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Elemental: The New Geography of Climate Change and How We Survive it: The first comprehensive account of the geopolitics of climate change
'An extraordinary mastery of geopolitics, combining years on the ground in the most challenging places, a raw instinct for politics and a deep ethical concern for the world in the face of climate catastrophe. A masterpiece.' - RORY STEWART
'A powerful, passionate and utterly convincing book.' - LORD PETER RICKETTS
From the water-stressed mountains of the Arabian Peninsula to the wildfires raging through America's most populated regions, the climate crisis is already affecting the lives of millions. As natural disasters and increased scarcity shake the established world order to its core, Elemental reveals an alternative future is still possible.
Within this century, the new era of extreme weather will threaten India's ability to grow rice, prevent southern Europe's farms from providing the continent with fresh produce, and make building in Saudi Arabia near impossible. While such unprecedented challenges inevitably drive conflict, they will also encourage innovation, upending economies and global power structures to create opportunities for new players and pioneering ways of living.
In this groundbreaking study, Arthur Snell visits rapidly changing societies to show how we can live on a warming planet. He presents a vision in which Africa powers Europe with solar energy, where autocratic oil states are no more, and new shipping routes across the melting Arctic bring Asia, Europe and North America closer than ever before. In Russia, huge areas of highly fertile land will be exposed by the melting ice for whoever can seize it, while China's stranglehold on rare minerals looks set to make it the world's leading superpower.
Through four sections - Earth, Air, Fire and Water - Elemental blends reportage with analysis and interviews with key experts, policymakers and politicians, to reveal the turbulent future we face - and the choices we need to make to avert disaster.
'A powerful, passionate and utterly convincing book.' - LORD PETER RICKETTS
From the water-stressed mountains of the Arabian Peninsula to the wildfires raging through America's most populated regions, the climate crisis is already affecting the lives of millions. As natural disasters and increased scarcity shake the established world order to its core, Elemental reveals an alternative future is still possible.
Within this century, the new era of extreme weather will threaten India's ability to grow rice, prevent southern Europe's farms from providing the continent with fresh produce, and make building in Saudi Arabia near impossible. While such unprecedented challenges inevitably drive conflict, they will also encourage innovation, upending economies and global power structures to create opportunities for new players and pioneering ways of living.
In this groundbreaking study, Arthur Snell visits rapidly changing societies to show how we can live on a warming planet. He presents a vision in which Africa powers Europe with solar energy, where autocratic oil states are no more, and new shipping routes across the melting Arctic bring Asia, Europe and North America closer than ever before. In Russia, huge areas of highly fertile land will be exposed by the melting ice for whoever can seize it, while China's stranglehold on rare minerals looks set to make it the world's leading superpower.
Through four sections - Earth, Air, Fire and Water - Elemental blends reportage with analysis and interviews with key experts, policymakers and politicians, to reveal the turbulent future we face - and the choices we need to make to avert disaster.
- GenresNonfiction
384 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 12, 2026
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256 people want to read
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Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Thank you to Wildfire / Headline / Hachette for the advanced reading copy.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Arthur Snell about this book for an author event at Rossiter Books.
Elemental is a fascinating exploration of how geo-politics may play out as climate change impacts us, often in unexpecting ways and not always negatively. It's a bit of a risk assessment of the world based on various aspects of climate change: from food security to migration, energy resources to disappearing countries, and melting ice caps to clean water shortage.
Arthur Snell considers the potential outcomes of some of the efforts to mitigate climate change and how they could or have lead to unintended consequences; for instance our successful global effort in reducing acid rain, which is of course a positive thing, has actually led to increased global temperatures. And how moving away from fossil fuels has led to a race for access to rare minerals and consequently we are creating a world where the power will move away from the West and middle East and into the hands of countries we have previously been more wary of alliancing ourselves with.
And talking of China, their ability to implement more long-term strategies has led to their dominance in many climate change solutions, leaving the West on the back foot as often our democratic processes and short term outlooks can hinder the strategic, and sometimes more authoritarian, thinking that is necessary.
It is abound with facts and science that is really clearly explained. Solar geo-engineering (weather control) and crop modification (changing rice from a C3 structure to a C4 more hardy structure) could be dry subjects potentially but they are written about engagingly and accessibly.
Highly recommended for people who have enjoyed Tim Marshall's Prisoners of Geography books.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Arthur Snell about this book for an author event at Rossiter Books.
Elemental is a fascinating exploration of how geo-politics may play out as climate change impacts us, often in unexpecting ways and not always negatively. It's a bit of a risk assessment of the world based on various aspects of climate change: from food security to migration, energy resources to disappearing countries, and melting ice caps to clean water shortage.
Arthur Snell considers the potential outcomes of some of the efforts to mitigate climate change and how they could or have lead to unintended consequences; for instance our successful global effort in reducing acid rain, which is of course a positive thing, has actually led to increased global temperatures. And how moving away from fossil fuels has led to a race for access to rare minerals and consequently we are creating a world where the power will move away from the West and middle East and into the hands of countries we have previously been more wary of alliancing ourselves with.
And talking of China, their ability to implement more long-term strategies has led to their dominance in many climate change solutions, leaving the West on the back foot as often our democratic processes and short term outlooks can hinder the strategic, and sometimes more authoritarian, thinking that is necessary.
It is abound with facts and science that is really clearly explained. Solar geo-engineering (weather control) and crop modification (changing rice from a C3 structure to a C4 more hardy structure) could be dry subjects potentially but they are written about engagingly and accessibly.
Highly recommended for people who have enjoyed Tim Marshall's Prisoners of Geography books.
Displaying 1 of 1 review