I just couldn’t get on with this, despite having read much on the subject. Although the focus on sole technological solutions was expected from all the publicity and well, because its Bill Gates so what else would we expect, but it feels like there should have been much more acknowledgement that technology can only be a part of the solution. There are so many other authoritative reads that cover climate change and its challenges from a much broader, comprehensive, perspective, that it feels like this was really only published because of Gates’ profile.

Bill Gates introduction to the book perfectly describes the enormous climate catastrophe facing mankind and the rest of the life forms on the planet. His writing style makes the book very easy to read for the layman.

He identifies a number of very practical technical solutions to reverse the vast amount of carbon being dumped into our atmosphere. Clearly, these solutions will require an enormous investment and acceptance of change by governments, corporations & the general public. At the moment there is very little appetite or incentive to participate in these critical projects. Perhaps the threat of extinction will eventually make governments react in a more positive manner, but sadly it will almost certainly be too late to be really effective.
We have very little time left to make these innovative projects a reality. The sixth global extinction event has already commenced in all areas of our planet. It will be almost impossible to reverse.
To summarise, an excellent book that gives a strong wake-up call to those in power.

How to Avoid a Climate Disaster has a different focus than a lot of the other books I have read on tackling climate change, instead of regurgitating similar information, Bill Gates focuses this book on technology, innovation and the national and international collaboration to develop and deliver meaningful changes to reduce our global greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. This is an ambitious undertaking for us all, however, as daunting as it seems, Gates lays out his research and solutions effectively and in a clear format. I enjoyed how this is written in a less formal way than some books on this topic, it felt more like a conversation rather than a sermon. The contents of this book are less focused what will happen if we continue as we are (we have already heard a lot about this from other sources) and instead offers practical solutions and policies which could be implemented with the technologies we already have available and identifies where the gaps are which need to be closed.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, it is informative and offers a different insight to the problem and the difficult road ahead. It is not a textbook and Bill Gates does not claim to be an expert on the subject but instead could be like any one of us who has a keen interest in halting climate change and taking responsibility and action for our future. Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Press UK for a digital copy for review.

There are plenty of more detailed books on the topic, but this is an easy to read overview of some of the challenges faced, the magnitude of it and some of the solutions that will help.

The book provides an interesting take on some of the technological solutions that will come into play .

Overall think book won't radically change the thinking on climate change, but it might just make understanding the scale and some of the solutions more accessible to the lay person.

There are some very negative reviews of this book, and I’ve read some of them and thought about them, and it seems that most of them are simply ad hominem attacks on Bill Gates himself rather than a measured and thoughtful evaluation of the book. They don’t offer any counter-arguments and I assume they are politically motivated. I’m no expert so wouldn’t dream of judging whether everything he says in this book is correct or whether some of his solutions to the climate crisis are workable or even advisable – and even Bill Gates himself admits freely that he is no expert. But at least he’s trying to do something, to raise the issues, to find solutions, however imperfectly. I wonder what all the haters out there are doing? Apart from criticising him for being rich….Anyway, back to the book – which I found an excellent read. It’s clearly and accessibly written, keeps things simple and easy to grasp, gives an excellent overview of the disaster we’re facing, offers many ideas about what we can do, and indeed what we must do. And he’s willing to fund research and invest in new innovative companies and work with others in trying to find solutions. I recommend this to anyone concerned, as most of us surely are, by the climate catastrophe.

So much information I am practically reeling from overload. However it is a timely and important book and I'm glad that Bill Gates is the philanthropic man who is troubled by this. He can do so much with his position. He gets to meet with anyone and everyone and can ask all the questions that otherwise go unanswered. I am not qualified to comment on the contents but I can say that I have found it profoundly worth reading.

I was really looking forward to this book after reading a review in the national press and it being a subject which is close to my heart. I have been a member of Greenpeace for over 30 years and studied Environmental Sciences at university in the 1970’s so consider that I am already reasonably well aware of the problems and some of the possible solutions to global warming.
In this book Bill Gates approaches the subject as an entrepreneur as would be expected by anyone who is familiar with his history and you would be excused if you thought he would be shamelessly promoting companies and technologies that he is invested in. However, in several parts of the book he does make it clear where he has supported start-ups including some that have already failed. From my viewpoint I think he should be applauded for his willingness to ‘put his money where his mouth is’.
The book starts with a clear explanation of the problem facing mankind today and then having broken the issue into the different groups responsible, Power Generation, Transport etc he sets about detailing where he thinks it is possible for us to reach zero emissions by 2050. I think one of the most important messages that the author clearly states is that the targets will not be met without the support of governments around the globe and this is where the reader can help. We should all take every opportunity to make clear our views on global warming to the politicians that we have elected at all levels of government.
All in all an enjoyable and well informed read.

A straightforward, factual and optimistic book on approaches to reducing the damage to the planet caused by human influenced climate change.

This is quite a dry book (but then no book about climate disasters should be light-hearted) but the author provides clear data on the current state of the situation and a direction towards reducing emissions and providing an improved standard of living for a global population.

The author states that his hope is to:

“… shift the conversation by sharing the facts with the people in our lives …”

And I would say this books succeeds in enabling people to do this. It provides a clear and educational primer to the current climate crisis. The author explains the work required at an individual, local, national and international level in an understandable way. However, as the majority of these approached to avoiding a climate disaster rely on communication and collaboration in a world more and more divided the outcome is anyone's guess … ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Really important book that everyone should read. Some sobering facts - the result of careful research - but also there is hope for the future and steps that both individuals and governments should take.

The book is clearly written and fairly accessible to most non-experts.

I would like to start by saying thank you for the chance to read this book. I knew about the book even before requesting it as there were so many articles about this new project of bil Gates and some opinions were so controversial and so bias, that when I saw the title on netgalley I really wanted to get this book.
So it's a book about what it says it is, it has loud and clear info regarding the climate change subject. It has strong arguments to back it up and I tend to disagree with his critics, it's a good content, it calls for awernes. I believe that because he is a well known person and has other projects, has influence and yes let's say it, has money his voice and his arguments have a chance to be heard. Even though you'll think this book is more of a scientific one I would say that it's readable for all the eyes out there, you don't really need special knowledge to understand his ideas and all the data.
Great read! I would recommend it!

Such a good insight! Well written and well explained. Loved that the text was easy to understand without being patronising.

A really interesting book from the Microsoft founder, which approaches climate change from an angle I've never really perceived - the technological innovations and milestones required to get the world to zero emissions. Having always read around this topic from a personal point of view - what can I do to help - it was interesting to hear more about the problems facing us converting the power grid and changing industrial practices. I recommend this for anyone looking for an interesting overview of the technological and political solutions to the practical problems facing the world to reserve climate change.

This is both depressing and uplifting at the same time! Just when you think we are all doomed, Bill Gates comes up with solutions, that if we all work together, might just pull us back from the brink of disaster. It's great that a big name is getting heavily involved in this global emergency as hopefully it will make more people take notice and realise the dire situation we are in/heading for.
The book is written in a very clear and engaging way although I did get a little bit lost with some of the science/economic parts. However don't let that put you off as after reading it you are left with a sense of hope for the future.

Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, has weighed in on the issue of climate change, and for the most part I can say this is an optimistic and constructive examination of the goal to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Like most commentaries on climate change he outlines the consequences of not acting now to eradicate global warming, but unlike other discourses he presents technology and innovation as having the potential to get us close to net zero by 2050.

Having watched many a David Attenborough documentary on the bleak consequences of climate change for the natural world and humanity as whole, I personally felt that as an individual, other than recycling, travelling less and eating less meat, there is little in the grand scheme of things that the everyday person can do to combat the damage already done by 200 years on industrialisation. What I really appreciated about Bill Gates work is that he looks at the bigger picture. Early on he acknowledges that the highest percentage of greenhouse gases are emitted due to ‘making things (cement, steel, plastic)’ and ‘plugging in (electricity)’ 31% and 27% respectively. He argues that if we (government, companies and the consumer) can tackle the emissions from these two activities through innovation and technology as soon as possible the future of our planet will no longer look so bleak.

Climate change is a cause of anxiety for many and Bill Gates’ book helps to present a version of events that seems achievable. Whilst I am cautious of only reading one person’s view on a topic and would definitely seek to read more in order to have a more rounded view, I would definitely recommend reading this if you are concerned about how we will reverse the effects of global warming, and you are interested in the capabilities of technology in order to provide innovative solutions.

We have some reason to listen attentively to Bill Gates’ warning in this book about a climate disaster. In 2015, he gave an 8-minutes TED talk about how catastrophic a large scale virus outbreak might be for those affected the most from an epidemiology point of view. At that time, he drew some lessons from the Ebola epidemic in three West African countries which took the lives of around 10,000 people and why the epidemic could be stopped in a timely manner before it spread further due to the effective responses by the health workers, the nature of the virus which does not spread from the air, and the fact that the virus did not reach the urban areas. Fast forward 5 years, we did not have those advantages with the coronavirus and finally, the pandemic caused many setbacks in developmental areas as well as the global wealth.

In the first few chapters, this urgent book actually sounds like a TED talk to me. Bill Gates begins his telltale by explaining some background reason as to why a person with a background in software engineering like him who has virtually no background in climate change finally decided to take part in this issue and even takes the time to write a book about it. After Bill Gates stepped down as the CEO of Microsoft in 2000, he has been spending his time doing philanthropic works through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) which he founded with his wife to address healthcare and poverty issues in developing countries as well as expanding educational opportunities and access to information technology in the United States. It would raise the question so much as to why on the eve of a new decade in 2021, suddenly there is another overturn by Bill Gates that worth writing a book for.

There is a single goal defined by Bill Gates throughout this book: We need to decrease the amount of greenhouse gases emission by 51 billion tons per year and eventually reach zero. At first, this approach sounds too simplistic to me as happens in the case when an uninformed person attempts to simplify a big problem by cutting them down into pieces by pieces that would be understandable for laypeople with virtually almost no knowledge of climate change. But upon reading it further, I am convinced that getting to zero as Bill Gates has indicated in this book is the goal that every person from bottom to up should strive for in order to avoid a climate disaster. As a technocrat, Bill Gates has every reason to be an optimist about the advance of technological innovation. Mr Gates is an optimist when it comes to technology, that we have so many resources available to conduct research and development to reach what it takes to get zero emissions. However, the adoption of innovation often involves many layers both from public and private institutions from which a fruitful collaboration should be nurtured as suggested in this book.

Another interesting part is a vocabulary that will be repeated throughout this book and will raise our awareness about both the economic consequences and incentives to reach zero: the Green Premium. Green Premium is an interesting concept that is simple and understandable for most people. It is the additional cost of choosing a clean technology over one that emits a greater amount of greenhouse gases. An example of this would be between two burgers, one uses ground beef with a cost of $3.79 per pound, whereas the other one uses plant-based meat with a cost of $5.76 per pound. The difference between the two types of burger, $1.97, could be considered as the Green Premium while choosing a burger with plant-based meat that is more environmental-friendly. And as Bill Gates is a fan of statistics and factual data, he shows us how the Green Premium concept could be applied from as simple as eating a burger to adopting renewable energies.

There are three reasons why this book would be important and urgent. First of all, climate change is not an issue that could be addressed simply by waiting for the economic calculation to lower the price for more environmental-friendly products to reach more audience. By the time a climate disaster strikes, it will be too late to reverse the effects as has happened in various countries in the developing world in which Mr Gates has been involved in his work with BMGF. The second one would be that there are several actors who need to be coordinated to address this issue together, namely: governments, companies and investors, as well as the individuals. And third, we actually have some technological resources needed to take action and even some of the works have already been put in action by both small scale companies as well as governmental bodies. In my opinion, Bill Gates’ approach in this book is informed and well-founded with factual information that correct misperception that laypeople often have regarding climate change, as well as proposing a concrete solution to address this issue. I can’t give less than 5 stars for this wonderfully educational book!

Interesting, thought-provoking, great discussion document. This is a well laid out strategy to get to zero emissions by 2050. Gates does not think he has all the answers but lays out the end goal and possible routes to achieving it. He makes some important points like planning for the ultimate goal not focusing on short term achievements that produce dead ends. He mentions this in relation to power plants. There's no point spending billions on slightly more efficient plants that last 30+ years if they still won't achieve the required reduction of carbon emissions, Better to wait a few years even but then have a long term efficient plant.

Being a business man, he knows that no-one will want green energy if it's twice the price of regular. He sees innovation as an important step to affordable green energy. Typically he doesn't suggest energy greedy countries like the USA should use less energy. He does point out that consumption in poor countries will increase dramatically.

Some of his ideas are controversial eg. spreading particles in the upper atmosphere to reflect the sun. Sounds like a scenario of a disaster movie. Also, development of newer varieties of crops with a higher yield though GM wasn't mentioned and growing meat in a laboratory rather than using animals.

Having Gates getting involved with the reduction of carbon emissions is important as he can access world leader, scientists and where necessary provide financing.

This is an honest review of a complementary ARC.

As much as I dislike Windows, I've always admired Bill Gates for what he managed to create, and most of all, for his philanthropy. And because of that, I was curious to see his point of view regarding climate change.

And he did his job right. There are a lot of info on all the factors that affects climate and leads to carbon (and not only) acumullation.

All data are structured in separate chapters, and everything is explained on everyone's understanding. It's not exactly a science book, more likely its purpose is to raise awareness about this Damocles' sword which is about to fall on our heads.

I think it's a great introduction into what climate change means, factors involved and possible solutions. Most data are focused on the US, but there are some from around the world as well.

For those who are more than familiar with the subject will not be a ground-breaking reading, but it gathers numbers and statistics which are usually found from a lot of different sources, and here you have them all together.

All in all, it was an interesting read. His vision is aimed on new technologies to help with this planetary problem, but I have found him a bit (too) optimistic, in regard to governments and their response to various solutions. In any case, we could all benefit from visionary and dedicated people like him, whose investments and involvement are a great asset for all of us. I wish there were more like him in these times.

A well-written and accessible book addressing one of the most important issues we are facing today. Gates offers tangible solutions and fully understands the large-scale, communal steps we must take to fight climate change, beyond just individual calls to recycle.

This is a timely book that looks at the seriousness of the climate crisis and what governments, industry, campaigners, individuals etc. need to do to combat it.

Bill Gates is obviously best known for co-founding Microsoft and being a technology expert. But in recent years, he has become well known for the projects he and his wife fund through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Their focus is largely on enhancing healthcare, reducing poverty and increasing education opportunities. But as Gates explains in the book, he has realised how much these issues are intertwined with the climate crisis.

The Foundation is therefore funding increasing numbers of climate related research and products. Gates has used the knowledge he has gained from his own interest over the years, from the projects he has funded and from other experts to write this book which makes suggestions on what we all need to do to help the climate crisis and crucially to get to a zero carbon future. The book is even timed well enough to include an afterword on COVID-19 and how as we (hopefully) start to rebuild after the pandemic, we can put some of the lessons learned to the climate crisis

Overall, this is a good book that makes an excellent case for the drastic actions that need to be taken. Some of the details did go over my head a bit but, importantly, Gates makes sure to include enough “real world” examples or simple explanations to make most of the points clear and understandable. I was already persuaded that everyone needs to do more to help the environment but this book certainly emphasises this and will hopefully make more people take notice and take action.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

I doubt if the irony of being responsible for increasing the world's reliance on electricity was lost on Bill Gates when he set out to write this book. Before he made his fortune, which now he admirably uses for philanthropy, his aim was to put a computer on every desk in the world.
His latest mission, which is even harder to achieve, is to reduce the world's dangerous emissions to zero.
Here he sets out in layman's terms a sensible roadmap. If you have been an advocate of clean energy probably nothing is new in this book. Though if like me, an ex diesel cab driver, you are slowly learning about climate change the book is essential reading.
The drawback for the work is that it is understandably American. If it could be edited for British consumption the book should be on the syllabus in secondary schools.