The Future We Choose: Hope and Action for Surviving the Climate Crisis
How optimism, collective action, and transformative mindsets can rewrite our climate destiny
The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis by Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac stands apart as a vital guide for navigating humanity’s most urgent challenge—climate change. Far more than just a chronicle of environmental decline, it serves as an empowering manifesto, blending dire realism with actionable hope. Drawing on their pivotal roles in the Paris Agreement of 2015, the authors offer a balanced, strategic vision for our collective future.
Imagining Two Worlds: Our Climate Fork in the Road
Central to the book is a narrative device that dramatizes the crossroads at which humanity stands. The authors ask readers to imagine two divergent futures for the year 2050—one resulting from inaction, and another born from bold, coordinated action to halt emissions and regenerate the planet.
The World We Are Choosing By Doing Nothing
In the bleak scenario of unchecked emissions, the planet in 2050 is scarred by soaring temperatures, staggering declines in air and water quality, and catastrophic weather patterns. The narrative is not one of subtle change, but of a planet fundamentally altered beyond recognition:
- Air thick with pollution—coughs never fade, even in major cities.
- Ravaged carbon sinks—vast forests and wetlands lost, triggering climatic “tipping points.”
- Coastal inundation—rising seas force relentless waves of climate refugees to higher ground.
- Desertification and crop failures—once productive lands wither, undermining global food security.
- Escalating economic and political chaos—mass migrations, fractious borders, and fierce resentment at prior generations’ failures.
The authors paint a vivid portrait of widespread loss, dislocation, and “a sense of bottomless loss, unbearable guilt and fierce resentment.” Their message: the stakes could hardly be higher, and the window for meaningful agency is rapidly closing.
The World We Could Build By Choosing Action
In marked contrast, the authors envision a 2050 where societies mobilized during the climate crisis’s most critical decades, embracing renewable energy, regenerative agriculture, and new ways of living. This future is not utopian, but grounded in real, achievable innovation:
- Cities with fresh, clean air—urban greenery, smart transport, and a tangible sense of renewal.
- Massive rewilding—landscapes transformed by reforestation and nature restoration projects.
- Renewable energy abundance—solar, wind, and geothermal powering millions of new green jobs.
- Active, healthy lifestyles—energy-smart communities, local food systems, and redesigned urban spaces.
- Equity and collaboration—global cooperation as a necessity, not a luxury.
This alternative is not presented as an easy triumph, but as the result of a “gritty, grounded optimism” and acceptance that transition is uncomfortable, yet essential. The shift is framed as a cultural and economic reimagining: “The wide-ranging transition to renewable energy was at times uncomfortable, yet we finally saw that transition for what it was—the tantalizing opportunity to reimagine the way we live on and interact with the planet.”
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Rejecting Doom: The Importance of Realistic Optimism
Many books on climate change lean hard into despair, cataloguing cascading losses and stark scientific warnings without offering practical paths forward.The Future We Choose is a deliberate corrective to this trend. The authors acknowledge the “horrifying depths of the crisis” but refuse fatalism, instead advocating a stubbornly hopeful stance rooted in agency and moral responsibility.
Hope Is Not Delusion
Figueres and Rivett-Carnac caution against “whitewashed or reductive” optimism. True hope, they argue, begins with clear-eyed recognition of the present and then becomes “a contagious frame of mind that leads to collective wisdom.” They write for those “crushed under the fatal knowledge of everything to come,” showing that optimism is not turning a blind eye, but choosing disciplined resolve in the face of adversity.
Three Essential Mindsets for a Regenerative Future
The transformative power of mindset is a recurring motif in the book. The authors offer three guiding attitudes as essential fuel for effective climate action:
- Stubborn Optimism – Maintaining resolve and hope even as setbacks arise, seeing optimism as a strategic, not sentimental, force.
- Endless Abundance – Rejecting zero-sum thinking. Believing that a post-carbon world can create more value—social, economic, and environmental—than the world it replaces.
- Radical Regeneration – Committing to not just sustaining, but repairing and renewing ecosystems, global economies, and human societies.
It is this toolkit of resilient mindsets that sets The Future We Choose apart from more conventional climate literature, where complexity and resistance often drown urgency and hope.
From Policy to Individual Action: Everyone Has a Role
The book recognizes that climate action operates on multiple scales—governmental, corporate, and individual. It outlines:
- Government Policy – Enforcing emissions targets, supporting renewables, and implementing adaptation strategies at national and international levels.
- Corporate Responsibility – Shifting capital, supply chains, and innovation toward sustainable outcomes.
- Personal Action – From dietary changes to energy choices, individual decisions add up—especially when guided by collective mobilization.
This approach is pragmatic, recognizing both the need for systemic change and the importance of not waiting passively for others to act. It is through “unity—a casting aside of our differences,” the authors argue, that meaningful progress can be achieved.
Facing the Real Barriers to Change
As inspiring as these ambitions are, the authors do not gloss over the entrenched opposition presented by the fossil fuel economy. They acknowledge:
- Vested interests—Powerful industries and economies make rapid change challenging.
- Global complexity—Climate solutions must navigate geopolitical, social, and technological hurdles.
- Time pressure—With decades of inertia, achieving a regenerative economy in 30 years is a formidable challenge.
Nevertheless, they caution against defeatism, insisting that “humanity was only ever as doomed as it believed itself to be. Vanquishing that belief was our true legacy.”
Learning from the Paris Agreement
Figueres and Rivett-Carnac’s authority derives in part from their stewardship of the 2015 Paris Agreement, the most significant international effort to address climate change. Their book distills lessons from this historic negotiation:
- Persistent optimism—The Paris Agreement succeeded not just on the strength of science, but through careful nurturing of hope and possibility.
- Collective wisdom—Progress emerged from inclusive dialogue and the courage to imagine new outcomes.
- Shared obligation—Global challenges require global cooperation—and a recognition that all voices, especially those most affected, must be included.
Practical Tactics: What Can We Do Right Now?
The Future We Choose is not just theoretical inspiration—it offers a suite of specific, actionable steps for individuals, communities, and institutions to accelerate climate action. Among the most impactful:
- Support Renewable Energy – Advocate for clean energy and reduce personal carbon footprints through energy-efficient choices.
- Rethink Consumption – Prioritize local, sustainable products and reduce waste.
- Advocate and Vote – Support leaders and policies firmly committed to climate action.
- Regenerate Nature – Participate in or support rewilding, reforestation, and habitat restoration initiatives.
- Educate, Connect, and Mobilize – Engage friends and family in climate conversations, and build community networks for action.
What Sets This Book Apart in the Climate Genre?
Unlike many books that succumb to alarm and surrender, The Future We Choose skillfully combines science and storytelling to instill active hope. It avoids both hollow optimism and fatalistic paralysis, replacing them with a practical, determined approach to our shared future:
- Empowerment over helplessness – Practical guidance alongside clear-eyed danger.
- Actionable steps – Every reader leaves with a roadmap for making a difference.
- Emotional intelligence – Recognizing the climate crisis is as much a psychological challenge as a technical one.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: What is the central thesis of The Future We Choose?
A: The book contends that while the climate crisis is grave, we remain at a late—but meaningful—moment to change course, provided we act with determination and optimism. It presents dual scenarios for 2050—one of devastation through inaction, one of regeneration through collective effort.
Q: How does optimism play a role in climate action?
A: Optimism is described as a strategic asset, not wishful thinking. It fuels sustained action, resilience in the face of obstacles, and the ability to align diverse stakeholders around a joint vision.
Q: Are individual actions really enough to make a difference?
A: The authors stress that while system-level changes are necessary, individual decisions collectively have enormous impact. Personal responsibility and community mobilization can drive broader shifts in markets and politics.
Q: What role did the authors play in the Paris Agreement?
A: Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac were respectively the Executive Secretary and Chief Political Strategist for the UN during the Paris talks, giving them unique credibility in discussing both policy and the psychology of change.
Q: Is the book realistic about the obstacles to change?
A: Yes. The authors thoroughly acknowledge entrenched interests and systemic inertia. Their difference lies in refusing to concede defeat, instead advocating strategies for overcoming resistance through perseverance and optimism.
Final Thoughts: A Manifesto For Our Moment
The Future We Choose is ultimately a call to agency—a reminder that while the climate crisis presents existential risks, it is also a stage for collective transformation. By combining urgent realism with disciplined optimism and a roadmap of actionable steps, Figueres and Rivett-Carnac offer not just a warning, but a vision—one in which our legacy is determined by the courage to imagine, mobilize, and act.
References
- https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52117860-the-future-we-choose
- https://earth.org/book-review-the-future-we-choose/
- https://natoassociation.ca/book-review-the-future-we-choose-surviving-the-climate-crisis-by-christiana-figueres-and-tom-rivett-carnac/
- https://solarpunkmagazine.com/review-of-the-future-we-choose-the-stubborn-optimists-guide-to-the-climate-crisis/
- https://stevegoesgreen.com/2021/01/11/the-future-we-choose-surviving-the-climate-crisis/
- https://undark.org/2020/04/10/book-review-future-we-choose/
- https://www.chemistryworld.com/culture/the-future-we-choose-surviving-the-climate-crisis/4012838.article
- https://www.emerald.com/iimtjm/article/1/2/301/1221203/Book-review-on-The-Future-We-Choose-Surviving-the
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09647775.2020.1837002
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