Book Excerpt: How Kleiner Perkins Missed Out on Tesla—and Why That’s OK in the Long Run
In an excerpt from his new book, "Speed & Scale," investor John Doerr explains why electrifying our transportation is key to solving the climate crisis.
All told, the average global temperature has risen by about 1 degree Celsius—or almost 2 degrees Fahrenheit—since 1880. Four degrees Celsius of warming—what numerous studies show will be our fate based on current emissions trends—would devastate the global economy, on a scale that would far surpass the 2008 financial crisis, sending us into a permanent climate depression.
But frankly, warnings of this sort aren’t likely to move us onto a planet-saving path. Without a road map, people are slow to commit to change. So here it is: Speed & Scale: An Action Plan for Solving Our Climate Crisis Now. The goal line: to reduce total global emissions from 59 gigatons today to net zero by 2050.
Our global countdown covers five broad sources of emissions, including energy, agriculture, nature, and industry. But it all starts with transportation.