When Greta Thunberg first started making headlines as a teen for leading school strikes outside of the Swedish parliament, she "promised she would never stop calling out leaders and governments for refusing to take strong enough actions to mitigate climate change," Rob Merrill writes for The Associated Press. Five years later, Thunberg has become one of the most recognized voices in climate activism and remains "blunt as ever" in her latest book project. "Leaving capitalist consumerism and market economics as the dominant stewards of the only known civilization in the universe will most likely seem, in retrospect, to have been a terrible idea," she writes in The Climate Book.
Thunberg curated a collection of 105 guest essays from scientists, journalists, and activists "to raise public awareness by sharing the best available science to shine a spotlight on what we've done to the Earth and what we must do to keep it habitable by humanity," Merrill says. The book, released in the U.S. on Feb. 14, covers everything from "ice shelves to economics, from fast fashion to the loss of species … from water shortages to Indigenous sovereignty, from future food production to carbon budgets." While "the book is sure to educate anyone who gives it an honest reading," Merrill adds, "it's difficult to shake a feeling of doom as you turn the pages."
After reading the anthology "at a deliberate pace over some weeks," NPR's Barbara King says, "the cumulative impact on my understanding of the crisis through its data, cross-cultural reflections, and paths for step-by-step change became mesmerizing." Thunberg and the contributors, "which includes well-known names like Margaret Atwood, George Monbiot, Bill McKibben, and Robin Wall Kimmerer," give actionable advice for combating the climate crisis in "compelling, bite-size chapters." The authors also explain why "climate justice must be at the center of these efforts."
"Humanity must decarbonize or die," Publisher's Weekly says, calling the book an "impassioned anthology." The collection features "lucid and accessible explanations" of how and why the climate is changing. While many of the contributors "sound an apocalyptic note," Publisher's Weekly says, "their doomsaying often relies on models with myriad variables." Overall, The Climate Book is "a comprehensive and articulate shock to the system."
It's a "galvanizing follow-up" to Thunberg's last book, No One Is Too Small To Make a Difference, says Kirkus Reviews. "The brilliant and alarming narrative tells it like it is: Though politicians, fossil fuel stakeholders, and other relevant entities have known for decades that a warming climate will have devastating results for Earth, most have done little about it." The authors "clearly explain the tipping points that have already occurred," and "lay bare the fact" that "greenwashed" data about the effects of greenhouse gas emissions has led to "prolonged inertia, allowing the problem to get much worse." Yet the authors seem optimistic that "with enough public outrage and demands for change," we can find a solution, but "only if we act immediately."
