As many of you familiar with climate change are aware, the world is facing increasing temperatures - with the prospect of over 2 degrees centigrade above pre-industrial levels by 2050, and further increases by 2100. This entails a need to adapt, and indeed many communities - mostly disadvantaged ones in the Global South - are already having to do this.
A new publication that covers these issues - with a focus on community level responses to climate change - is being released in October. The book (same title as this topic heading) also takes a look at structural, deep changes - from alternative socio-economic systems to changes in how we source our food.
The beauty of this publication is the diversity of accounts - 19 chapters all by different authors, with a focus on those from the Global South. It also covers indigenous perspectives, something that is still missing from most mainstream accounts of climate change.
If anyone would like a free copy of the book to review, please let me know.
The book’s description is copied below:-
‘Where is the world really heading, and what can we do about it?’
With insufficient action being taken by governments and international agencies to prevent climate change, it is now falling on communities to start preparing and adapting on a grassroots level. This book presents accounts, case studies and models from over 18 leading authors around the world to show ways that we can face the climate emergency with a sense of realism and hope. Examples of those who have already had to adapt to climate change stand alongside new opportunities to how society can be restructured – moving away from a system of exploitation and greed towards one of cooperation and mutuality.
As the climate emergency intensifies, humanity stands at a juncture: fundamental socio-economic transition or collapse. For all the talk of reaching ‘net zero’ by 2050, renewable energy expansion and electric cars, this book shows clearly how the current trajectory points us firmly towards that of collapse. A systemic change is required; a revolution from the bottom-up instead of the top-down, with people gaining self-sufficiency and reconnection to the planet. At the same time, communities need to be empowered to adapt to climate change rather than look solely to the governments that consistently fail them.
Climate adaption is more than simply retrofitting homes and building better flood defences. As this book will show, to be truly effective we need to consider things on the deepest possible level, right down to how we perceive the world. Far from a shallow look at how individuals can make practical changes, each chapter explores the kind of fundamental shifts required, opening a window to the nuances and possibilities of what lies ahead.