How to Avoid a Climate Disaster
“Bill Gates has done a great job of this. You can read his latest book. There's a really good blueprint for this.”
Why it is worth your time
How to Avoid a Climate Disaster is Bill Gates's 2021 book. It starts from 51 billion tons of greenhouse gases added each year and a target of 0 by 2050, then works sector by sector, from electricity to cement. The central idea is the green premium, the extra cost of the clean option, and the book argues for research and policy to drive it down, including nuclear power, carbon capture and new ways to make cement and steel. Friedberg cited it on the Aug 20, 2022 episode, 4 days after the Inflation Reduction Act was signed, and called it a good blueprint. Energy and agriculture are his main subjects. It suits readers who want a plain engineering map of the problem. Bill McKibben in the New York Times faulted it for skipping politics, and climate scientist Michael Mann noted Gates has personal investments in some technologies it promotes.
