Many of us are increasingly alarmed at the damage human beings have done—and continue to do—to the natural world and would love to be better informed about what we need to do to protect our precious environment. Fortunately, every year, the Wainwright Prize picks out the best writing on global conservation—books that are not only informative but highly readable. Here, British journalist Charlotte Smith, chair of the judging panel, talks us through the books that made the 2021 shortlist and why it’s worth reading all of them.

The periodic table of the elements has been described as “one of the great intellectual achievements of humankind”. Here, Noelle Eckley Selin of MIT and Henrik Selin of Boston University talk us through some of their favourite books about various chemical elements and explain why they’re vital to understanding the world around us.

Eco-philosophy concerns itself with the intersection of ecology with philosophy—and particularly our response to industrialisation and manmade climate change. Rupert Read, the philosopher-activist and author of Parents for a Future, selects five of the best books that contemplate eco-philosophy and our place on this Earth.

Conservation and the battle against climate change are two of the most pressing issues of our age. But books on the subject have to be readable and enjoyable too, says Charlotte Smith – BBC presenter and judge for the 2020 Wainwright Prize for books on global conservation. Here she highlights the six shortlisted titles that will enchant and inspire you.

Which are the most pressing global challenges we face today? In How to Spend a Trillion Dollars Rowan Hooper, a senior editor at the New Scientist, makes the case for the ones he considers the most urgent. Here, he recommends books that help illuminate some of those challenges—including the amazing resource that is ‘Project Drawdown’.

We would all love our economic and political systems to be less short-termist in approach, but how do we set about encouraging a more long-term ethos? Cultural thinker Roman Krznaric, author of The Good Ancestor, recommends five books to get us thinking about the long term, up to ten millennia in the future.

What trace of our lives will we leave, and what stories might they tell about us? In Footprints, David Farrier explores how our generation will be remembered in the traces it leaves behind in myths, stories… and the fossil record. Here he talks to Caspar Henderson about books to help reflect on ‘the deep future.’

In an age when we all need to work together to slow down climate change, which books are the most effective in spurring us to action? Historian of science Sarah Dry, author of Waters of the World, recommends some of the best and most important climate books of 2019.

The best fiction allows us to hold ideas in our heads about time and space and causality and connection that are difficult to articulate in other ways, argues the Australian author James Bradley. It helps its readers engage with dangers and possibilities that are at the very edge of imagination

The shining core of a radical environmentalism is when we open up our circle of concern to include things beyond trees or animals or water to people of all kinds, says the writer and landscape historian Daegan Miller. Here he selects five of the best books that evoke the spirit of the movement.

In science, the word ‘nuclear’ refers to anything to do with the atomic nucleus, whether you’re using it to generate power or create weapons of mass destruction. Here, physicist and science educator Richard Wolfson recommends five books relating to things nuclear, from a book of graphic nonfiction about the Curie family to how fusion can save the planet.

‘When we talk about climate change, we sometimes assume people will be swayed by one more graph, one more coherent argument. But that’s not how people work. More facts don’t change minds, and deeply held views don’t always dictate behaviour.’ How, then, to grapple with a future that ‘might be weirder than we realise’? Kate Marvel, Associate Research Scientist at Columbia University and NASA, recommends an essential reading list for those ready to confront climate change and the uncertainties it brings

Fiction that explores issues of climate change is growing at an unprecedented rate today, says the journalist who coined the phrase ‘cli-fi’, Dan Bloom. Here, he picks the five best books of the field, and introduces us to a globally important, underexplored literary genre

‘We’re on a path that is going to lead to tremendous destruction and yet most of us are going about our lives as if nothing particularly special is happening.’ The science of climate change is incontrovertible but deniers persist and political and economic solutions continue to be – systematically – frustrated. Time is running out, says Naomi Oreskes

Writer and investigative journalist George Monbiot recommends books that have shaped him, and that are crucial reading for those wishing to navigate the current economic and environmental crises.

The switch to sources of energy other than oil and gas is now well under way, but how long will it be before we can rely on them for the bulk of the world’s power—if ever? Renewable energy expert Chris Goodall gives us a thought-provoking reading list to think about both past and future ‘energy transitions.’

While widely regarded as the world’s worst nuclear accident, Chernobyl’s legacy remains fiercely contested, with death tolls ranging from 31 to 200,000. MIT historian Kate Brown, who has spent years in the Chernobyl archives, picks the best books on the disaster, compares its impact with atomic bomb testing, and argues for more research into low-dose radiation exposure

Ice and humanity have always been close partners, says Mark Serreze, director of the US National Snow and Ice Data Center. But this relationship is changing fast as polar ice melts. Here he selects five books that fed his fascination.

Author and environmentalist Mark Boyle lived for three years without money; now he lives entirely off-grid and eschews all forms of modern technology, in search of a wilder way of living—and of being more in tune with the natural world. Here he discusses his literary inspirations: the best books on wilderness.

Is there room for both humans and wild nature to flourish on an increasingly crowded planet? The author Isabella Tree argues that ‘wilding’ can be benefit both, and chooses five books to support her case.

Human history has been founded on the banks of great rivers – but in the East they are increasingly the focus of bitter international and environmental dispute, says Victor Mallet, the journalist and author of River of Life, River of Death. Here he selects five brilliant books that profile Asia’s most celebrated waterways.

‘One of the themes that I hope shines through is the significance of the act of witnessing. These books have all been influential, and as a result, all stand as testaments to the cascading influence one person can have.’

Geologist Jan Zalasiewicz tells us about the danger posed to oceans by the Anthropocene – and how we can work together to protect them

In 2015 Gaia Vince became the first woman to win the Royal Society’s science book of the year prize for her book, Adventures in the Anthropocene. She spent two years on the road investigating how communities across the world are coping with climate change. Here, she shares the five best books on climate change and the Anthropocene – the geological epoch of man.

Recycling is more than just a blue and green bin in your pantry, says journalist Adam Minter – it’s a global trade with centuries of history that stretches from American scrapyards to Chinese e-waste recycling villages

Welcome to life in the Anthropocene, a new epoch in the history of life where the impact of humanity on the Earth system is so great, we need a new term for it. Author and journalist Caspar Henderson offers a rich reading list to help ourselves and our children grow up in the Anthropocene.

Paul Kingsnorth, co-founder of the Dark Mountain project, urges the need for uncivilisation: the process of getting beyond our human assumptions, such as the myth of unfailing linear progress. It is about looking at humanity in the wider context of the whole planet, and the imminent ecological crisis.

The author of True Wealth suggests how we can rethink our patterns of consumption and approach our relationship with nature in a new, less damaging, way

We’re in a “dual energy crisis”, says the author of Clean Energy Nation, and not doing enough about it. He tells us what we must do if we’re to overcome our dependence on oil and limit the damaging effects of climate change

The chief executive of Good Energy says we need to think big if we want to cut our use of high-carbon energy. She tells us about the intersection between business, politics and doing the right thing

The historian explains how the power of technology has affected man’s relationship with the rest of nature, and tells us what determines why some civilisations succeed and others fail

The novelist and nature lover T C Boyle tells us about delicious dodos, angry tigers, snakes on planes and why Viagra saves rhinos.

The Australian environmental philosopher discusses man’s interaction with the oceans – from whaling voyages and dynamite fishing to sea gypsies and the flourishing business of piracy

The environment writer suggests the best reading on carbon costs, climate science and technological solutions to save the planet

Former Wired contributing editor and MIT Science Journalism Fellow, Bob Johnstone, explains why the Germans lead the world in solar energy and how financial innovation is changing the game in the US. He picks the best books on solar power.

Environmental studies professor Roger Pielke Jr says innovation and argument is the only way to reverse climate change.

The former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and President of Ireland picks the best books to read on climate justice.

Co-founder of Forum For The Future and one of the leading experts on climate change hammers home the need to encourage sustainable development technologies across the globe

Editor of the website China Dialogue, Isabel Hilton says the evidence of environmental disaster in China is dramatic. Discusses five of the most influential books on environmentalism in China

BBC News Environment and Science correspondent discusses climate change. Recommends books on coral, fishing, the antarctic, and the science of climate change – as well as an Arctic thriller

Just as no one can study political science without a basic understanding of human history, or study a modern animal without a basic understanding of evolution, so no one can understand climate change without understanding the Earth’s history, argues the Princeton geology professor.

The Research Fellow in Earth System Science at the British National Oceanography discusses Climate Change and promotes the use of geo-engineering to remove carbon from the atmosphere

The British author, journalist and environmental activist talks to us about climate change. Warns that mankind has become a global catastrophe and discusses books that reveal our impact on the planet

The policy director for the Optimum Population Trust, the environmental think-tank, discusses books on Global Warming. Includes a volume on the wildlife of Borneo alongside DH Lawrence’s The Rainbow