The Future We Choose

I’m not a fan of either Doomsday or Pollyanna-ish books, especially in relation to climate change. I’ve read lots of books on this subject, and this is my favorite.

It doesn’t shy away from explaining what’s at stake and what is likely to happen if we don’t stop the escalation of climate-heating gases in our atmosphere, but it offers us a path toward solving this potential catastrophe that we can and must take together.  

We have a lot of climate anxiety.

Most of the time I feel optimistic and believe in humanity, believe that we will come together to create a solution, but some days, it can be hard to move past the fear and uncertainty. Climate books can make this worse with their ultimatum-type messaging; of course, we feel doomed.

The Future We Choose is the ideal book to read when you are struggling to see a way forward. Christiana and Tom do a wonderful job of explaining what life could look like in 50 years if we make the right choices now.… show more.

Christiana Figueres was the UN Executive Secretary for Climate Change in the run-up to, and during, COP21. She is founding partner of Global, a member of the B Team, and Convenor of Mission 2020.

Her co-author, Tom Rivett-Carnac was a senior political strategist influencing the COP21 proceedings. Between them they provide a view from the highest level of the international political machinery addressing climate change.

Following a comparison of two possible futures – one dystopian and one utopian – the book offers a dose of ‘stubborn optimism’ moderated by recognition of the limits of ‘endless abundance’ and a call for… show more.

This is a book by two people who led the UN process to secure the Paris Agreement. 

They know what it takes to get over 190 countries to agree to work together to create a safer future. But this book is about more than that.

It is about you and your agency and how your mindset can help create positive change. It shows the power of optimism – stubborn optimism.

Written by architects of the 2015 Paris Accord, I expected a long, dull, treatise on policy. But I was wrong. Without whitewashing the dangers we face or the short time we have to make the right decision, the authors lay out the devastating consequences of the wrong choice, and the actions we can and must take to stop climate change and make life more enjoyable. 

I read many books about the fate of our planet but few provide as fine a balance between fact and feeling, reporting and practical advice than this remarkable collaboration by two of the main architects of the Paris Climate Agreement. Should be read by anyone troubled or energized by the challenges of our threatened planet.

This book starts with an exploration of two possible futures for climate change (one devastating, one resilient). The positive scenario is inspiring, and climate advocates need an “I have a dream.” What I love most, however, is the authors’ “ten actions” to create that more resilient future. Of course, the list includes outward system changes – move beyond fossil fuels, build gender equality. But it starts with the inner work: let go of the old world; face your grief but hold a vision for the future; defend the truth; see yourself as a citizen – not as a consumer. Christiana… show more.