The 100% Solution

A Plan for Solving Climate Change

Solomon Goldstein-Rose

“An important frame of reference for everyone seeking to address the greatest threat to our children and future generations.” —US Rep. Jim McGovern

The world must reach negative greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 in order to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change. This is not a goal that can be met halfway. Yet no single proposal has addressed the full scope of the problem . . . until now.

In The 100% Solution, leading millennial climate change activist and the youngest Massachusetts state representative in recent years Solomon Goldstein-Rose makes clear what must happen to achieve negative emissions before we reach the point of no return: the moonshot projects that need funding, the technologies that need inventing, the industries that need converting, the amount of CO₂ we’ll still have to sequester from the atmosphere, and so much more. Most importantly, he shows us how to unite the efforts of activists, governments, scientists, engineers, donors, and voters to get the job done.

This is the guide we’ve been waiting for, and only work rooted in this level of comprehensive thinking will add up to a full solution in time. As calls for a WWII-scale mobilization intensify—especially among youth activists—this fully illustrated, action-oriented book arms that movement with specific demands, and sets the stakes for what our leaders must achieve.

Solomon Goldstein-Rose was elected to the Massachusetts state legislature on a climate change-focused platform at age 22. He previously interned in the Obama White House and in Congress and ran a statewide carbon pricing campaign. He now works full time as a climate change activist on national and global levels. He lives in Amherst, MA.

“Goldstein-Rose, a leading Millennial thinker, offers what the world desperately needs: fresh thinking on climate change, with the goal of steering the debate toward solutions that are both technically and politically practicable.” —Steven Pinker, Professor of Psychology, Harvard University

“A major accomplishment and an exciting boon to the climate movement.”—Emily Norton, former director, Massachusetts Sierra Club

“An important frame of reference for everyone seeking to address the greatest threat to our children and future generations.” —US Rep. Jim McGovern, member of Congress (D-MA)

“Solomon Goldstein-Rose is not just an analyst who brings a grasp of the subject matter to the table, but also a former state elected official who, at a tender age, learned quickly what’s needed to make change. His combination of knowledge and experience will reach new audiences and could inject new energy into the debate and give hope to a generation.” —Armond Cohen, Founder and Director, Clean Air Task Force

“A pragmatic, feasible road map for addressing climate change. This is exactly the kind of thinking that is needed now.” —Christina Paxson, President of Brown University

“The 100% Solution is an important read for anyone who cares more about addressing climate change than fighting ideological battles.” —Ted Nordhaus, Founder and Director, Breakthrough Institute

“[Solomon’s] vision offers a practical path forward and more climate thinkers need to understand his ideas.” —Dan Bosley, former State Representative, architect of the 1997 MA Electric Restructuring Act

“Goldstein-Rose is the rare Millennial author who is passionate about protecting the planet for his and future generations but is also sober and rigorous in his prescriptions to reduce climate-warming emissions . . . The 100% Solution is a model for pragmatic and systemic thinking about climate change and proof that activist passion and scholarly rigor can go hand in hand.” —Varun Sivaram, Chief Technology Officer at India’s largest renewable energy company, author of Taming the Sun: Innovations to Harness Solar Energy and Power the Planet

“With clear text and elegant organization, Goldstein-Rose sets aside apocalyptic visions and maps planetary rescue.” —Professor Steven J. Davis, Associate Professor of Earth System Science, UC–Irvine