Five times faster: rethinking the science, economics, and diplomacy of climate change
- Cambridge Cambridge University Press 2025
- xi, 438 p.
Table of Contents:
1. Introduction Part I. Science: 2. Looking up at the dam 3. Knowing the least about what matters most 4. Telling the boiling frog what he needs to know 5. Runaway tipping points of no return 6. The meaning of conservative 7. More than science 8. Tell the truth Part II. Economics: 9. Worse than useless 10. The allocation of scarce resources 11. The configuration of abundance 12. Not just fixing the foundations 13. Investing with our eyes open 14. Regulating for a free lunch 15. Stuck in first gear 16. Runaway tipping points of no return, revisited 17. Revolutionary Part III. Diplomacy: 18. A foreseeable failure 19. The greatest public relations gamble in history 20. System change, not climate change 21. Better late than never 22. From coal to clean power 23. From oil to electric vehicles 24. From deforestation to sustainable development 25. The Breakthrough Agenda 26. Competition and cooperation 27. Tipping cascades 28. Epilogue. Appendix: How you can help.
We need to act five times faster to avoid dangerous climate change. This is an inside story from Simon Sharpe, who has spent ten years at the forefront of climate change policy and diplomacy. In our fight to avoid dangerous climate change, science is pulling its punches, diplomacy is picking the wrong battles, and economics has been fighting for the other side. This provocative and engaging book sets out how we should rethink our strategies and reorganise our efforts in the fields of science, economics, and diplomacy, so that we can act fast enough to stay safe. This edition has been brought up-to-date throughout, and includes a new chapter on how international cooperation on climate change can be reconciled with economic and geopolitical competition. It also includes a response to the question the book has most often provoked: 'How can I help?'
A policy insider's compelling views on science, economics, and diplomacy showing how changes in each could lead to faster progress in addressing climate change Many examples from Sharpe's personal experiences in climate policy and diplomacy Goes against conventional wisdom and contradicts some mainstream narratives about climate change solutions, providing a fresh perspective and new ideas This new paperback edition has been brought up-to-date throughout This new paperback edition includes a brand new chapter on how international cooperation on climate change can be reconciled with economic and geopolitical competition This new paperback edition also includes a response to the question the book has most often provoked: 'How can I help?'