Your guide to the latest books that will inspire you to keep up the fight for a cooler future!
1. What If We Get It Right? – Ayana Elizabeth Johnson
Sometimes the bravest thing we can do while facing an existential crisis is imagine life on the other side. This provocative and joyous book maps an inspiring landscape of possible climate futures. If you haven’t yet been able to picture a transformed and replenished world—or to see yourself, your loved ones, and your community in it—this book is for you.
2. Firestorm – Greg Mullins
‘Firestorm’, told through the eyes of a firefighter – and one of our very own Councillors, not to mention the founder of Emergency Leaders for Climate Action – with more than 50 years of experience, combines thrilling stories of what it’s like to be on the front line of Australia’s first giga-fire with the hard truths of human-caused climate change.
3. Humanity’s Moment – Dr Joëlle Gergis
Climate Councillor Joëlle Gergis shows us that the solutions we need to live sustainably already exist – we just need the social movement and political will to create a better world. This book is a climate scientist’s guide to rekindling hope, and a call to action to restore our relationship with ourselves, each other and our planet.
4. Plug In! – Saul Griffith
We all know that renewable energy is the future, but how can we ditch coal and gas in our own lives and homes? Plug In! is full of pro tips and essential information for your electrification journey.
5. The Climate Cure – Prof. Tim Flannery
In his book, The Climate Cure: Solving the Climate Emergency in the Era of Covid-19, Climate Council’s Chief Councillor – Professor Tim Flannery – explores how 2020 flipped the climate debate on its head and exposed who was left standing in the way of action.
6. Together we can – Claire O’Rourke
Together we can by Claire O’Rourke uses inspiring real-life examples to demonstrate how each of us can use our own unique strengths to tackle climate change. While it can be difficult to avoid being bogged down by extreme weather events and bleak reports, we know the solutions and incredible and inspiring people are lining up to tackle the issue.
7. Juice – Tim Winton
Tim Winton like you’ve never read him before. A near future world if global warming’s worst case scenario comes true, this dystopian novel is a call to change the status quo for future generations who could inherit a dangerous world because of environmental collapse.
8. Windfall – Ketan Joshi
This book, by renewable expert Ketan Joshi, explores “a future where communities champion equitable new clean tech projects, where Australia grows past a reliance on toxic fuels, and where the power of people is used to rattle fossil fuel advocates from their complacency.”
9. Design Emergency – Paola Antonelli
Alice Rawsthorn and Paola Antonelli, two of the world’s most influential design figures, meet the visionary designers whose innovations and ingenuity give us hope for the future by redesigning and reconstructing our lives, enabling us to thrive. Design Emergency tells the stories of the remarkable designers, architects, engineers, artists, scientists, and activists, who are at the forefront of positive change worldwide.
10. Hot Mess – Dr Matt Winning
Dr. Matt Winning is a stand-up comedian and environmental economist with a PhD in climate change policy. Hot Mess aims to both lighten the mood and enlighten readers on climate change. This is a book for people who care about climate change but aren’t doing much about it, helping readers understand what the main causes of climate change are, what changes are needed, and what they can (and cannot) do about it.
11. Woodside vs the Planet – Marian Wilkinson
A story of power and influence, pollution and protest. How does one company capture a country? How convincing is Woodside’s argument that gas is a necessary transition fuel, as the world decarbonises?
12. Better Things Are Possible – Jack Toohey
Better Things Are Possible is Jack Toohey’s case for choosing hope over apathy. It’s a rallying cry to replace defeatism with resilience and start channelling our energy into innovative solutions to the challenges we’re facing.
