so. (Daniel Murray)
The most refreshing aspect of this book is its bracing mix of cold-eyed realism and number-crunched optimism ... Ultimately [Gates's] book is a primer on how to reorganise the global economy so that innovation focuses on the world's gravest problems. It is a powerful reminder that if mankind is to get serious about tackling them, it must do more to harness the one natural resource available in infinite quantity-human ingenuity.
All stars
Most relevant
Wonderfully narrated at 0.9x speed.

Bill does a great job of explaining the challenges associated with climate change. I loved listening to all the facts and figures of different industries and the progress being made in our pursuit of clean energy breakthroughs.

When it came to the last chapter about what “we” can do, there are many great things Bill suggests. The only thing that disappointed me about this book is not once did Bill address the amount of products/food we consume. There are plenty of suggestions for “cleaner” options but to not mention anything about our consumption behaviours in terms of quantity is a fundamental roadblock in Bill’s capitalist mindset, in my opinion. If we don’t address how much we consume, a breakthrough in clean energy innovation and reducing green premiums will not be enough to save us.

This book is still very much worth a listen to educate yourself further on climate change. I did enjoy it and will still recommend it to others.

Cheers!

Great book! But one thing missing.

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This book is a banger. Gets straight to the point without any BS filler content.

Definitely required reading.

Straight to the point. Great.

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really enjoyed it just a really interesting take on moving us towards a cleaner engergy solutions and be realistic expectations on how to archive it.

very interesting and inspiring

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I came into this with low expectations for the entertainment value of a book on climate change. But I was delighted to find Bills writing both witty and funny. Great read!

Interesting and funny

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Loved it, Bills pragmatic approach made me realise the real difficulties of climate change but also gives hopes for potential solutions

Thought provoking book about the climate problem

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