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What We Need to Do Now: For a Zero Carbon Future
The UK has declared a 'climate emergency' and pledged to become carbon neutral by 2050. So how do we get there? Drawing on actions, policies and technologies already emerging around the world, Chris Goodall sets out the ways to achieve this. His proposals include:
-Building a huge over-capacity of wind and solar energy, storing the excess as hydrogen.
-Using hydrogen to fuel our trains, shipping, boilers and heavy industry, while electrifying buses, trucks and cars.
-Farming - and eating - differently, encouraging plant-based alternatives to meat
-paying farmers to plant and maintain woodlands.
-Making fashion sustainable and aviation pay its way, funding synthetic fuels and genuine offsets.
-Using technical solutions to capture CO2 from the air, and biochar to lock carbon in the soil.
What We Need To Do Now is an urgent, practical and inspiring book that signals a green new deal for Britain.
-Building a huge over-capacity of wind and solar energy, storing the excess as hydrogen.
-Using hydrogen to fuel our trains, shipping, boilers and heavy industry, while electrifying buses, trucks and cars.
-Farming - and eating - differently, encouraging plant-based alternatives to meat
-paying farmers to plant and maintain woodlands.
-Making fashion sustainable and aviation pay its way, funding synthetic fuels and genuine offsets.
-Using technical solutions to capture CO2 from the air, and biochar to lock carbon in the soil.
What We Need To Do Now is an urgent, practical and inspiring book that signals a green new deal for Britain.
224 pages, Paperback
Published February 4, 2021
45 people are currently reading
684 people want to read
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April 15, 2020Very informative and optimistically written, but truely horrendously copyedited. I found spelling and grammar mistakes on almost every page?!
February 16, 2020
In an eminently readable, superbly researched and extraordinarily crisp book, businessman, author, and climate change expert, Chris Goodall sets out a range of what he terms are urgent measures which Britain has to adopt, if it has to cut its Carbon emissions down to zero. Currently, the UK Government on Climate Change has identified a rather bleak scenario, whereby, the year 2050 would see only about 60& of all electricity being generated from renewables. The remaining gas generation, as Mr. Goodall informs his readers, would result in over 150 million tonnes of CO2 emissions, collected and permanently stored in depleted North Sea oilfields at prohibitive costs.
Spanning an entire spectrum with reasonable and radical proposals constituting its two extreme ends, Mr. Goodall’s suggestions would not just involve significant monetary outlay but also necessitate a paradigm shift in otherwise well entrenched beliefs. The following is a summary of the salient takeaways of Mr. Goodall’s recommendations:
(The heading of each solution in bold is attributed to the reviewer)
The future is Renewable Electricity
Mr. Goodall postulates an audacious plan to increase renewable electricity generation twenty-fold. This will not only take care of the country’s electricity needs, but would also generate spare electricity. Such spare electricity, Mr. Goodall states may be converted into Hydrogen, which in turn may be utilized to manufacture power when either solar or wind energy are sparse. Electricity generated in the form of Photovoltaic cells, onshore wind farms and offshore turbines are a few potential alternatives. Hydrogen generated via a method of electrolysis is also an avenue that needs to be explored since Hydrogen in addition to possessing a high energy content, also brings to the equation the virtues of a near zero carbon footprint. Companies such as Statkraft are already realizing the enriching benefits of Hydrogen as a store for surplus renewable energy. A gas grid operator in the Netherlands, Gasunie, is embarking on a project to convert Hydrogen into low carbon aviation fuel. Another company Sunfire, using an equipment provided by Climeworks, a Swiss venture, is planning to develop an aviation fuel refinery by taking recourse to an innovative technique termed Direct Air Capture
2. Going ‘Local’
Mr. Goodall advocates both ownership and operations of renewable energy resources by towns and cities. Such urban ‘microgrids’ would be on the same lines as the German ‘stadwerken’ distributing greater than 60 percent of all German electricity. A comparable example is also provided by a technology in the United States popularly known as LO3. This microgrid in Brooklyn, facilitates homes and businesses to buy and sell electricity from each other.
3. Home is where the ‘Hearth’ Is
Homes in the UK are responsible for 15 percent of the domestic emissions, predominantly via burning of gas in central heating boilers. The solutions offered by Mr. Goodall are a complete shift to electricity, switching away from Methane to hydrogen and insulation of all homes with solar panels on the roofs. A whopping million homes a year would need upgradation to achieve Carbon neutrality by 2050.
4. ‘Drive’ Electric
Mr. Goodall informs us that more than a quarter of emissions in the UK is courtesy, transport. His solution is for transportation to go ‘electric’. Improving public transport, using car-pools, having dedicated lanes for bikes on the lines of some of the cities in The Netherlands, and seriously concentrating on the vehicle-to-grid battery storage technology, ought to be the way forward.
5. The ‘Fly’ Factor
Mr. Goodall bemoans the fact that the British constitute one of the heaviest users of air travel (emitting 7 percent of carbon in the process). While alternative substitutes such as using vegetable oils and bio fuels instead of aviation fuel/jet fuel is a possibility, the costs attached to such a radical alternative are putting it mildly, obscene. For e.g. as r. Goodall highlights, “at cruising altitude, a large jet using 100 percent bio fuel would consume the equivalent of 40,000 square meters of palm oil production an hour.” So what are the possible and practically implementable alternatives? Developing sources of synthetic fuel made from hydrogen; Rewilding Britain by funding projects of afforestation; and self-imposed curbs on non-essential flying
6. ‘Wear’ with discretion
Around 3-4 percent of UK’s carbon emissions are attributable to the fashion industry. This is essential because of what Mr. Goodall terms to be the working of a ‘linear economy’. The linear economy commences with extreme environmental pollution, in countries of manufacture, and is followed by a limited period of use, and finally concludes with an intractable waste disposal problem. The choices offered by Mr. Goodall in this sphere are pretty rudimentary and fundamental such as buying fewer, high quality clothes and prolonging their use; restricting purchases to shopping at vintage and charity shops, as well as on sites such as eBay and Depop; resizing clothes instead of discarding them, courtesy customized alteration outlets such as Oxford Alterations. One of the most sustainable fashion companies in the world Patagonia and its CEO Rose Marcario are already at the forefront of making fashion an ecologically sustainable industry.
7. Eat ‘Green’
In what has to be one of the most controversial and interesting chapters in the book, Mr. Goodall goads his readers to abhor meat and go on a completely vegetarian diet. This is due to the fact that a whopping quarter of the current global emissions are generated from food. Beef and lamb constitute formidable sources of greenhouse gases such as Methane. Paraphrasing carbon footprint expert Mike Berners-Lee, Mr. Goodall informs us that a cow uses 100 calories of food to make just 3 calories of meat. Growing heritage varieties of grains such as the ones being pioneered by John Letts, a seed specialist also aids an abets a low carbon footprint. Moving agricultural production indoors towards ‘hydroponics’ and ‘tray’ farming is also a potential emission reducing endeavor. Companies such as Jones Food Warehouse, 80 Acres etc. are already engaged in this novel method.
8. It’s ‘Geoengineering’
In addition to the usual suspect that is Carbon Tax and rewilding measures, Mr. Goodall also highlights a couple of radical and futuristic methods to help us make the transition towards zero emissions. The first such scientific exercise is called cloud whitening. Under, this technique, tiny particles of sea water are sprayed above oceans. This enables a greater portion of the sun’s energy to be reflected back into space. Stephen Salter of the University of Edinburgh is an ardent fan of this method. According to him, a fleet of 300 ships working together would have the impact of winding back temperatures by about 1.5 degrees Celsius. Not just that. 10 cubic meters of tiny drops a second, according to Mr. Salter, ‘could undo all the [global warming] damage we’ve done to the world up until now’.
The second ingenious method referred to as Solar Radiation Management (SRM) involves releasing Sulphur into the stratosphere. This method has an impact similar to cloud whitening, but much further away from the earth’s surface.
However, as Mr. Goodall admits, both the methods come with their innate flaws and the cost factor is not something that will induce eagerness amongst Climate Change proponents.
At the time of this writing, a team of Argentine researches astonished and most importantly alarmed the world by revealing that Antarctica had experienced its hottest day ever, hitting a high of 69.35 degrees Fahrenheit (20.75 degrees Celsius), thereby breaching the previously recorded high of 20 degrees Celsius. If this does not provide monument to the accelerating pace of global change nothing else will. It is high time that we dust ourselves off, stop remaining ostriches with necks buried deep in the sands of condescension and do our own bit towards preventing a global calamity, which might be nearer than what we have smugly assumed to be.
Reading Mr. Goodall’s book might be the first step towards such a move.
Spanning an entire spectrum with reasonable and radical proposals constituting its two extreme ends, Mr. Goodall’s suggestions would not just involve significant monetary outlay but also necessitate a paradigm shift in otherwise well entrenched beliefs. The following is a summary of the salient takeaways of Mr. Goodall’s recommendations:
(The heading of each solution in bold is attributed to the reviewer)
The future is Renewable Electricity
Mr. Goodall postulates an audacious plan to increase renewable electricity generation twenty-fold. This will not only take care of the country’s electricity needs, but would also generate spare electricity. Such spare electricity, Mr. Goodall states may be converted into Hydrogen, which in turn may be utilized to manufacture power when either solar or wind energy are sparse. Electricity generated in the form of Photovoltaic cells, onshore wind farms and offshore turbines are a few potential alternatives. Hydrogen generated via a method of electrolysis is also an avenue that needs to be explored since Hydrogen in addition to possessing a high energy content, also brings to the equation the virtues of a near zero carbon footprint. Companies such as Statkraft are already realizing the enriching benefits of Hydrogen as a store for surplus renewable energy. A gas grid operator in the Netherlands, Gasunie, is embarking on a project to convert Hydrogen into low carbon aviation fuel. Another company Sunfire, using an equipment provided by Climeworks, a Swiss venture, is planning to develop an aviation fuel refinery by taking recourse to an innovative technique termed Direct Air Capture
2. Going ‘Local’
Mr. Goodall advocates both ownership and operations of renewable energy resources by towns and cities. Such urban ‘microgrids’ would be on the same lines as the German ‘stadwerken’ distributing greater than 60 percent of all German electricity. A comparable example is also provided by a technology in the United States popularly known as LO3. This microgrid in Brooklyn, facilitates homes and businesses to buy and sell electricity from each other.
3. Home is where the ‘Hearth’ Is
Homes in the UK are responsible for 15 percent of the domestic emissions, predominantly via burning of gas in central heating boilers. The solutions offered by Mr. Goodall are a complete shift to electricity, switching away from Methane to hydrogen and insulation of all homes with solar panels on the roofs. A whopping million homes a year would need upgradation to achieve Carbon neutrality by 2050.
4. ‘Drive’ Electric
Mr. Goodall informs us that more than a quarter of emissions in the UK is courtesy, transport. His solution is for transportation to go ‘electric’. Improving public transport, using car-pools, having dedicated lanes for bikes on the lines of some of the cities in The Netherlands, and seriously concentrating on the vehicle-to-grid battery storage technology, ought to be the way forward.
5. The ‘Fly’ Factor
Mr. Goodall bemoans the fact that the British constitute one of the heaviest users of air travel (emitting 7 percent of carbon in the process). While alternative substitutes such as using vegetable oils and bio fuels instead of aviation fuel/jet fuel is a possibility, the costs attached to such a radical alternative are putting it mildly, obscene. For e.g. as r. Goodall highlights, “at cruising altitude, a large jet using 100 percent bio fuel would consume the equivalent of 40,000 square meters of palm oil production an hour.” So what are the possible and practically implementable alternatives? Developing sources of synthetic fuel made from hydrogen; Rewilding Britain by funding projects of afforestation; and self-imposed curbs on non-essential flying
6. ‘Wear’ with discretion
Around 3-4 percent of UK’s carbon emissions are attributable to the fashion industry. This is essential because of what Mr. Goodall terms to be the working of a ‘linear economy’. The linear economy commences with extreme environmental pollution, in countries of manufacture, and is followed by a limited period of use, and finally concludes with an intractable waste disposal problem. The choices offered by Mr. Goodall in this sphere are pretty rudimentary and fundamental such as buying fewer, high quality clothes and prolonging their use; restricting purchases to shopping at vintage and charity shops, as well as on sites such as eBay and Depop; resizing clothes instead of discarding them, courtesy customized alteration outlets such as Oxford Alterations. One of the most sustainable fashion companies in the world Patagonia and its CEO Rose Marcario are already at the forefront of making fashion an ecologically sustainable industry.
7. Eat ‘Green’
In what has to be one of the most controversial and interesting chapters in the book, Mr. Goodall goads his readers to abhor meat and go on a completely vegetarian diet. This is due to the fact that a whopping quarter of the current global emissions are generated from food. Beef and lamb constitute formidable sources of greenhouse gases such as Methane. Paraphrasing carbon footprint expert Mike Berners-Lee, Mr. Goodall informs us that a cow uses 100 calories of food to make just 3 calories of meat. Growing heritage varieties of grains such as the ones being pioneered by John Letts, a seed specialist also aids an abets a low carbon footprint. Moving agricultural production indoors towards ‘hydroponics’ and ‘tray’ farming is also a potential emission reducing endeavor. Companies such as Jones Food Warehouse, 80 Acres etc. are already engaged in this novel method.
8. It’s ‘Geoengineering’
In addition to the usual suspect that is Carbon Tax and rewilding measures, Mr. Goodall also highlights a couple of radical and futuristic methods to help us make the transition towards zero emissions. The first such scientific exercise is called cloud whitening. Under, this technique, tiny particles of sea water are sprayed above oceans. This enables a greater portion of the sun’s energy to be reflected back into space. Stephen Salter of the University of Edinburgh is an ardent fan of this method. According to him, a fleet of 300 ships working together would have the impact of winding back temperatures by about 1.5 degrees Celsius. Not just that. 10 cubic meters of tiny drops a second, according to Mr. Salter, ‘could undo all the [global warming] damage we’ve done to the world up until now’.
The second ingenious method referred to as Solar Radiation Management (SRM) involves releasing Sulphur into the stratosphere. This method has an impact similar to cloud whitening, but much further away from the earth’s surface.
However, as Mr. Goodall admits, both the methods come with their innate flaws and the cost factor is not something that will induce eagerness amongst Climate Change proponents.
At the time of this writing, a team of Argentine researches astonished and most importantly alarmed the world by revealing that Antarctica had experienced its hottest day ever, hitting a high of 69.35 degrees Fahrenheit (20.75 degrees Celsius), thereby breaching the previously recorded high of 20 degrees Celsius. If this does not provide monument to the accelerating pace of global change nothing else will. It is high time that we dust ourselves off, stop remaining ostriches with necks buried deep in the sands of condescension and do our own bit towards preventing a global calamity, which might be nearer than what we have smugly assumed to be.
Reading Mr. Goodall’s book might be the first step towards such a move.
May 23, 2022
This should be mandatory reading for every MP in the UK right now. I'm glad to have seen a few headlines lately that allude to the solutions mentioned in this book, but I'm not sure the most important ones are being put to use yet. It definitely makes you want to be better for the sake of future generations.
February 26, 2022
Daunting, but inspiring and straightforward.
September 28, 2021
Sick book. It tells you so much about climate change (and so much that I honestly never knew), but never gives you too much detail. It’s real, it doesn’t ‘bible bash’ and gives a holistic view of the changes that will, and need to, be put in place over the next 5-30 years.
No doubt I’ll be going on and on about this stuff for weeks now. Also, I’m gunna buy an electric car.
Loved. It.
No doubt I’ll be going on and on about this stuff for weeks now. Also, I’m gunna buy an electric car.
Loved. It.
March 20, 2024
Pretty great! Clearly and confidently articulated, straight to the point.
Overall all the book lists and explains what the author believes are the most effective ways to help mitigate and adapt to climate change. Includes informative and interesting discussion of reforestation, reducing consumption, decentralising infrastructure and pools of capital, “introduce a meaningful carbon tax, remitting its proceeds to the less well-off, with the principle objective of incentivising the big fossil fuel companies to switch from oil and gas to zero carbon energy.”, etc.
Describes the realistic infrastructure and systems required for a sustainable future, such as hydrogen storage, excess electricity production, etc., in detail.
Introduced me to some things I didn’t really know about like direct carbon capture / sequestration in calcium carbonate and other rock/mineral forms. Also talked more clearly than anyone I’ve seen before about the exact literal forms that useful carbon taxes and legislation could take, for example, totally equal carbon credits per person worth 1 short-haul flight of carbon emissions, which can be freely traded and sold at a set commodity price, thus directly monetarily benefiting lower-income people who weren’t going to be causing those flight emissions anyway, and the “taxation” of the carbon emissions disproportionately released by rich frequent flyers is both high, and directly paid to those who are going to be most effected by climate change in the nation. Pretty good 👍
Some critiques:
Very very U.K.-centric, like in all the statistics and projections and details, and is also very full of current (thus fleetingly relevant) statistics and industry status updates.
I think also that in terms of truly utopian success in creating sustainable futures, as this book tries to design and present, the economic reconfiguration will need to be more dramatically revolutionary, and unfortunately I don’t put hope in the idea that “Capitalism can and should be the servant of the energy transition.” Weirdly very pro-SHELL and BP companies and keeps referencing them as though the evil fossil fuel mogul will somehow save the world with their research funding and things……. Hmm.
I also think there’s a few ignorant or overly simplified assumptions like that solar energy infrastructure is actually sustainable (it is not really), that non-vegan agriculture is inherently unsustainable (also not true), and a focus on revegetation as specifically and only reforestation and planting more woodlands, totally ignoring important ecosystems like grasslands and bogs, etc.
Overall still think it’s a really cool book though, and while it may not be perfect, if the author got his way or more people listened to him it would still for sure be a win for the planet and for people.
Overall all the book lists and explains what the author believes are the most effective ways to help mitigate and adapt to climate change. Includes informative and interesting discussion of reforestation, reducing consumption, decentralising infrastructure and pools of capital, “introduce a meaningful carbon tax, remitting its proceeds to the less well-off, with the principle objective of incentivising the big fossil fuel companies to switch from oil and gas to zero carbon energy.”, etc.
Describes the realistic infrastructure and systems required for a sustainable future, such as hydrogen storage, excess electricity production, etc., in detail.
Introduced me to some things I didn’t really know about like direct carbon capture / sequestration in calcium carbonate and other rock/mineral forms. Also talked more clearly than anyone I’ve seen before about the exact literal forms that useful carbon taxes and legislation could take, for example, totally equal carbon credits per person worth 1 short-haul flight of carbon emissions, which can be freely traded and sold at a set commodity price, thus directly monetarily benefiting lower-income people who weren’t going to be causing those flight emissions anyway, and the “taxation” of the carbon emissions disproportionately released by rich frequent flyers is both high, and directly paid to those who are going to be most effected by climate change in the nation. Pretty good 👍
Some critiques:
Very very U.K.-centric, like in all the statistics and projections and details, and is also very full of current (thus fleetingly relevant) statistics and industry status updates.
I think also that in terms of truly utopian success in creating sustainable futures, as this book tries to design and present, the economic reconfiguration will need to be more dramatically revolutionary, and unfortunately I don’t put hope in the idea that “Capitalism can and should be the servant of the energy transition.” Weirdly very pro-SHELL and BP companies and keeps referencing them as though the evil fossil fuel mogul will somehow save the world with their research funding and things……. Hmm.
I also think there’s a few ignorant or overly simplified assumptions like that solar energy infrastructure is actually sustainable (it is not really), that non-vegan agriculture is inherently unsustainable (also not true), and a focus on revegetation as specifically and only reforestation and planting more woodlands, totally ignoring important ecosystems like grasslands and bogs, etc.
Overall still think it’s a really cool book though, and while it may not be perfect, if the author got his way or more people listened to him it would still for sure be a win for the planet and for people.
February 4, 2024
One of my favourite books on climate change and the ecological crisis. Excellently structured, researched and very pointed. By clearly creating a sectoral roadmap of how the UK can achieve net-zero economy by 2050 Goddall shows how much work needs to be done but also how achievable this goal can be if we put the right policies in place.
An incredibly accessible piece of academic writing that summarizes so well the key challenges facing each sector of the UK economy the reader comes away feeling armed with knowledge on what needs to be done.
Particularly excellent if you need an introduction to climate policy, or enjoy economics and politics in general. Easy and fascinating read.
An incredibly accessible piece of academic writing that summarizes so well the key challenges facing each sector of the UK economy the reader comes away feeling armed with knowledge on what needs to be done.
Particularly excellent if you need an introduction to climate policy, or enjoy economics and politics in general. Easy and fascinating read.
July 18, 2023
I found this book really inspiring and hopeful. The technology and science is there (pretty much) for us to massively reduce our carbon emissions. I just wish there was the political will and action to back it up. The picture Goodall paints of a zero-carbon future looks pretty good to me - particularly in the energy sector and transport. I just wish that this was required reading for every politician. The audiobook narration by Jonathan Keeble is unremarkable and unobtrusive, which is appropriate for this type of book.
June 25, 2021
What We Need To Do Now is go further than Chris Goodall suggests in this book. It's all very sensible and moderated with the occasional bit of almost interesting information such as the section discussing heart pumps. But... I don't think anyone listening to experts and activists about climate change will learn anything useful by reading this. Can't think of anyone out of touch enough to recommend it to that isn't a politician.
December 19, 2024
Wow, in 2019 the focus of the world really was in climate change – sadly not anymore. The book provides some inspiration specifically for the UK how to fight greenhouse gasses emissions. In some parts I got lots in what is a hard fact and what is an assumption, but that's really hard as a lot of numbers related to emissions vary depending on the source/way of calculating. Good read regardless
February 4, 2021
So many spelling errors
August 17, 2021
As I write this (17 August 2021), hydrogen power is in the news as a major potential energy source for the next 10 years. Goodall tells us why, as part of a big-picture snapshot of positive actions government and policy makers can - and must - make in the face of climate and biodiversity breakdowns.
I say government, as although Goodall gives readers a 20 point checklist on personal actions we can individually take, he rightly focuses on the necessity of globally coordinated policy regulation and co-working with industry. This book pulls no punches, but instead delivers a punchy but positive view on how we must cut down flights, meat consumption, fossil fuels, new clothes and inefficient housing, and build back better with a green new deal far beyond the scope of our current UK government's meagre plans.
There is hope from countries around the world (Sweden, Germany and France in Europe, but also others), and new technologies such as carbon capture are considered realistically as hopeful but cost-dependent.
This is a must read.
I say government, as although Goodall gives readers a 20 point checklist on personal actions we can individually take, he rightly focuses on the necessity of globally coordinated policy regulation and co-working with industry. This book pulls no punches, but instead delivers a punchy but positive view on how we must cut down flights, meat consumption, fossil fuels, new clothes and inefficient housing, and build back better with a green new deal far beyond the scope of our current UK government's meagre plans.
There is hope from countries around the world (Sweden, Germany and France in Europe, but also others), and new technologies such as carbon capture are considered realistically as hopeful but cost-dependent.
This is a must read.
March 4, 2020
Comprehensive, concise, and hopeful.
October 23, 2020
Not so many solid arguments here and there (e.g.: the bioengineering chapter) but all in all a pleasant to read book. Caution: it is only UK-focused.
March 21, 2025
Concise and very readable. The problem is that it was written five years ago... And nowhere near enough progress has been made to address the problems we face
December 7, 2021
Reading Challenge 2021: 18. Un libro sobre un tema que te apasione
November 17, 2023
(I listened to the audiobook).
So this book was really informative and interesting however there were a few points I didn’t agree with. For example, putting a tax on fuel cars and meat because that will just automatically affect those with lower incomes.
Also it was quite sad to see how our climate impact hasn’t improved 2020 (when this book was published).
So this book was really informative and interesting however there were a few points I didn’t agree with. For example, putting a tax on fuel cars and meat because that will just automatically affect those with lower incomes.
Also it was quite sad to see how our climate impact hasn’t improved 2020 (when this book was published).
May 11, 2020
This book is a mix of easily accessible numbers, uplifting examples and realistic tips on how to deal with climate change in a rich country
March 28, 2022
This book was incredibly researched and well laid out as to how we can reach a zero-carbon future together. It outlined things we can do as individuals and as a society which I thought was really good because in order to do this we all need to work together and advocate and speak out so governing bodies implement the correct policies and schemes.
The ideas and proposals in this book are things that have been already talked about when it comes to reducing climate change but there are also lots of ideas that people have probably never thought of that could work really well.
I especially liked that every time the book proposed an idea to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, it also highlighted the reasons that could be argued against the idea, this was great as it showed the limitations and side effects we would need to consider.
I think the ideas proposed on what needs to be done on a societal and individual level were reasonable and well within our capacity to do, however, we just need the right people to see these ideas and implement them. Lots of people argue that we do not have the financial capabilities as a society to actually put these proposals into action but as the book states "Capitalism can and should be the servant of the energy transition." It would be cheaper, in the long run, to reduce our impact on climate change now than to deal with its consequences in the future.
The ideas and proposals in this book are things that have been already talked about when it comes to reducing climate change but there are also lots of ideas that people have probably never thought of that could work really well.
I especially liked that every time the book proposed an idea to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, it also highlighted the reasons that could be argued against the idea, this was great as it showed the limitations and side effects we would need to consider.
I think the ideas proposed on what needs to be done on a societal and individual level were reasonable and well within our capacity to do, however, we just need the right people to see these ideas and implement them. Lots of people argue that we do not have the financial capabilities as a society to actually put these proposals into action but as the book states "Capitalism can and should be the servant of the energy transition." It would be cheaper, in the long run, to reduce our impact on climate change now than to deal with its consequences in the future.
December 25, 2021
If this wasn't such an important topic, I'd give this book 2 stars. It focuses exclusively on the UK situation. Fair enough for a book targeting the UK, but I was hoping that it would have at least some discussion about the situation in other parts of the world. The book's solutions are often ones that need massive societal and political changes - with few that allow of smaller changes. I can see the point: only radical change can dig us out of this hole - but surely there must be a raft of less radical changes that we can adapt as well?
Still I think that it is worth reading because Goodall considers everything, even options that many climate activists dismiss - such as a carbon tax and geo-engineering. In his view the situation is grave and every option must be pursued. He does a good job of conveying the scale of the change required to reduce emissions enough by 2050. Something I hadn't quite grasped before. Equally, he doesn't flinch from making the very unfashionable (politically at least) call that in order to prevent devastating climate change we must reduce our overall consumption. Ending on a set of things that we can do individually (noting that large scale change is the most important thing) - I'm at least left with some things that are applicable to me, here. Outside the UK.
Still I think that it is worth reading because Goodall considers everything, even options that many climate activists dismiss - such as a carbon tax and geo-engineering. In his view the situation is grave and every option must be pursued. He does a good job of conveying the scale of the change required to reduce emissions enough by 2050. Something I hadn't quite grasped before. Equally, he doesn't flinch from making the very unfashionable (politically at least) call that in order to prevent devastating climate change we must reduce our overall consumption. Ending on a set of things that we can do individually (noting that large scale change is the most important thing) - I'm at least left with some things that are applicable to me, here. Outside the UK.
October 12, 2022
I have given a few copies to friends and colleagues of David Wallace-Wells excellent, if terrifying, The Uninhabitable Earth which I reviewed here 3 years ago on October 5th and was one of my books of the year in 2019. Having scared myself stupid, I was in the market for some possible solutions and had Chris Goodall’s What We Need To Do Now (Profile), published in 2020, recommended to me by my youngest son who is a net zero geologist. The book clearly and simply goes through the most likely to be successful options we have to become carbon neutral by 2050. It’s focused on the UK and needs just about all of them, and possibly more, to be undertaken and soon. Building a huge over-capacity of wind and solar energy to generate electricity and storing the excess as hydrogen which can fuel our heavy industry and transport and act as the backup fuel when renewables cannot. So in tune with our government’s current policies (written on Wednesday 12th October so update as necessary on a daily basis). Farming, woodlands, fashion and carbon capture also feature. Still scary but it does demonstrate that paralysis is not an option and we should be getting on with it – a 2° temperature rise is not a win/lose barrier and every subsequent 0.1° increase is critical. I shall give this book to a few more people too.
May 22, 2020
A short book outlining how UK could move to a carbon-neutral future.
Most of the suggestions are reasonable (improve insulation, electrify transportation, build large offshore wind farms), and some are well reasoned (he argues convincingly for a $100/ton CO2 tax), but some are less so. He seems to have drunk the cool-aid of Hydrogen as a miracle storage solution for electricity, without asking any uncomfortable questions. Storing hydrogen is neither easy nor efficient with current technology.
He also has very rose-tinted spectacles when it comes to 'local autonomy', and wants to give more power and authority to municipal utilities, rather than centralized entities. Personally I see large risks in that local corruption is typically much less policed than national, and losing out on the economy-of-scale should not be seen as an advantage. (Even if it generates local employment.)
Most of the suggestions are reasonable (improve insulation, electrify transportation, build large offshore wind farms), and some are well reasoned (he argues convincingly for a $100/ton CO2 tax), but some are less so. He seems to have drunk the cool-aid of Hydrogen as a miracle storage solution for electricity, without asking any uncomfortable questions. Storing hydrogen is neither easy nor efficient with current technology.
He also has very rose-tinted spectacles when it comes to 'local autonomy', and wants to give more power and authority to municipal utilities, rather than centralized entities. Personally I see large risks in that local corruption is typically much less policed than national, and losing out on the economy-of-scale should not be seen as an advantage. (Even if it generates local employment.)
Read
September 29, 2023Best thing about this book is that I stumbled upon one of those insta challenges, that said "add -in my bed- to the title of the book you are reading", and:
What We Need to Do Now in My Bed:
For a Zero Carbon Future
was entertaining to no end. I usually listen to books when I cycle around town, so when the mind wanders, that's a chuckle that would bring me back to the book.
Solid listen, some interesting stats.
It's always interesting to hear what was known (and tried and hoped) already 4 years ago (or any other point in time), and how we are still here at the "hottest summer yet" every year.
Not sure what was a hype of the era and would be good to see how many things developed and are on track.
Also I signed up for the library, so I get to listen to all these audiobooks, LIfe's pretty good this way. I hope to listen to many more such books.
What We Need to Do Now in My Bed:
For a Zero Carbon Future
was entertaining to no end. I usually listen to books when I cycle around town, so when the mind wanders, that's a chuckle that would bring me back to the book.
Solid listen, some interesting stats.
It's always interesting to hear what was known (and tried and hoped) already 4 years ago (or any other point in time), and how we are still here at the "hottest summer yet" every year.
Not sure what was a hype of the era and would be good to see how many things developed and are on track.
Also I signed up for the library, so I get to listen to all these audiobooks, LIfe's pretty good this way. I hope to listen to many more such books.
February 16, 2023
Liked: The prioritisation of actions and simple language.
Disliked: There is flawed logic in woodland planting and it calculates the payback periods of technology incorrectly. There is a glib assumption that spending 1% of the GDP is not an unreasonable ask. To clarify my stance, the environment is priceless and if I would fully support bearing this cost. But it is shortsighted to assume others would. The book doesn't actually offer a way forward that addresses the huge financial barriers associated with technology.
Disliked: There is flawed logic in woodland planting and it calculates the payback periods of technology incorrectly. There is a glib assumption that spending 1% of the GDP is not an unreasonable ask. To clarify my stance, the environment is priceless and if I would fully support bearing this cost. But it is shortsighted to assume others would. The book doesn't actually offer a way forward that addresses the huge financial barriers associated with technology.
March 3, 2022
Concise and to the point-we have a very short time to get a grip on this crisis and this book offers some helpful and considered pointers.
Ramp up renewable power until it is virtually free/limitlessly available; convert to electric or hydrogen; insulate; moderate consumption and diet; educate…little to argue with here.
Crisply written - I’d also recommend the author’s weekly Carbon Commentary newsletter, available through his website, for more of the same.
Ramp up renewable power until it is virtually free/limitlessly available; convert to electric or hydrogen; insulate; moderate consumption and diet; educate…little to argue with here.
Crisply written - I’d also recommend the author’s weekly Carbon Commentary newsletter, available through his website, for more of the same.
January 28, 2025
An interesting and informative read with seemingly easy proposals to action..
I wish the author had at least touched on the potential side effects of consuming ultra-processed meat alternatives. They might be more eco friendly but it doesn't mean they're 'good' for you as part of a balanced, healthy diet. More emphasis should be placed on incorporating a diverse range of whole, plant-based foods that's easy and economical to produce.
I wish the author had at least touched on the potential side effects of consuming ultra-processed meat alternatives. They might be more eco friendly but it doesn't mean they're 'good' for you as part of a balanced, healthy diet. More emphasis should be placed on incorporating a diverse range of whole, plant-based foods that's easy and economical to produce.
August 15, 2020
This book presents some interesting ideas about how one as an individual can lower his or her carbon footprint. Using Statistics, this book also makes proposals to the government in England to switch to a carbon zero future. Clearly, it becomes very easy to imagine a future using sustainable technologies after reading this book.
November 19, 2022
A must read for everyone. Nicely summarises is easy to understand language the extent of the climate emergency and the kinds of innovations and actions that may help to save us. It's a useful tool for people who may want to lobby their local council or MP about action being taken. Or to get ideas on ways you can make a difference to your own carbon footprint.
January 22, 2023
Full of good advice and ideas to stop climate change, however, in the 3 years since this book was published, I don't get the impression that we've progressed at all. One of his suggestions of how you can help on a personal level, joining climate change demonstrations, has now been made illegal if their likely to cause disruption.
July 1, 2025
Next to no citations, pie in the sky claims about green hydrogen, an odd and remarkably out of touch comment about fast fashion being a good thing for people in Bangladesh and Cambodia, and zero understanding of regenerative ag and rewilding. Goodall clings, child-like, to fairytales of a positive role for capitalism in green transition. Leave it to an economist…
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