

"Bill Gates shares what he's learned in more than a decade of studying climate change and investing in innovations to address the problems, and sets out a vision for how the world can build the tools it needs to get to zero greenhouse gas emissions. Bill Gates explains why he cares so deeply about climate change and what makes him optimistic that the world can avoid the most dire effects of the climate crisis. Gates says, "We can work on a local, national, and global level to build the technologies, businesses, and industries to avoid the worst impacts of climate change." His interest in climate change is a natural outgrowth of the efforts by his foundation to reduce poverty and disease. Climate change, according to Gates, will have the biggest impact on the people who have done the least to cause it. As a technologist, he has seen firsthand how innovation can change the world. By investing in research, inventing new technologies, and by deploying them quickly at large scale, Gates believes climate change can be addressed in meaningful ways. According to Gates, "to prevent the worst effects of climate change, we have to get to net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases. This problem is urgent, and the debate is complex, but I believe we can come together to invent new carbon-zero technologies, deploy the ones we have, and ultimately avoid a climate catastrophe""-- After more than a decade of studying climate change and investing in innovations to address the problems, Gates sets out a vision for how the world can build the tools it needs to get to zero greenhouse gas emissions. He explains why he is optimistic that the world can avoid the most dire effects of the climate crisis, and discusses how climate change can be addressed in meaningful ways. -- adapted from jacket
A glimpse inside

Gates centers the book around a single, uncompromising goal: the world must reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. He explains why simply reducing emissions isn’t enough—only eliminating them entirely can stabilize global temperatures. Gates breaks down the sources of emissions into five sectors—electricity, manufacturing, agriculture, transportation, and heating/cooling—demonstrating that every area must be addressed, not just electricity generation.
While existing solutions like solar and wind are important, Gates argues they aren’t sufficient to decarbonize the entire economy. He calls for massive investment in research and development to invent affordable, scalable clean technologies—especially for the hard-to-abate sectors like cement, steel, and aviation. Gates draws parallels to the digital revolution, asserting that technological breakthroughs are the only way to make clean alternatives as cheap and reliable as fossil fuels.
Ratings at a glance
- 1Net-Zero Is Non-Negotiable
- 2Innovation Is Essential
- 3The Green Premium Problem
- 4Policy and Markets Must Work Together
- 5Equity and Global Justice
Popular quotes from How to Avoid a Climate Disaster
“To avoid a climate disaster, we have to get to zero.”
“We need to get to zero, and we need to do it in every country, in every sector, and in every decade.”
