Akshat Rathi

One of the year’s best books: The London Times & The Economic Times
KLF best business book 2024

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About the book

Our age will be defined by the climate emergency. But contrary to the doomist narrative that’s taken hold, the world has already begun deploying the solutions needed to deal with it.

On a journey across five continents, Climate Capitalism tracks the unlikely heroes driving the fight against climate change. From the Chinese bureaucrat who did more to make electric cars a reality than Elon Musk, to the Indian entrepreneur showing how to deploy solar on a tight budget, or the American oil executive building the technology that can reverse climate damages, we meet the people working to scale technologies that are finally able to bend the emissions curve.

Through stories that bring people, policy and technology together, Akshat Rathi reveals how the green economy is not only possible, but profitable. This inspiring blend of business, science, and history provides the framework for ensuring that future generations can live in prosperity and that the wheels of progress don’t falter.

Reviews (full list)

Climate innovation has accelerated far faster than many realize and by shining a spotlight on the solutions and innovators driving progress, Climate Capitalism is an important read for anyone in need of optimism about our ability to build a clean energy future. — Bill Gates

A highly readable reminder that efforts to cut emissions are achieving a lot more than is widely realised. Rathi brings this shift to life with engaging stories of people behind some of the most important advances in recent decades. — Pilita Clark, Financial Times

There are very few people as well-situated as Akshat Rathi is to describe and assess our current efforts to cope with climate change. Can our current unjust and destructive economic system be wrenched into alignment to supports us? Rathi shows this process beginning. An inspiring book! — Kim Stanley Robinson, sci-fi writer and author of The Ministry for the Future

Akshat Rathi’s magisterial book gives us hope that the climate crisis can be addressed by a combination of innovation and capitalism. An unprecedented global effort is on, and he does well to chronicle it in detail. — Nandan Nilekani, chairman of Infosys.

Few books on either climate or capitalism manage to be as insightful as they are readable, but Akshat Rathi cracks it. He delivers his powerful and hopeful message with both substance and style. — Paul Polman, former CEO of Unilever

A delight to read and a timely corrective to the narrative that it is too costly to achieve net zero. — Ben Caldecott, professor of sustainable finance at the University of Oxford

After over a decade of working on energy, I still found either brand new information or a new perspective on every page. — Emma Pinchbeck, CEO of Energy UK

Media coverage (full list)

Featured on The New York Times, The Guardian, Sky News, BBC Radio 4, Financial Times, The Times, New Statesman, The Japan Times, The Spectator, France24, DW News, Irish Independent, BBC World Service, Politico

About the author

Akshat Rathi is an award-winning senior climate reporter for Bloomberg News. He is the host of Zero, a weekly climate podcast for Bloomberg Green and writes a weekly newsletter on climate solutions.

He has a PhD in chemistry from the University of Oxford, and a BTech in chemical engineering from the Institute of Chemical Technology in Mumbai. He has worked for Quartz and The Economist. His work has been cited in widely read global publications, including New York Times, Washington Post, New Yorker, The Guardian, Wall Street Journal and Financial Times.

Akshat lives with his wife in London, UK. You can follow him on Twitter, LinkedIn, or Instagram.

Photographer: Sofia Yang Martinez (more photos)