An Action Plan for Solving Our Climate Crisis Now

1.0
Electrify Transportation
→
Reduce 8 gigatons of transportation emissions to 2 gigatons by 2050.
1.1
Price
→

EVs achieve price and performance parity with new combustion-engine vehicles in the U.S. by 2024, and in India and China by 2030.

Updated May 2023
Off Course

$64,507 (average EV) vs. $44,761 (average full-size car)

Data: Kelley Blue Book

Date: Dec. 2022

1.2
Cars
→

One of two new personal vehicles purchased worldwide are EVs by 2030, 95% by 2040.

Updated June 2023
Strong Momentum

EV share of global auto sales was 14% in 2022

(BEVs, FCVs, and PHEVs)

Data: BloombergNEF

Date: March 2023

1.3
Buses & Trucks
→

All new buses are electric by 2025; 30% of medium and heavy trucks purchased are zero-emissions vehicles by 2030; 95% of trucks by 2045.

Updated May 2023
Limited Progress

Over the past decade, e-bus share has grown from 1% to 44%

Data: BloombergNEF

Date: 2021

1.4
Miles ↓ 5 Gt
→

50% of miles driven globally (two- and three-wheelers, cars, buses, and trucks) are electric by 2040, 95% by 2050.

Updated May 2023
Code Red

EV global share of miles driven: 7.3%

Data: BloombergNEF

Date: 2021

1.5
Planes ↓ 0.3 Gt
→

Low-carbon fuel powers 20% of miles flown by 2025; carbon-neutral fuel powers 40% of miles flown by 2040.

Updated May 2023
Off Course

<0.1% of flights use sustainable aviation fuel (SAF)

Data: IATA

Date: 2022

1.6
Maritime ↓ 0.6 Gt
→

Shift all new construction to “zero-ready” ships by 2030.

Updated May 2023
Off Course

Projected launch of first carbon-neutral ships: 2023

Data: Maersk

Date: 2022

2.0
Decarbonize the Grid
→
Reduce 24 gigatons of global electricity and heating emissions to 3 gigatons by 2050.
2.1
Zero Emissions ↓ 16.5 Gt
→

50% of electricity worldwide comes from zero-emissions sources by 2025, 90% by 2035.

Updated May 2023
Strong Momentum

Global market share of zero-emissions electricity: 38%

Data: IEA

Date: 2021

2.2
Solar & Wind
→

Solar and wind are cheaper to build and operate than emitting sources in all countries by 2025

Updated May 2023
Strong Momentum

96% of the world’s population lives in nations where renewable sources are cheaper than fossil fuels

Data: BloombergNEF

Date: 2022

2.3
Storage
→

Electricity storage drops below $50 per kWh for short duration (4–24 hours) by 2025, $10 per kWh for long duration (14–30 days) by 2030.

Updated May 2023
Off Course

Short-term storage: $324/kWh

Data: BloombergNEF

Date: 2022

2.4
Coal & Gas
→

No new coal or gas plants from 2023 on; existing plants to retire or zero out emissions by 2025 for coal and by 2035 for gas.*

Updated May 2023
Code Red

Now under construction globally: 374 coal-fired units and 505 gas-plant units

Data: Global Energy Monitor

Date: January 2023

2.5
Methane Emissions ↓ 3 Gt
→

Eliminate leaks, venting, and most flaring from coal, oil, and gas sites by 2025.

Updated May 2023
Code Red

Methane emissions were approximately 3 gigatons in 2022

Data: IEA

Date: 2022

2.6
Heating & Cooking ↓ 1.5 Gt
→

Cut gas and oil for heating and cooking in half by 2040.* 

Updated May 2023
Code Red

Fossil fuels power 41% of cooking stoves and heat 58% of U.S. homes

Data: U.S. Census Bureau

Date: 2021

2.7
Clean Economy
→

To more than triple the energy productivity rate by 2035, we must phase out fossil fuels while also boosting energy efficiency.

Updated May 2023
Limited Progress

World average: $240 in GDP per $1 of fuel consumption

Data: BP Statistical Review and World Bank

Date: 2021

3.0
Fix Food
→
Reduce 9 gigatons of agricultural emissions to 2 gigatons by 2050.
3.1
Farm Soils ↓ 2 Gt
→

Improve soil health through practices that increase carbon content in topsoils to a minimum of 3%.

Updated May 2023
Off Course

1.4%: Average carbon content of farm soils in the U.S.

Data: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture

Date: 2013; published 2017

3.2
Fertilizers ↓ 0.5 Gt
→

Stop the overuse of nitrogen-based fertilizers and develop greener alternatives to cut emissions in half by 2050.

Updated October 2022
Off Course

69.8 kilograms per hectare: global average for nitrogen-based fertilizers

Data: FAO

Date: 2019

3.3
Consumption ↓ 3 Gt
→

Promote lower-emissions proteins, cutting annual consumption of beef and dairy 25% by 2030, 50% by 2050.

Updated October 2022
Code Red

U.S. per capita weekly consumption: 1.1 lbs. of beef and 3.8 lbs. of dairy

Data: OECD

Date: 2020

3.4
Rice ↓ 0.5 Gt
→

Reduce methane and nitrous oxide from rice farming by 50% by 2050.

Updated May 2023
Off Course

1 gigaton of CO2e resulting from rice production

Data: WRI and the Sustainable Rice Platform

Date: 2014 and 2021

3.5
Food Waste ↓ 1 Gt
→

Lower the food waste ratio from 40% of all food produced to 10%.

Updated May 2023
Off Course

40%: estimated global portion of food that is wasted

Data: WWF and Tesco

Date: 2021

4.0
Protect Nature
→
Go from 6 gigatons of emissions to -1 gigatons by 2050.
4.1
Forests ↓ 6 Gt
→

Achieve net zero deforestation by 2030; end destructive practices and logging in primary forests.

Updated April 2023
Code Red

3.75 million hectares of primary forest lost annually

Data: Global Forest Watch

Date: 2021

4.2
Oceans ↓ 1 Gt
→

Eliminate deep-sea bottom trawling and protect at least 30% of oceans by 2030, 50% by 2050.

Updated April 2023
Limited Progress

8% of coastal oceans are protected

Data: Protected Planet

Date: June 2022

4.3
Lands
→

Expand protected lands from 17% today to 30% by 2030, 50% by 2050.

Updated August 2022
Off Course

17% of global lands are protected

Data: Protected Planet

Date: June 2022

5.0
Clean Up Industry
→
Reduce 12 gigatons of industrial emissions to 4 gigatons by 2050.
5.1
Steel ↓ 3 Gt
→

Reduce total carbon intensity of steel production 50% by 2030, 90% by 2040.

Updated May 2023
Code Red

1.9 tons of CO2 emitted per 1 ton of steel produced

Data: WorldSteel.org

Date: 2021

5.2
Cement ↓ 2 Gt
→

Reduce total carbon intensity of cement production 25% by 2030, 90% by 2040.

Updated May 2023
Code Red

0.6 tons of CO2 emitted per 1 ton of cement produced

Data: IEA

Date: 2021

5.3
Other Industries ↓ 2 Gt
→

Reduce emissions from other industrial sources (primarily plastics, chemicals, paper, aluminum, glass, and apparel) 80% by 2050.

Updated April 2023
Code Red

5 gigatons emitted by other industries

Data: UNEP

Date: 2020

6.0
Remove Carbon
→
Remove 10 gigatons of carbon dioxide per year from the atmosphere.
6.1
Nature-Based Removal ↓ 5 Gt
→

Remove at least 1 gigaton per year by 2025, 3 gigatons by 2030, and 5 gigatons by 2040.

Updated May 2023
Off Course

0.28 gigatons of nature-based carbon removal being tracked

Data: Climate Focus

Date: 2022

6.2
Engineered Removal ↓ 5 Gt
→

Remove at least 1 gigaton per year by 2030, 3 gigatons by 2040, and 5 gigatons by 2050.

Updated May 2023
Off Course

Currently, 43 metric tons are being removed annually

Data: BloombergNEF

Date: 2021

7.0
Win Politics and Policy
→
7.1
Commitments
→

Each country enacts a national commitment to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 and gets at least halfway there by 2030.

Updated August 2022
Limited Progress

EU and UK: cut emissions in half by 2030; net zero by 2050

U.S.: Congress passed climate laws that target a 40% cut by 2030.

China: net zero by 2060

India: net zero by 2070

Russia announced net zero 2060, though no formal adoption

7.2
Subsidies
→

End direct and indirect subsidies for fossil fuel companies and for harmful agricultural practices.

Updated August 2022
Code Red

The top five emitters still pay a total of nearly $4 trillion in fossil fuel subsidies. Globally, nations are paying $5.9 trillion, including healthcare spending due to air pollution and other indirect costs.

Source: IMF
Date: 2020

7.3
Price on Carbon
→

Set national prices on CO2 emissions at a minimum of $55 per ton, rising 5% annually.*

Updated August 2022
Off Course

EU: $100/ton; member states implement their own price schedules

UK: $20/ton

China: $10/ton

U.S.: No national price. 12 states set prices

India: No national price

Russia: No national price

7.4
Global Bans
→

Prohibit HFCs as refrigerants and ban single-use plastics for all non-medical purposes.

Updated August 2022
Limited Progress

U.S. aims to reduce HFCs 85% by 2036.
The EU aims to reduce HFCs 67% from 2010 by 2030.
China aims to reduce HFCs 68% by 2025.

7.5
Government R&D
→

Double (at minimum) global public investment into research and development; quadruple it in the United States.

Updated August 2022
Off Course

China: $7.9 billion
U.S.: $9.4 billion
EU + UK: $8.7 billion
India: $110 million
Russia: little to no allocation

Data: IEA

Date: 2020

8.0
Turn Movements into Action
→
8.1
Voters
→

The climate crisis is a top-two voting issue in the twenty top-emitting countries by 2025.

Updated August 2022
Off Course

Climate’s rank as top issue: #9 in the U.S., #8 globally, #2 (tied) in Europe

Data: Gallup (May 2022), Ipsos (June 2022), and Eurobarometer (Jan. 2022)

*different surveys can only be roughly compared to each other

 

8.2
Government
→

A majority of government officials—elected or appointed—will support the drive to net zero.

Updated May 2023
Off Course

47% of heads of state (7 of 15 top-emitting nations)

27% of national legislatures (4 of 15 top-emitting nations)

Data: EDGAR

Date: 2021

8.3
Business
→

100% of Fortune Global 500 companies commit immediately to reach net zero by 2040.

Updated May 2023
Off Course

3.4% of Global 500 companies committed to net zero by 2040 across Scope 1-2-3 emissions

6.2% of Global 500 companies committed to net zero by 2050 across Scope 1-2-3 emissions

Data: Speed & Scale

Date: November 2022

 

8.4
Education Equity
→

The world achieves universal primary and secondary education by 2040.

Updated May 2023
Off Course

129 million girls out of school

Data: UNICEF

Date: 2022

8.5
Health Equity
→

Eliminate the gaps among racial and socioeconomic groups in mortality rates from air pollution by 2040.

Updated August 2022
Off Course

2.2 years (global average loss of life due to air pollution)

5 years (lost lifespan in S. Asia, Niger Delta, other low-income regions)

Data: Air Quality Life Index (AQLI)

Date: 2021

8.6
Economic Equity
→

The global clean energy transition creates 65 million new jobs, equitably distributed and outpacing the loss of fossil fuel jobs.

Updated May 2023
Limited Progress

13 million people employed directly and indirectly

Data: IRENA

Date: 2021

9.0
Innovate!
→
9.1
Batteries
→

Produce 10,000 GWh of batteries yearly at less than $80 per kWh by 2035.

Updated August 2022
Strong Momentum

Production: ~834GWh

Price: $132 per kWh 

Sources: BloombergNEF

Date: 2021

9.2
Electricity
→

Cost of zero-emission baseload power reaches $0.02 per kWh by 2030, with peak-demand power reaching $0.08 per kWh.

Updated May 2023
Strong Momentum

5 cents/kWh cost for utility-scale solar

Data: IRENA

Date: 2021

9.3
Green Hydrogen
→

Cost of producing hydrogen from zero-emissions sources drops to $2 per kg by 2030, $1 per kg by 2040.

Updated May 2023
Off Course

$2-$12 per kg, not currently produced at scale

Source: BloombergNEF

Date: 2021

9.4
Carbon Removal
→

Cost of engineered carbon dioxide removal falls to $100 per ton by 2030, $50 per ton by 2040.

Updated May 2023
Off Course

$600 to $1,200 per ton of carbon removed, not at scale

Source: Bloomberg and Climeworks

Date: 2021

9.5
Carbon-Neutral Fuels
→

Cost of synthetic fuel drops to $2.50 per gallon for jet fuel and $3.50 for gasoline by 2035.

Updated August 2022
Off Course

Jet Fuel: $4.22 (Traditional) vs. $22.13 (Sustainable) ~ 5.3X

Vehicle Fuel: $5.72 (Diesel) vs. $6.26 (Biodiesel) ~ 1.1X

U.S. prices when available. No pricing or availability for carbon-neutral fuels. Limited availability and price transparency for sustainable aviation fuels.

Data: IATA, BloombergNEF, GlobalPetrolPrices.com, AFDC

Date: June 2022

 

10.0
Invest!
→
10.1
Financial Incentives
→

Increase global government incentives and support for clean energy from $128 billion to $600 billion per year.

Updated May 2023
Off Course

$128 billion in global government incentives for renewable power generation, which is 20% to 35% of total direct fossil fuel subsidies

Source: IRENA

Date: 2020

10.2
Government R&D
→

Increase public-sector funding of energy R&D from $9.2 billion to $40 billion a year in the U.S.; other countries should aim to triple funding.

Updated May 2023
Limited Progress

U.S. energy R&D budget: $9.2 billion

Source: IEA

Date: 2021

10.3
Venture Capital
→

Expand investment of capital into U.S. startup companies to $50 billion per year.

Updated May 2023
Achieved

$59 billion invested in U.S. climate tech startups, up from $17 billion in 2020

Source: BloombergNEF

Date: 2022

10.4
Project Financing
→

More than double zero-emissions project financing by 2025, from $431 billion to $1 trillion per year.

Updated May 2023
Limited Progress

Clean energy financing reached an all-time high last year, hitting $583 billion

Source: BloombergNEF

Date: 2022

10.5
Philanthropic Investing
→

Increase philanthropic dollars from $10 billion to $30 billion per year.

Updated May 2023
Limited Progress

Less than 2% (between $7.5 billion and $12.5 billion) of philanthropic giving is dedicated to climate change mitigation

Source: ClimateWorks Foundation

Date: 2021

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An Action Plan for Solving Our Climate Crisis Now
1.0
Electrify Transportation
→
2.0
Decarbonize the Grid
→
3.0
Fix Food
→
4.0
Protect Nature
→
5.0
Clean Up Industry
→
6.0
Remove Carbon
→
7.0
Win Politics and Policy
→
8.0
Turn Movements into Action
→
9.0
Innovate!
→
10.0
Invest!
→
↓

Finally, an action plan
for the planet.

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John Doerr
About the Author

John Doerr

John is an engineer, venture capitalist, the chair of Kleiner Perkins, and the author of the number one best-seller Measure What Matters. For over 40 years, John has served entrepreneurs with ingenuity and optimism, helping them build bold teams and disruptive companies. He was an original investor and board member at Google and Amazon, helping to create more than a million jobs. A pioneer of Silicon Valley’s cleantech movement, Doerr has invested in zero emissions technologies since 2006. Outside Kleiner Perkins, Doerr works with social entrepreneurs who are tackling systemic issues across climate, public health, and education.

Ryan Panchadsaram
In Collaboration With

Ryan Panchadsaram

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.

Bill Gates

Christiana Figueres

Al Gore

Mary Barra

Jeff Bezos

John Kerry

Larry Fink

Laurene Powell Jobs

Doug McMillon

Fred Krupp

Sundar Pichai

Ethan Brown

Safeena Husain

Hal Harvey

Hear from

Leaders taking action

  • Chris Anderson, TED
  • Mary Barra, General Motors
  • Jeff Bezos, Amazon & Bezos Earth Fund
  • David Blood, Generation Investment Management
  • Kate Brant, Alphabet
  • Ethan Brown, Beyond Meat
  • Margot Brown, Environmental Defense
  • Amol Deshpande, Farmers Business Network
  • Christiana Figueres, Global Optimism
  • Larry Fink, Blackrock
  • Taylor Francis, Watershed
  • Bill Gates, Breakthrough Energy
  • Jonah Goldman, Breakthrough Energy
  • Al Gore, The Climate Reality Project
  • Patrick Graichen, Agora Energiewende
  • Steve Hamburg, Environmental Defense Fund
  • Hal Harvey, Energy Innovation
  • Per Heggenes, IKEA Foundation
  • Kara Hurst, Amazon
  • Safeena Husain, Educate Girls Now!
  • Lynn Jurich, Sunrun
  • Nat Keohane, Environmental Defense Fund
  • John Kerry, U.S. State Department
  • Jennifer Kitt, Climate Leadership Initiative
  • Badri Kothandaraman, Enphase
  • Fred Krupp, Environmental Defense Fund
  • Kelly Levin, World Resources Institute
  • Lindsay Levin, Future Stewards
  • Dawn Lippert, Elemental Excelerator
  • Amory Lovins, RMI
  • Megan Mahajan, Energy Innovation
  • Doug McMillon, Walmart
  • Bruce Nilles, Climate Imperative
  • Robbie Orvis, Energy Innovation
  • Sundar Pichai, Alphabet
  • Ryan Popple, Proterra
  • Henrik Poulsen, Ørsted
  • Laurene Powell Jobs, Emerson Collective
  • Nan Ransohoff, Stripe
  • Carmichael Roberts, Breakthrough Energy
  • Matt Rogers, Incite
  • Anumita Roy Chowdhury, Centre for Science and Environment
  • Jonathan Silver, Guggenheim Partners
  • Jagdeep Singh, Quantumscape
  • Andrew Steer, Bezos Earth Fund
  • Eric Toone, Breakthrough Energy
  • Eric Trusiewicz, Breakthrough Energy
  • Jan Van Dokkum, Imperative Science Ventures
  • Brian Von Herzen, Climate Foundation
  • James Wakibia, The Flipflopi Project
  • Tensie Whelan, Rainforest Alliance
  • Chris Anderson, TED
  • Mary Barra, General Motors
  • Jeff Bezos, Amazon & Bezos Earth Fund
  • David Blood, Generation Investment Management
  • Kate Brant, Alphabet
  • Ethan Brown, Beyond Meat
  • Margot Brown, Environmental Defense
  • Amol Deshpande, Farmers Business Network
  • Christiana Figueres, Global Optimism
  • Larry Fink, Blackrock
  • Taylor Francis, Watershed
  • Bill Gates, Breakthrough Energy
  • Jonah Goldman, Breakthrough Energy
  • Al Gore, The Climate Reality Project
  • Patrick Graichen, Agora Energiewende
  • Steve Hamburg, Environmental Defense Fund
  • Hal Harvey, Energy Innovation
  • Per Heggenes, IKEA Foundation
  • Kara Hurst, Amazon
  • Safeena Husain, Educate Girls Now!
  • Lynn Jurich, Sunrun
  • Nat Keohane, Environmental Defense Fund
  • John Kerry, U.S. State Department
  • Jennifer Kitt, Climate Leadership Initiative
  • Badri Kothandaraman, Enphase
  • Fred Krupp, Environmental Defense Fund
  • Kelly Levin, World Resources Institute
  • Lindsay Levin, Future Stewards
  • Dawn Lippert, Elemental Excelerator
  • Amory Lovins, RMI
  • Megan Mahajan, Energy Innovation
  • Doug McMillon, Walmart
  • Bruce Nilles, Climate Imperative
  • Robbie Orvis, Energy Innovation
  • Sundar Pichai, Alphabet
  • Ryan Popple, Proterra
  • Henrik Poulsen, Ørsted
  • Laurene Powell Jobs, Emerson Collective
  • Nan Ransohoff, Stripe
  • Carmichael Roberts, Breakthrough Energy
  • Matt Rogers, Incite
  • Anumita Roy Chowdhury, Centre for Science and Environment
  • Jonathan Silver, Guggenheim Partners
  • Jagdeep Singh, Quantumscape
  • Andrew Steer, Bezos Earth Fund
  • Eric Toone, Breakthrough Energy
  • Eric Trusiewicz, Breakthrough Energy
  • Jan Van Dokkum, Imperative Science Ventures
  • Brian Von Herzen, Climate Foundation
  • James Wakibia, The Flipflopi Project
  • Tensie Whelan, Rainforest Alliance
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