Climate Change Books

'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.'

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.'

In 2015 Gaia Vince won 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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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. She discusses six of the most influential books on environmentalism in China.