Book Review on ‘How To Avoid a Climate Disaster’
By-Bill Gates
Climate Change has been a topic for debate in recent years with the climate crisis across the globe catching more eyeballs. There have been debates, discussions, protests, agitations, and conferences. The climate movement has so far been an inclusive one, involving folks from all backgrounds, be it students, bureaucrats, leaders, or be it, in this case, a billionaire and philanthropist, the founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates.
Bill gates has been massively vocal for the cause of the climate in recent years. In this book, he attempts to make the readers aware of the problems at hand, to enlighten them with the solutions that we do possess, and to encourage the upcoming entrepreneurs, researchers and scientists to make the much- required breakthroughs to save our planet from a climate disaster.
The author has laid down some very accurate numbers and statistics to draw the attention of the readers. There has been no beating around the bush and the message from the author has been pretty clear from the very beginning.
“ There are two numbers you need to know about climate change. The first is 51 billion. The other is zero. Fifty-one billion is how many tons of greenhouse gasses the world typically adds to the atmosphere every year.”
However, Bill has set it out straight that this journey from 51 billion to zero won’t be a cakewalk, on the contrary, it would be an arduous task. But, we should not be bogged down by the demanding nature of the task, being a technophile, Bill believes in the power of technology and innovation to assist us in achieving our goal of “zero-emissions” by mid-century.
There were many fingers pointed at Bill Gates on whether he is the ideal person to comment on the topic of climate change with his own pretty dominant carbon footprint. Bill Gates has accepted the fact that he would be an ‘imperfect messenger’ on climate change and working on this book has made him even more aware of his emissions and he has already implemented certain changes to reduce his carbon footprint.
The author has tried to break down the problem of climate change into 5 Elementary Questions that everyone should ask for a more enhanced understanding of every climate-based conversation. Moreover, these are the five questions that he seeks answers to before he invests his time and money in any green projects
- How Much of the 51 Billion Tons are we talking about?
- Finding solutions for all the five activities that cause carbon emissions.
- How Much Power are we talking about?
- How Much Space Do You Need?
- How Much is This Going to Cost?
Gates has highlighted five of the major sources of our emissions that we need to tackle while devising a technology that cut the emissions.
- Making things (cement, steel, plastic) 31%
- Plugging in (electricity) 27%
- Growing things (plants, animals) 19%
- Getting around (planes, trucks, cargo ships) 16%
- Keeping warm and cool (heating, cooling, refrigeration) 7%
To achieve our target of zero emissions by mid-century we need to come up with a comprehensive plan to address all five major sources of emissions.
In the end, it always boils down to the cost, how much money would it take to implement these cleaner new alternatives over the technologies already available to us.
“The reason the world emits so much greenhouse gas is that — as long as you ignore the long-term damage they do — our current energy technologies are by and large the cheapest ones available”
To decipher the additional cost that anyone is expected to bare for his cleaner choice, Gates has devised a great term called ‘Green premium’. The ultimate target is to innovate and develop new technology to reduce these green premiums such that it is “affordable for all countries, not just the wealthy ones.”
Gates believes that the richest western countries ( who in trues sense are the biggest emitters) need to take a lead on this and get to net zero emission by 2050 and the developing countries could soon follow them.
“ It’s not simply because we’ve (rich countries) caused most of the problem (although that’s true). It’s also because this is a huge economic opportunity. The countries that build great zero-carbon companies and industries will be the ones that lead the global economy in the coming decades”
I found the concept of ‘Green Premium’ riveting so I made some good use of data in the book to create a more visual impact.
Green Premiums to tackle the problem of growing emissions owing to transportation.
All the data and the numbers simply suggest one thing that ‘Climate Change is not a Hoax’. The problem at hand is massive and demands our attention and actions. Bill Gates being a famous author and being followed by many across the world, this book could serve as a wake-up call for everyone to act before it’s too late. If the problem goes unchecked, environmental disasters like rising temperatures by about 1.5–3 degrees, more hot days, rising sea levels, etc. could follow.
“By mid-century increases in global temperatures are projected to raise the global mortality rate by the same amount — 14 deaths per 100,000. By the end of the century, if emissions growth stays high, climate change could be responsible for 75 extra deaths per 100,000 people.”
Keeping in mind the damage that has already been done to the climate, zero-emissions by 2050 is our last resort, our every action should be in that direction. The book lays out a clear road map to achieve our targets but the author has suggested more macro-level changes that will have a more global impact. Bill Gates could have given a more detailed explanation of Geo-engineering, the brainchild of his good old friend from Microsoft, Nathan Myhrvold.
At the individual level, we can too adopt some practices to reduce the emissions from our end. Every single unit of carbon released has an impact however small.
So, emit your carbons responsibly.
