Five Times Faster cover art

Five Times Faster

Rethinking the Science, Economics, and Diplomacy of Climate Change

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Five Times Faster

By: Simon Sharpe
Narrated by: Michael Langan
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About this listen

We need to act five times faster to avoid dangerous climate change. As Greenland melts, Australia burns, and greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, we think we know who the villains are: oil companies, consumerism, weak political leaders. But what if the real blocks to progress are the ideas and institutions that are supposed to be helping us?

Five Times Faster 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 reorganize our efforts in the fields of science, economics, and diplomacy, so that we can act fast enough to stay safe.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 Simon Sharpe (P)2024 Tantor Environment Nature & Ecology Outdoors & Nature Politics & Government Science

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Most relevant
I really enjoyed this book. I wish more people like Simon Sharpe had the ear of policy-makers and decision-makers. It gave me hope that we can actually make the transition to a more sustainable economy. I preferred the sections on science and economics; the diplomacy of climate change is interesting but so frustrating!

A few things I learned include: carbon tax is better than cap and trade because cap and trade has balancing feedbacks that negate the benefits. Also, economists use the wrong kind of equilibrium economics models; agent-based models are better. This book echoes a theme in Kate Raworth’s “Doughnut Economics” that the way economics is taught in universities needs to be changed to break the hegemony of a narrow neoliberal capitalist paradigm.

Things I found annoying about this audiobook version narrated by Michael Langan: 1) The way the narrator lowers his voice when reading footnotes. Just say: “Footnote” and read normally. 2) Reading out full URLs. These could be cited in the accompanying PDF instead.

Humble-brag disclosure: I built the author, Simon Sharpe’s, website for this book and have also done some web development for his literary agent, Maggie Hanbury. This is, however, an independent review.

Policy- and decision-makers please read this

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The narrator is good, apart from when he is reading out quotes and footnotes. He does this in a whisper that is really hard to hear. Why?! Incredibly irritating

insightful

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