The authors of this book are probably the best two people you’d want to be sharing reasons for hope as we face the climate emergency. Christiana Figueres served as the UN’s Executive Secretary and Tom Rivett-Carnac, as the Chief Political Strategist at the Paris Agreement of 2015, COP 21.
The book is divided into three Parts. The first part, ‘Two Worlds’, looks at two different scenarios of a 2050 world. The first section in this – ‘The world we are creating’ is the one which we’ve failed to halt global emissions and so on track for a warming of 3 or 4 degrees above pre-industrial levels. This is an incredibly hard read.The second section, ‘The world we must create’ paints a picture of a world where we did what we had to do to ward off that catastrophe. The language in both sections reflects the mood of both – the first is definitely melancholy, where the second is much more upbeat, positive and full of descriptions of abundance and hope.
These two opposing scenarios create feelings of fear and hope but also a sense of urgency. Most of all, for me, ‘The world we must create’, is somewhere I’d love to be and to aim for.
From this scene-setting, the authors focus on how we can collectively galvanise and change our mindsets to “change how we think and fundamentally who we perceive ourselves to be.” They cite three mindsets – Stubborn Optimism, Endless Abundance and Radical Regeneration – as qualities we can all draw on to make this shift.
Finally, with the vision set out in the first Part of the book, mindsets established in the second Part, they then move us to action – in fact 10 actions in Part III. Wrapping up with the ‘What you can do now’, section, they call their action plan a “growing movement of Stubborn Climate Activists, fulfilling the vision of a regenerative world”.
Packed with an attitude of hope, fabulous examples and a belief that we can create change, this is at times a difficult but essential read, pragmatically acknowledging exactly where we are.
If you want to make a choice for a different future and move to hope from fear, despair and overwhelm and move to action on the climate crisis, this empowering read is definitely for you.
If you want to read something equally inspiring and packed with hope that we can do something different, I reviewed, ‘From what is, to what if?’ last year.
https://www.twistconsultants.co.uk/blog/book-review-from-what-is-to-what-if-rob-hopkins?rq=Review