Book review: This Changes Everything – Naomi Klein (2014)

This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate, from the international bestselling author Naomi Klein, argues that global warming is not about carbon but about capitalism, because a focus on growth and profit is exacerbating the problem.

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The book calls for us to abandon free market ideology and restructure both the global economy and political systems to address the challenges we face. It argues that capitalism cannot fix the climate crisis, but instead will continue to make it worse with ever more extreme and damaging extraction methods.

Klein builds a case demonstrating how reducing greenhouse gas emissions can address a wealth of issues, from inequality to democracy. She also looks critically at climate deniers and those proposing the world should geoengineer our climate to combat climate challenges.

Whilst the author notes the severity of these challenges, she also showcases what is being done to create a new economy and argues that rather than viewing climate change as penance, we should view it as a kind of gift that can be used to change things for the better.

This Changes Everything was a highly anticipated book that certainly lives up to the standard expected, adding a very intelligent yet readable voice to the climate change debate.