Greta Thunberg is releasing a new book this autumn, which aims to offer a “global overview of how the planet’s many crises connect”.
“I have decided to use my platform to create a book based on the current best available science – a book that covers the climate, ecological and sustainability crises holistically”, Thunberg said in a statement. “Because the climate crisis is, of course, only a symptom of a much larger sustainability crisis. My hope is that this book might be some kind of go-to source for understanding these different, closely interconnected crises.”
In The Climate Book, which is due to be published by Penguin this autumn, Thunberg has assembled more than 100 contributors, from scientists Johan Rockström and Katharine Hayhoe to economist Thomas Piketty and novelist Margaret Atwood. The 19-year-old also shares what she has learned from her own experiences of climate activism. In particular, she discusses the prevalence of greenwashing, revealing the extent to which we have been kept in the dark about the issue. She names this as one of our biggest problems, but also our greatest source of hope – because, she believes, once we are all given the full picture, we will be able to act.
“Right now, we are in desperate need of hope”, Thunberg said. “But hope is not about pretending that everything will be fine.”
She added: “To me, hope is not something that is given to you, it is something you have to earn, to create. It cannot be gained passively, through standing by and waiting for someone else to do something. Hope is taking action. It is stepping outside your comfort zone. And if a bunch of weird schoolkids were able to get millions of people to start changing their lives, just imagine what we could all do together if we really tried.”
Since 2018, when Thunberg, then 15, started her now famous school strike, the Swedish teenager has been calling for stronger action to be taken against the climate crisis. She has become a worldwide celebrity and figurehead of the environmental activist community, becoming the youngest Time Person of the Year in 2019 and being nominated three times for a Nobel peace prize.
She has previously published three books, two co-authored by her parents and sister: Scenes from the Heart and Our House Is on Fire, and one collection of speeches, No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference. This new book is set to be her most comprehensive work yet, pulling together ideas and knowledge from experts with a view to “equip us all” to make positive change.
“Greta has proven herself to be one of our finest and most galvanising new writers”, said Chloe Currens, Thunberg’s editor at Penguin. “In a series of sharp, insightful and impassioned chapters, which knit the book’s different parts together, she shares her own experiences and responds to what she’s learned.”
Currens went on to call The Climate Book “unique” and “alive with moral purpose”. It “aims to change the climate conversation forever” she said.
The Climate Book is due to be published in the UK on 27 October 2022, with a US release planned for early 2023.
The full list of contributors can be found here.