Speed & Scale - by John Doerr (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

"If you care about climate change, John Doerr's new book, Speed & Scale, offers concrete steps that we can all take to make a difference." - Barack Obama

With clear-eyed realism and an engineer's precision, Doerr lays out the practical actions, global ambitions, and economic investments we need to avert climate catastrophe. Guided by real-world solutions, Speed & Scale features unprecedented, firsthand accounts from climate leaders such as Laurene Powell Jobs, Christiana Figueres, Al Gore, Mary Barra, John Kerry, and dozens of other intrepid policymakers, innovators, and scientists.

In Speed & Scale, Doerr presents a compelling 10-step plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050-the global goal we need to reach to ensure a livable Earth for generations to come. From electrifying our energy grid to fixing our global food supply chain to capturing carbon from the air, Speed & Scale contains practical solutions for policymakers and entrepreneurs alike.

As the world confronts an urgent climate crisis, Doerr reminds us that it is also the greatest economic opportunity of our lifetimes. Whether you're a climate scientist or someone striving to make a difference in your local community, this book will help you to activate the sustainable solutions the world urgently needs.

Praise for Speed & Scale

"Everybody should get Speed & Scale by John Doerr." - Meryl Streep

"A practical guide for participation in decarbonizing the global economy, a task as challenging as it is urgent." - Christiana Figueres

Review Quotes

"This book is a critical blueprint for anyone looking to take concrete steps to reach net-zero emissions. Unlike many who simply issue ambiguous long-dated pledges to help solve the climate crisis, John Doerr understands the urgent need to ACT quickly and decisively. With Speed & Scale, he combines his extensive experience as a legendary technology expert and investor with his tried-and-true management methods to put forward a clear, detailed, and comprehensive plan for climate action exactly when we need it most."
- Al Gore, former U.S. Vice President

"John Doerr is a man with a plan for our planet - and boy do we need one. Keep away if you don't think commerce can play a creative role... or want deep dive analytics from someone who is always measuring what matters. He matters."
- Bono

"John Doerr is the world's leading mind on turning truly audacious goals into objectives and key results. In this culminating contribution, he performs an inspired act of world leadership: plying his craft to create a comprehensive plan to tackle one of the most vexing challenges in human history."
- Jim Collins, author of Good to Great and Built to Last

"With personal insight and visionary foresight, Doerr provides us with a practical guide for both public and private sector participation in decarbonizing the global economy, a task as challenging as it is urgent."
- Christiana Figueres, former executive secretary of the UN Climate Change Convention

"Speed & Scale is critical reading for anyone who wants to take action on the most important issue of our time: climate change. It's a challenge that feels impossible to solve, but John Doerr outlines a clear path forward and how we can get involved to make an impact."
- Susan Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube

"A practical path in the fight against climate change... Doerr approaches the problem as a hard-nosed businessman who sees an opportunity, creates a plan, and organizes resources before moving ahead... crafts a specific, comprehensible description of the elements that contribute to climate change and what needs to be done... guided by ingenious illustrations and often startling facts."
- Kirkus Reviews

"Meaningfully reducing carbon emissions will take big, bold moves and small, meaningful changes. In Speed & Scale, John provides a clear and compelling plan that can help any company embrace sustainability as an innovation opportunity and make it a foundational corporate value."
- Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google and Alphabet

"Urgent action is needed to solve the climate crisis, which is felt more acutely, by more people, every day. Speed & Scale lays out a tangible and comprehensive action plan on how to tackle the climate crisis and secure a livable planet for future generations."
- Henrik Poulsen, former CEO of Orsted

"In Speed & Scale, John shifts the climate conversation from the abstract to the specific. This book is a tactical plan for what solving climate change actually entails. Executing this will undoubtedly be hard, but a plan makes the problem tractable."
- Nan Ransohoff, Head of Climate at Stripe

About the Author

John Doerr is an engineer, venture capitalist, the chairman of Kleiner Perkins, and the author of the best-selling Measure What Matters. He was an original investor and board member at Google and Amazon, helping to create more than half a million jobs. A pioneer of Silicon Valley's clean tech movement, Doerr has invested in zero emission technologies since 2006. He's passionate about encouraging leaders to reimagine the future, from transforming healthcare to advancing applications of machine learning. Outside Kleiner Perkins, Doerr works with social entrepreneurs who are tackling systemic issues across climate, public health, and education.

Ryan Panchadsaram is an engineer and investor focused on solving systemic, societal challenges. At Kleiner Perkins, Ryan serves as technical advisor to John Doerr, where he invests in founders and technologies that aim to change the world. Ryan and John collaborated on Speed & Scale and number one bestseller Measure What Matters. Under President Obama, Ryan was Deputy Chief Technology Officer of the United States, where he championed entrepreneurship, innovation, and open data.