Will I love Five Times Faster?

I bought this book after hearing its author, Simon Sharpe, speak about it at a festival. His talk was very inspiring and convincing, and the book definitely matched my expectations.

As a sustainability academic, it really appealed to me the way he sets out how current practices in science, economics, and diplomacy don’t work, and then proceeds to provide alternative solutions to address climate change, which is very compelling.

I liked that the call for action was not in the obvious areas that we normally pursue for climate action, and that despite all setbacks and lack of progress, there is… show more.

The subtitle of this book is rethinking the science, economics, and diplomacy of climate change. And trust me Simon does that for you and more.

Because the world is facing multiple disasters with heatwaves, droughts, wildfires, floods, and massive storms becoming more common and more deadly. But there is an underlying optimism in this book – things are changing and we are reducing carbon emissions, pollution, and destruction of the natural world. But the message Simon is giving us is that we are not doing it quick enough.

The way our economic and political systems are set up means we… show more.

Simon Sharpe has a knack for original thinking. His book is a tour de force in three parts.

Having explained on page 1 that to keep the climate “just about safe and stable” requires a reduction in global greenhouse emissions per unit of GDP at a rate five times faster than we have managed for the past two decades (hence the title) – he proceeds to examine the performance and practices of the climate science community, the mainstream economists, and the diplomats.

In each case, with ruthless clarity, he finds them wanting. The science community has overdosed on… show more.