“Until the climate was actually killing them, people had a tendency to deny it could happen.”
Absolutely adore science fiction! New and unusual worlds and classical plots, viewed through the prism of new technologies. But also science fiction often demonstrates the dangers of technological development and shows how a man could change the world around him. The world of “The Ministry for the Future” by Kim Stanley Robinson, is a world in which we might have to live soon. It is a world of extreme heat, droughts, torrential, city-sinking rains, and huge masses of climate refugees.
“The Ministry” is an eco-political thriller, showing what a fight against climate change might look like. When humanity decides to deal with something, it first creates a bureaucracy - in the book, it is the Ministry for the Future. As the story goes, the Ministry was created as part of the UN, with an aim to represent the interests of future generations today. This is how the Ministry’s staff finds itself almost the sole organization, ready to fight climate change for the whole world.
The Ministry develops, supports, and publicizes a lot of different initiatives. Carbon-negative agriculture, natural habitat corridors, geo-engineering, basic income, world-citizen passports for climate refugees, the “2000 Watt society”, air travel by airships, etc.
The main plot of the book revolves around two main measures of combating climate change. The first one is economic. If you want someone to do something for you - pay them. If you want people and companies to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases - pay them.
In the Ministry initiative, a cryptocurrency called “carboni”, is introduced, backed by all major central banks, and it is used to pay corporations and individuals to stop burning fossil fuels and for carbon sequestration projects. This so-called “quantitative carbon easing” attacks the principal problem of climate change - that it is profitable to burn fossil fuels. By changing the game, making it profitable NOT to burn fossil fuels, it turns capitalism onto itself, creating a system, that leads to a healthier climate in all respects.
The second measure is much more sinister. It said that you can get much more with a gun and a kind word, rather than with just a kind word. In the story, a terrorist group by the name “Children of Kali” starts a worldwide war of terror against corporations, burning fossil fuels and politicians, supporting them. The actions of the eco-terrorists provoke a backlash, hitting the Ministry for the Future, which is suspected of sponsoring the “Children of Kali” and making their job as dangerous as that of any oil executive.
“The Ministry” is an insightful and thrilling account of the complexity of bringing people together to tackle planet-wide problems. It is thought-provoking as well as entertaining book, that is a must-read for anyone, looking to learn about climate change and what can be done to reverse it. So pick it up for your hot summer read, you won’t regret it.