There are five of them and they get a chapter each:Īcross these five intuitively named chapters we get an analysis of renewable energy (alongside other options such as nuclear), low carbon agriculture, or air conditioning.

This pays off in the book’s approach, which is to distil the enormous wicked problem of climate change into categories that are easy to understand. He calls in experts and asks questions, and he has a genuine enthusiasm for topics others might find very boring, such as fertiliser or cement or the workings of the US energy grid. As we’ve seen with his work on poverty, health, or unpopular topics like toilets, Gates has a huge capacity to take in information. I do believe, though, that it is an informed opinion, and I am always trying to learn more.”

“I can’t deny being a rich guy with an opinion. “The world is not exactly lacking in rich men with big ideas about what other people should do” he says at the outset. It’s worth reading because it’s going to be influential.īecause he’s a very smart man, Gates is aware of the grumbling. Politicians who read one climate book a decade will probably pick this one. Even if you disagree, this is likely to be the most read climate book of the year. But if we have to have billionaires, we want them to be involved in the biggest challenges facing humanity, rather than firing their money into space*. I know some people have grumbled about Bill Gates writing a book on climate change.

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