When we think of climate, the stories we tell about the future are bad: megastorms, crop failures, and heat waves loom over us, sending a signal that the problem is so vast, so complex, that it’s out of our control. That narrative is compelling for some, but leaves others feeling hopeless, helpless, and disillusioned. Even the most ardent champions of decarbonization sometimes focus more on sounding the alarm than on imagining and mapping out what success might look like. Without positive climate futures, visions of climate adaptation and resilience that we can work toward, it’s much harder to motivate broad-based efforts for change in the present.
The Climate Action Almanac seeks to inspire a wave of narratives about what positive climate futures might look like for communities around the world. This book features perspectives on climate futures from authors based in a diverse range of places, each with their own unique opportunities and challenges for climate action: from China to Wales, Germany to Nigeria, Sri Lanka to Mexico, Malaysia, India, and the United States, and more.
This volume brings together top science fiction authors with researchers, artists, scientists, and advocates from around the world to share visions of climate futures. These works of fiction, nonfiction, and art chart pathways toward a vibrant, decarbonized future. They are grounded in real science and honor local particularities, insisting upon equity and justice and imagining efforts that could be scaled out for coordinated global change.
The Climate Action Almanac is presented in partnership with the MIT Press, and supported by a grant from the ClimateWorks Foundation. It is free to read and share under a Creative Commons license.
Editors: Joey Eschrich and Ed Finn
Audio and Video: The Climate Action Almanac features a collection of videos, including panel conversations, TED Talks, and “The Assignment,” a short narrative film trailer for the book. You can also listen to an audio interview with fiction author Libia Brenda.