We are supposed to have solved this problem in just under 30 years. That’s the same amount of time that has elapsed since Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner smooched in The Bodyguard. Governments’ commitment to limit global heating to 1.5C above the preindustrial average means the huge transition to net zero will have to be made by 2050. By then, renewables should be producing most of our energy – certainly all the electricity in rich countries – and we should all be driving around in electric cars, eating sustainable, mainly plant-based foods and living in well-insulated houses built from low-carbon materials. The many books written about how to avoid the climate crisis will hopefully have become obsolete. Which of them will survive to be read beyond the combustion era, if only by historians – as testament to this period of crisis and uncertainty?
Well, Greta Thunberg is already assured her place in history as the Jeanne d’Arc (or Cassandra) of our time. She’s been heroically battling the forces of climate inaction and denial since she stepped on to the global stage as a shy 15-year-old schoolkid “striking for the climate”. Anything written or orchestrated by her – like this appealingly produced anthology of essays – stands an excellent chance.
