For World Book Day on 2 March, we asked the ClimateXChange team and Directorate about their favourite books related to climate change. Here are their suggestions.

The Low-Carbon Good Life by Jules Pretty highlights that a low-carbon lifestyle can correspond to what makes someone happy. The book is about how to reverse and repair four interlocking crises arising from modern material consumption: the climate crisis, growing inequality, biodiversity loss and food-related ill-health.

Overstory by Richard Powers is about environmental activism and human connection to trees, told through the history of the deforestation of North America. It is great on helping process the emotions that come with caring about the environment. It is also brilliant on a historic perspective on how relations between trees and people have shaped today’s society.

All We Can Save by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine Keeble Wilkinson is an edited collection of feminist essays on climate change. It focuses on acknowledging the damage that has been done, while seeking creative ways forward to save what is left. “I like it because it is about creative and community-oriented ways forward, which can be helpful when larger processes like the United Nations climate change conference (COP) and national strategies seem overwhelming” said a member of our team.

Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist by Kate Raworth argues that governments, especially in the Global North, need to reformulate economies around concepts of sufficiency and wellbeing rather than growth. Raworth argues that as well as reducing endless environmental exploitation, this way of thinking will help solve issues of economic inequality, instability and conflict.

Bewilderment by Richard Powers is a novel set in the near future with the impacts of climate change as a backdrop, and a primary concern for the main characters, a father and son dealing with grief in unusual ways. “It is not a cheery book but it explores some really interesting topics in a readable way, including astrobiology, neurofeedback therapy and how humans psychologically deal with climate change” said a member of our team.

The First Generation by Hannah Ritchie will not be out until next year, but one of our Directors has been lucky enough to read a draft already and found it superb. In this book, Ritchie sets out the evidence underpinning the global challenges we face in the 21st century and, crucially, how ours can be the first generation to realise a sustainable future for us and our planet. “It is wonderfully written and the depth and clarity of the research on which it is based is awesome. This is a book that stares the monumental challenges of the 21st century full in the face and that informs and empowers with every page. Love it.” said one of our Directors.

How Bad are Bananas? by Mike Berners-Lee details the carbon footprint of a wide range of activities, such as drying our hands, taking the bus or, of course, eating bananas. This entertaining book helps readers make informed decisions about their daily choices and tackle climate change.