Chapters 10 and 11 (“Why Government Policies Matter” and “A Plan for Getting to Zero”) focus on government policies.
He summarizes adaptation as risk reduction before events, emergency services during them, and recovery after them. In Chapter 9 (“Adapting to a Warmer World”), Gates switches from the book’s overarching topic-fighting climate change-to looking at how we must adapt to its effects as we work toward the goal of zero emissions. As an example of a Green Premium, if a gallon of gasoline costs $3.00 and a gallon of biofuel costs $5.00, the Green Premium is $2.00. The pattern is the same in each chapter: an analysis of how the activity creates greenhouse gases, the current and evolving technology that can help cut emissions, and the associated Green Premiums (the costs that exceed those of non-green solutions). These questions relate to quantifying percentages of total emissions, identifying emission sources, calculating power needs, determining the physical requirements for various solutions, and calculating costs.Ĭhapters 4 through 8 (“How We Plug In,” “How We Make Things,” “How We Grow Things,” “How We Get Around,” and “How We Keep Cool and Stay Warm”) examine the five categories of activities that create the most greenhouse gases, how we might get each of them to zero emissions, and how much that will cost. Chapter 3 (“Five Questions to Ask in Any Climate Conversation”) puts the situation into context, as Gates outlines five questions people can ask to help understand the statistics and have informed discussions about climate change. Challenges include our reliance on fossil fuels for a vast range of affordable solutions (and big-industry’s resistance to change), the lack of time to act (and convince enough people of the imperative’s urgency), and massive growing pains. In Chapter 2 (“This Will Be Hard”), Gates outlines the difficulty of getting to net zero. Gates specifies that realistically this goal must be “net zero” emissions, in which we still emit some carbon but then remove it from the atmosphere. Chapter 1 (“Why Zero?”) explains why it’s necessary to not just reduce greenhouse gas emissions but get to zero. In addition, Gates talks about his journey in learning about climate change. The Introduction (“51 Billion to Zero”) sets out the book’s main thesis: The world currently emits 51 billion tons of greenhouse gases a year, and we must get that number to zero. This book is his effort to not only share information about climate change but also map out a plan for avoiding the worst disasters it causes.
As he learned more about the topic, he saw how it intertwines with climate change and became more passionate about fighting this phenomenon. During his travels, he saw firsthand the significant role of electricity in improving people’s lives.
Gates writes that the book is a result of his work with the Gates Foundation, which he cofounded with his former wife, Melinda French Gates.
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