The best books on adaptation to climate change

Who am I?

For the publication of our book, Climate Adaptation: Accounts of Resilience, Self-Sufficiency and Systems Change, I have worked closely with activists and academics from around the world, hearing more about the work they do and the unique and individual ways they have made adaptations within their communities. This experience has allowed me to have a deeper understanding of climate adaptation as a topic, both in a scientific and a cultural sense, thus meaning I have been more readily able to recognise the qualities of a great adaptation book!


I managed...

Climate Adaptation: Accounts of Resilience, Self-Sufficiency and Systems Change

By Emily Andrews, Morgan Phillips, Renuka Thakore, Andrew Suggitt

Book cover of Climate Adaptation: Accounts of Resilience, Self-Sufficiency and Systems Change

What is my book about?

Climate Adaptation: Accounts of Resilience, Self-Sufficiency and Systems Change takes a look at real-life examples of communities that have adapted to the challenges presented by our warming world. With governments and large corporations proving ineffective at making significant changes, we must focus on more grassroots initiatives. The current model of extraction and exploitation is unsustainable - socially, economically, and environmentally, so shifts in our entire system must be made to benefit all corners of society.   

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The books I picked & why

Climate Adaptation: Accounts of Resilience, Self-Sufficiency and Systems Change

By Emily Andrews, Morgan Phillips, Renuka Thakore, Andrew Suggitt

Book cover of Climate Adaptation: Accounts of Resilience, Self-Sufficiency and Systems Change

Why did I love this book?

This book provides a perfect balance between presenting realism and providing hope for the future. It is a mixture of personal accounts from individuals and communities who have had to face the harsh realities of climate change, as well as accounts from those who have found ways to alter their livelihoods in order to adapt. 

By Emily Andrews, Morgan Phillips, Renuka Thakore, Andrew Suggitt

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Climate Adaptation as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Where is the world really heading, and what can we do about it?
This book takes an unflinching look at climate change, drawing upon the latest data to analyse what the next decades hold in store. With atmospheric CO2 at unprecedented levels and insufficient action being taken to prevent a rise in temperatures above 2 degrees centigrade, we are not just looking at significant disruption but the possibility of societal collapse. For the first time ever, the magnitude of this challenge is faced head on, with avenues to truly address it presented.
Case studies and models from 16 authors around…


Great Adaptations

By Morgan Phillips,

Book cover of Great Adaptations

Why did I love this book?

Great Adaptations explores different adaptation strategies explored around the world, analysing which should be supported and which are to be avoided. This book also shows the various approaches between countries and global communities, all of whom face different environmental challenges. This book is written in short chapters, focusing on separate topics, meaning it is a great read to pick up and put down as and when you like. 

By Morgan Phillips,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Great Adaptations as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Climate change adaptation. A hope-fuelled necessity on the road to a transformed world? Or the last act of the doom-merchant who has given up?

There are great ways to adapt to the climate crisis that confronts us, but there are disastrous ways too. In this book, Morgan Phillips takes us from the air-conditioned pavements of Doha and the 'cool rooms' of Paris, to the fog catchers of Morocco and the agro-foresters of Nepal. He makes an often-neglected topic engaging and relatable at precisely the moment the climate movement is waking up to it.
A just transition is at stake. Great…


Book cover of Wilding: Returning Nature to Our Farm

Why did I love this book?

This book focuses on the importance of preserving ecosystems and wildlife, which is a form of adaptation that is equally as important as the ‘large-scale’ methods. With a lot of focus being given to carbon emissions, ‘rewilding’ landscapes are often forgotten about, yet this can have huge benefits to individual species and their continuation. Isabella Tree provides an inspiring teaching on how small acts can be carried out by individuals in their local areas. 

By Isabella Tree,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked Wilding as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'A poignant, practical and moving story of how to fix our broken land, this should be conservation's salvation; this should be its future; this is a new hope' - Chris Packham

In Wilding, Isabella Tree tells the story of the 'Knepp experiment', a pioneering rewilding project in West Sussex, using free-roaming grazing animals to create new habitats for wildlife. Part gripping memoir, part fascinating account of the ecology of our countryside, Wilding is, above all, an inspiring story of hope.

Winner of the Richard Jefferies Society and White Horse Book Shop Literary Prize.

Forced to accept that intensive farming on…


Book cover of On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal

Why did I love this book?

Naomi Klein highlights the role of our economy in determining how we adapt to climate change, exploring some of the deep-rooted problems that we face. Again, this book values the importance of grassroots action when it comes to changing our society, despite governments and large corporations being the cause of the problem.

By Naomi Klein,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked On Fire as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Naomi Klein's work has always moved and guided me. She is the great chronicler of our age of climate emergency, an inspirer of generations' - Greta Thunberg

For more than twenty years Naomi Klein's books have defined our era, chronicling the exploitation of people and the planet and demanding justice. On Fire gathers for the first time more than a decade of her impassioned writing from the frontline of climate breakdown, and pairs it with new material on the staggeringly high stakes of what we choose to do next.

Here is Klein at her most prophetic and philosophical, investigating the…


This Is Not A Drill

By Extinction Rebellion,

Book cover of This Is Not A Drill

Why did I love this book?

Subtitled An Extinction Rebellion Handbook, this is a fascinating and informative read on how communities can come together to take action. Extinction Rebellion may have sparked controversy, but it is undeniable that their tactics have brought them to the forefront of news channels, ultimately bringing climate change into conversations more than ever before. 

By Extinction Rebellion,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked This Is Not A Drill as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Extinction Rebellion are inspiring a whole generation to take action on climate breakdown.
Now you can become part of the movement - and together, we can make history.

It's time. This is our last chance to do anything about the global climate and ecological emergency. Our last chance to save the world as we know it.

Now or never, we need to be radical. We need to rise up. And we need to rebel.

Extinction Rebellion is a global activist movement of ordinary people, demanding action from Governments. This is a book of truth and action. It has facts to…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in climate change, land use, and global warming?

9,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about climate change, land use, and global warming.

Climate Change Explore 159 books about climate change
Land Use Explore 9 books about land use
Global Warming Explore 60 books about global warming

And, 3 books we think you will enjoy!

We think you will like Butterfly Isles, Sustainable Energy - Without the Hot Air, and Winning the Green New Deal if you like this list.