How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need

Excellent summary of the climate challenge in plain layman’s language.

Bel libro che si fa leggere facilmente anche da chi non conosce un inglese avanzato grazie anche all’utilizzo di un inglese non troppo complesso

Köp och läs denna bok som är skriven av en otroligt kunnig person. Behandlar vad vi måste göra för att klara klimatet inom alla olika delar av vårt samhälle. En måste läsa bok!

Das Buch fasst zusammen, wo der aktuelle wissenschaftliche und technische Stand zum Thema Klima steht. Es ist gegliedert in übersichtliche Kapitel, die jeweils ein zentrales Thema haben. Nicht zu viel, nicht zu wenig, klasse! Der Optimismus ist ansteckend und man wird begeistert, welche Innovationen es bereits gibt und hoffentlich demnächst geben wird. Dass das Buch mit einem konkreten Plan konkludiert ist richtig und wichtig, denn nur so weiß man, was man selber und letzten Endes wir alle zusammen tun können, um eine vielversprechende und nachhaltige Zukunft zu gestalten. Klimaschutz, Wirtschaftswachstum und ein besseres Leben für alle im Sinne des Humanismus agieren dabei symbiotisch und sich gegenseitig fördernd, nicht gegeneinander! Das eine schließt das andere nicht aus, ganz im Gegenteil! 1-Sterne-Bewertungen zu dem Buch wurden zu einem Zeitpunkt verfasst, an dem wohl kaum jemand das Buch überhaupt erhalten (!) geschweige denn gelesen hat. Ich habe vor etlichen Monaten vorbestellt und erhielt das Buch erst am 20.02.2021. Der grammatikalisch wie orthographisch unterirdische, beleidigende Inhalt der 1-Sterne-Bewertungen spricht für sich. Hier sind leider Verschwörungstheoretiker unterwegs, die hoffentlich baldig einen Weg aus dem Gefängnis der gedanklichen Paranoia finden.

The ‘boiling frog’ is a fable describing a frog put in tepid water; when brought to a boil slowly, it will not perceive the danger and will be cooked to death. We humans shall soon replace the frog in this fable and face the existential threat if we ignore the signs of global warming. At 51 billion tons of CO2 equivalent pumped into the atmosphere each year, our planet is slowly, but surely warming up. Unfortunately, even a small increase of 2 degree C is fatal for human life due to the consequences of climate change. The frog shall survive for many more centuries, after we are all gone. The frog is lucky. Bill Gates has brought in a sense of urgency about climate change in this book. The book is written in an amazingly simple non-technical approach to take the message to the common man. At the same time, it also covers most technical aspects of understanding the problem, alternate means of dealing with it and a list of innovative green technologies. The book intuitively follows an elegant WHY- HOW- WHAT structure (Simon Sinek’s framework). The opening chapter is ‘Why Zero’. The atmosphere is compared to a bathtub that is getting filled up. After a certain stage it can take no more. At 51 billion tons of emissions per year, our atmosphere has reached its limits. Hence the need is not to just reduce emissions, but to bring it to ZERO by 2050. It is hard, but doable argues this book. To understand How we can solve this problem, there is a chapter each devoted to five How’s: How We Plug in, How We Make Things, How We Grow Things, How We Get Around, How We keep Cool and Stay Warm. In each chapter, there is a clear description of the current way we do things, the amount of emissions, how we can bring it to zero, and an approximate calculation of Green Premium that alternate technologies would cost us. Hence, contrary to a common man’s thinking that only cars and planes are the culprits, the book appropriates a fair share of the problem to all that we do. There is a brief but excellent insight into each of the green technologies that are proposed. For example, plant-based meat protein as an alternative source of animal protein is fascinating. Different streams of science need to converge to find technological breakthroughs. Technologies and policies aimed at reaching the immediate goals of 2030, should be dovetailed and synergistic with the final goal of ZERO by 2050. Else we might, as an example build gas-based power plants for the 2030 target, which is not a solution for the Zero goal. The book sends a clear message on What needs to be done. Expanding the supply of innovation will create new markets. Appropriate policy actions can create incentives for research, infrastructure, and early adoption of green technologies. Hence the need to work on Technology, Policy and Markets simultaneously. Governments, Corporates, Citizens, Consumers, Employees, Employers have key roles to play in the chapter ‘What Each of Us Can Do’. There is no room for politics. Humanity needs to unite to save this beautiful planet, our sweet home. Time is not on our side. Highly recommended.

The book is easy to read.. probably too easy. Bill gates has covered quite some aspects in the book, however only in a shallow way.