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The New Global Possible: Rebuilding Optimism in the Age of Climate Crisis
“A compelling and hopeful reminder that change is not only within our grasp—it is already happening.”
—Jane Goodall
"A must-read for anyone looking for hope and optimism at a critical point in history."
—John Kerry
Global environmental leader Ani Dasgupta takes an honest look at lagging climate action and maps out what can be done to rebuild hope for the future.
In 2015, world leaders came together in Paris and signed an agreement to save the planet. Ten years later, we have made little progress on the ground, and the climate crisis is worse than ever. We’ve mostly figured out what we need to do, but not how to get it done—and time is running out.
In this groundbreaking new book, World Resources Institute President and CEO Ani Dasgupta explores how to orchestrate change at speed and scale. How do we get countries to keep working together on climate action when multilateralism is declining? How do we harness technological innovation to protect nature, rather than destroy it? How do we dismantle entrenched power structures and rapidly transition to a clean, resilient economy?
Based on conversations with more than one hundred leaders around the world, The New Global Possible weaves together stories of unusual partnerships, collaborative leadership, and lessons learned from failure. Mining the rich history of the climate movement, Dasgupta defines the narrow path to a hopeful future—one requiring all of our collective focus and determination—and offers a radical new practice for orchestrating change for good.
—Jane Goodall
"A must-read for anyone looking for hope and optimism at a critical point in history."
—John Kerry
Global environmental leader Ani Dasgupta takes an honest look at lagging climate action and maps out what can be done to rebuild hope for the future.
In 2015, world leaders came together in Paris and signed an agreement to save the planet. Ten years later, we have made little progress on the ground, and the climate crisis is worse than ever. We’ve mostly figured out what we need to do, but not how to get it done—and time is running out.
In this groundbreaking new book, World Resources Institute President and CEO Ani Dasgupta explores how to orchestrate change at speed and scale. How do we get countries to keep working together on climate action when multilateralism is declining? How do we harness technological innovation to protect nature, rather than destroy it? How do we dismantle entrenched power structures and rapidly transition to a clean, resilient economy?
Based on conversations with more than one hundred leaders around the world, The New Global Possible weaves together stories of unusual partnerships, collaborative leadership, and lessons learned from failure. Mining the rich history of the climate movement, Dasgupta defines the narrow path to a hopeful future—one requiring all of our collective focus and determination—and offers a radical new practice for orchestrating change for good.
376 pages, Hardcover
Published September 9, 2025
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138 people want to read
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June 11, 2025
Book Review: The New Global Possible: Rebuilding Optimism in the Age of Climate Crisis by Ani Dasgupta & Christiana Figueres
As a public health practitioner specializing in environmental health, this book struck me as both a balm and a provocation. While not explicitly written for public health audiences, The New Global Possible offers a transformative framework for addressing what I see daily: the intersection of climate change and human health.
Professional Resonance & Emotional Impact
The authors’ “informed optimism” philosophy (a term I now cherish) challenged my instinct toward crisis-mode thinking. Their case studies of systemic climate solutions—from renewable energy transitions to regenerative agriculture—made me reflect on public health’s tendency to focus on climate impacts (heat deaths, vector-borne diseases) without adequately engaging in upstream solutions. The chapter on multilateral policy breakthroughs stirred unexpected hope, though I bristled at its gloss over implementation gaps in vulnerable regions where health disparities are most acute.
What moved me most was the human-centered storytelling. When describing communities transforming climate anxiety into action, I recognized parallels in public health’s community-based participatory research. Yet, I ached for more explicit connections to health co-benefits—how, for instance, decarbonization directly reduces asthma rates or urban heat island effects.
Constructive Criticism
-Health Equity Lens Needed: While the book celebrates global cooperation, it underplays how climate solutions often bypass marginalized populations. As an environmental health professional, I craved analysis of how to center frontline communities in “optimistic” narratives.
-Data-Practice Bridge: The macro-level optimism occasionally feels detached from on-the-ground public health work. A section linking high-level climate targets to local health department capacities would have strengthened relevance.
-Behavioral Science Insight: The authors champion systemic change but miss opportunities to explore individual behavior shifts (e.g., diet choices, active transport) that public health leverages for climate-health synergies.
Final Thoughts
This book is a catalytic read for environmental health practitioners weary of doom-scrolling climate reports. It reframes our work not as disaster management, but as co-architects of a healthier world. While I wish it engaged more deeply with health equity, its vision compels us to trade reactionary panic for strategic hope.
Thank you to the publisher and Edelweiss for the free review copy. The New Global Possible is essential for public health professionals ready to shift from documenting climate-health crises to helping solve them.
Rating: 4.5/5 (A visionary work that would benefit from stronger health equity integration.)
Note: The book’s greatest gift to public health may be its challenge to our field: Will we be passive witnesses to climate-health impacts, or active participants in creating the “possible”?
As a public health practitioner specializing in environmental health, this book struck me as both a balm and a provocation. While not explicitly written for public health audiences, The New Global Possible offers a transformative framework for addressing what I see daily: the intersection of climate change and human health.
Professional Resonance & Emotional Impact
The authors’ “informed optimism” philosophy (a term I now cherish) challenged my instinct toward crisis-mode thinking. Their case studies of systemic climate solutions—from renewable energy transitions to regenerative agriculture—made me reflect on public health’s tendency to focus on climate impacts (heat deaths, vector-borne diseases) without adequately engaging in upstream solutions. The chapter on multilateral policy breakthroughs stirred unexpected hope, though I bristled at its gloss over implementation gaps in vulnerable regions where health disparities are most acute.
What moved me most was the human-centered storytelling. When describing communities transforming climate anxiety into action, I recognized parallels in public health’s community-based participatory research. Yet, I ached for more explicit connections to health co-benefits—how, for instance, decarbonization directly reduces asthma rates or urban heat island effects.
Constructive Criticism
-Health Equity Lens Needed: While the book celebrates global cooperation, it underplays how climate solutions often bypass marginalized populations. As an environmental health professional, I craved analysis of how to center frontline communities in “optimistic” narratives.
-Data-Practice Bridge: The macro-level optimism occasionally feels detached from on-the-ground public health work. A section linking high-level climate targets to local health department capacities would have strengthened relevance.
-Behavioral Science Insight: The authors champion systemic change but miss opportunities to explore individual behavior shifts (e.g., diet choices, active transport) that public health leverages for climate-health synergies.
Final Thoughts
This book is a catalytic read for environmental health practitioners weary of doom-scrolling climate reports. It reframes our work not as disaster management, but as co-architects of a healthier world. While I wish it engaged more deeply with health equity, its vision compels us to trade reactionary panic for strategic hope.
Thank you to the publisher and Edelweiss for the free review copy. The New Global Possible is essential for public health professionals ready to shift from documenting climate-health crises to helping solve them.
Rating: 4.5/5 (A visionary work that would benefit from stronger health equity integration.)
Note: The book’s greatest gift to public health may be its challenge to our field: Will we be passive witnesses to climate-health impacts, or active participants in creating the “possible”?
September 10, 2025
Nearly two decades ago, Thomas Friedman's "Hot, Flat & Crowded" jolted me awake to the converging crises of climate change, population growth, and resource depletion. During that wake-up call—I pursued LEED certification to try and dedicate my careers to sustainable design—Now Ani Dasgupta's "The New Global Possible" arrives as both vindication and roadmap. Where Friedman diagnosed the problem with urgent clarity, Dasgupta offers something equally vital: evidence-based optimism and a blueprint for orchestrated change.
## From Problems to Possibilities
Dasgupta, CEO of the World Resources Institute, writes from a unique vantage point—someone who has spent decades not just analyzing environmental challenges but actively solving them. His experience rebuilding Banda Aceh after the 2004 tsunami provides the book's foundational insight: "orchestrating vast change for good is possible, but it requires us to work differently across organizations, with an indisputable sense of purpose and trust." This theme of collaborative orchestration threads through every chapter, distinguishing this work from the doom-laden narratives that have characterized much climate literature.
The parallels to Friedman's work are striking but illuminating. Both authors recognize that technological solutions alone are insufficient—the real challenge lies in implementation at scale. However, where "Hot, Flat & Crowded" emphasized individual awakening and corporate responsibility, Dasgupta advances a more sophisticated understanding of systems change. His six pillars—multilateralism, technology, business, justice, cities, and economy—don't stand independently but form an interconnected ecosystem where progress in one area accelerates transformation in others.
## The Architecture of Change
For design professionals, Dasgupta's approach resonates deeply with how we think about integrated building systems. Just as LEED certification taught us that energy efficiency, water conservation, and indoor air quality are interconnected performance metrics, Dasgupta demonstrates how climate action must simultaneously address social justice, economic development, and technological innovation. His case studies—from London's congestion pricing to Indonesia's forest monitoring through Global Forest Watch—reveal how successful interventions create cascading benefits across multiple systems.
The chapter on cities particularly speaks to architects and planners. Dasgupta's analysis of São Paulo's transformation from car-centric to people-centered urban design mirrors the evolution many of us have witnessed in sustainable architecture—moving from isolated green buildings to regenerative urban ecosystems. His insight that "adaptation must be hyperlocal to be successful" echoes the fundamental principle of climate-responsive design: solutions must emerge from deep understanding of local conditions, resources, and communities.
## Beyond Green Buildings to Green Systems
Perhaps most importantly for those of us shaped by Friedman's call to action, Dasgupta validates our professional evolution while challenging us to think bigger. The book's treatment of the circular economy—exemplified by Apple's recovery of "the same amount of gold and copper in one metric ton of iPhone components as in two thousand metric tons of mined rock"—extends the life-cycle thinking central to sustainable design into comprehensive systems transformation.
Dasgupta's emphasis on "orchestrating change" rather than simply implementing technology reflects hard-won wisdom that many green building advocates learned through experience. Early LEED projects sometimes achieved certification while missing broader sustainability goals because they focused on technical compliance rather than systemic integration. Similarly, Dasgupta argues that climate action requires moving "from celebrating technological solutions to mastering the orchestration of change."
## The Justice Imperative
One area where Dasgupta significantly advances beyond Friedman's framework is his unflinching focus on climate justice. The story of Berta Cáceres and the Agua Zarca dam project in Honduras illustrates how environmental protection and social justice are inseparable. For design professionals, this challenges us to consider not just the environmental performance of our buildings but their role in broader patterns of equity and community empowerment.
Dasgupta's data point that "fewer than sixty companies contributed 80 percent of global emissions between 2016 and 2022" while vulnerable communities bear the greatest costs provides crucial context for individual action. This doesn't diminish the importance of sustainable design choices but situates them within larger structural changes that must occur simultaneously.
## Grounded Optimism
The book's greatest strength lies in its "grounded realism and moral courage." Dasgupta doesn't minimize the climate crisis's severity—his analysis of the difference between 1.5 and 2 degrees of warming is sobering. However, he provides compelling evidence that rapid transformation is possible when the right conditions align. The success of the Montreal Protocol in eliminating ozone-depleting substances offers a template, while the Paris Agreement's bottom-up approach suggests new models for global cooperation.
For professionals who entered sustainability work energized by Friedman's diagnosis, Dasgupta's synthesis feels both familiar and revolutionary. The fundamental challenges remain those Friedman identified—the need for clean energy, sustainable consumption, and global cooperation. But Dasgupta's framework for "orchestrating change" provides actionable strategies that move beyond individual virtue toward systemic transformation.
## Conclusion: The Built Environment as Catalyst
"The New Global Possible" succeeds because it bridges the gap between climate urgency and practical action. For architects, planners, and building professionals, it validates our sector's potential as a catalyst for broader transformation while challenging us to think beyond individual projects toward integrated systems change.
Dasgupta's closing call—"Swimming against the tide is exhausting... And yet the answer is always: Yes, it does matter"—resonates with anyone who has persevered through the sometimes frustrating work of advancing sustainability in conservative industries. This book provides both the evidence and inspiration needed to continue that work with renewed focus and expanded ambition.
In an era of climate anxiety, "The New Global Possible" offers something precious: a clear-eyed assessment of our challenges paired with credible pathways forward. For those of us who found our professional calling in responding to earlier climate warnings, it provides a roadmap for the next phase of our work—moving from building green buildings to building the systems that can ensure a livable future.
## From Problems to Possibilities
Dasgupta, CEO of the World Resources Institute, writes from a unique vantage point—someone who has spent decades not just analyzing environmental challenges but actively solving them. His experience rebuilding Banda Aceh after the 2004 tsunami provides the book's foundational insight: "orchestrating vast change for good is possible, but it requires us to work differently across organizations, with an indisputable sense of purpose and trust." This theme of collaborative orchestration threads through every chapter, distinguishing this work from the doom-laden narratives that have characterized much climate literature.
The parallels to Friedman's work are striking but illuminating. Both authors recognize that technological solutions alone are insufficient—the real challenge lies in implementation at scale. However, where "Hot, Flat & Crowded" emphasized individual awakening and corporate responsibility, Dasgupta advances a more sophisticated understanding of systems change. His six pillars—multilateralism, technology, business, justice, cities, and economy—don't stand independently but form an interconnected ecosystem where progress in one area accelerates transformation in others.
## The Architecture of Change
For design professionals, Dasgupta's approach resonates deeply with how we think about integrated building systems. Just as LEED certification taught us that energy efficiency, water conservation, and indoor air quality are interconnected performance metrics, Dasgupta demonstrates how climate action must simultaneously address social justice, economic development, and technological innovation. His case studies—from London's congestion pricing to Indonesia's forest monitoring through Global Forest Watch—reveal how successful interventions create cascading benefits across multiple systems.
The chapter on cities particularly speaks to architects and planners. Dasgupta's analysis of São Paulo's transformation from car-centric to people-centered urban design mirrors the evolution many of us have witnessed in sustainable architecture—moving from isolated green buildings to regenerative urban ecosystems. His insight that "adaptation must be hyperlocal to be successful" echoes the fundamental principle of climate-responsive design: solutions must emerge from deep understanding of local conditions, resources, and communities.
## Beyond Green Buildings to Green Systems
Perhaps most importantly for those of us shaped by Friedman's call to action, Dasgupta validates our professional evolution while challenging us to think bigger. The book's treatment of the circular economy—exemplified by Apple's recovery of "the same amount of gold and copper in one metric ton of iPhone components as in two thousand metric tons of mined rock"—extends the life-cycle thinking central to sustainable design into comprehensive systems transformation.
Dasgupta's emphasis on "orchestrating change" rather than simply implementing technology reflects hard-won wisdom that many green building advocates learned through experience. Early LEED projects sometimes achieved certification while missing broader sustainability goals because they focused on technical compliance rather than systemic integration. Similarly, Dasgupta argues that climate action requires moving "from celebrating technological solutions to mastering the orchestration of change."
## The Justice Imperative
One area where Dasgupta significantly advances beyond Friedman's framework is his unflinching focus on climate justice. The story of Berta Cáceres and the Agua Zarca dam project in Honduras illustrates how environmental protection and social justice are inseparable. For design professionals, this challenges us to consider not just the environmental performance of our buildings but their role in broader patterns of equity and community empowerment.
Dasgupta's data point that "fewer than sixty companies contributed 80 percent of global emissions between 2016 and 2022" while vulnerable communities bear the greatest costs provides crucial context for individual action. This doesn't diminish the importance of sustainable design choices but situates them within larger structural changes that must occur simultaneously.
## Grounded Optimism
The book's greatest strength lies in its "grounded realism and moral courage." Dasgupta doesn't minimize the climate crisis's severity—his analysis of the difference between 1.5 and 2 degrees of warming is sobering. However, he provides compelling evidence that rapid transformation is possible when the right conditions align. The success of the Montreal Protocol in eliminating ozone-depleting substances offers a template, while the Paris Agreement's bottom-up approach suggests new models for global cooperation.
For professionals who entered sustainability work energized by Friedman's diagnosis, Dasgupta's synthesis feels both familiar and revolutionary. The fundamental challenges remain those Friedman identified—the need for clean energy, sustainable consumption, and global cooperation. But Dasgupta's framework for "orchestrating change" provides actionable strategies that move beyond individual virtue toward systemic transformation.
## Conclusion: The Built Environment as Catalyst
"The New Global Possible" succeeds because it bridges the gap between climate urgency and practical action. For architects, planners, and building professionals, it validates our sector's potential as a catalyst for broader transformation while challenging us to think beyond individual projects toward integrated systems change.
Dasgupta's closing call—"Swimming against the tide is exhausting... And yet the answer is always: Yes, it does matter"—resonates with anyone who has persevered through the sometimes frustrating work of advancing sustainability in conservative industries. This book provides both the evidence and inspiration needed to continue that work with renewed focus and expanded ambition.
In an era of climate anxiety, "The New Global Possible" offers something precious: a clear-eyed assessment of our challenges paired with credible pathways forward. For those of us who found our professional calling in responding to earlier climate warnings, it provides a roadmap for the next phase of our work—moving from building green buildings to building the systems that can ensure a livable future.
September 7, 2025
Real Rating: 4.5* of five
The Publisher Says: Global environmental leader Ani Dasgupta takes an honest look at lagging climate action and maps out what can be done to rebuild hope for the future.
In 2015, world leaders came together in Paris and signed an agreement to save the planet. Ten years later, we have made little progress on the ground, and the climate crisis is worse than ever. We’ve mostly figured out what we need to do, but not how to get it done—and time is running out.
In this groundbreaking new book, World Resources Institute President and CEO Ani Dasgupta explores how to orchestrate change at speed and scale. How do we get countries to keep working together on climate action when multilateralism is declining? How do we harness technological innovation to protect nature, rather than destroy it? How do we dismantle entrenched power structures and rapidly transition to a clean, resilient economy?
Based on conversations with more than one hundred leaders around the world, The New Global Possible weaves together stories of unusual partnerships, collaborative leadership, and lessons learned from failure. Mining the rich history of the climate movement, Dasgupta defines the narrow path to a hopeful future—one requiring all of our collective focus and determination—and offers a radical new practice for orchestrating change for good.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: I'm always ready to agree with the old saw, "Cheer up! Darker days are coming," because in my own lifetime I've lost large numbers of people to plagues that could've and should've been stopped sooner than they were; seen my country pull the flush chain on decency and inclusion; and sweated through summers like the ones I knew in 1960s Texas...despite living in 2025 New York.
This is to let you know that I'm not the easiest to jolly-up among the audience. I respond to "it'll all work out fine" with a snarky rendition of "yeah, yeah, pull the other one" if I'm feeling polite. So I am what comedians call a tough room for optimism that isn't firmly grounded in facts and analytically robust everywhere I, with my knowledge independently gained, can push on it. Author Dasgupta, president and CEO of the World Resources Institute, passes my pressure test.(The link is to their website, for your reference; it will verify you're a human, not a malware-spreading, dDOS-havocin' bot, so be patient a few seconds.)
Starting our tour of optimism in the wake of the 2004 tsunami...in flattened Banda Aceh, no less...seemed counterintuitive to me at first. Oh gawd, I thought, another every problem an opportunity sermon. While that is a surface truth of the book, it is not close to its affect, or its intent. One of the many weapons in the catastrophist's mental arsenal is, "well it's always been this way, what can you do?" 1) No. It has not "always been this way." b) You can do something...if you look, you can do a small thing like start buying rechargeable batteries for your electronics. "It costs too much! Those create pollution and damage too!" Yep. Initial purchases are more; but, like compact fluorescent lightbulbs in place of incandescents, you buy them once for every ten or fifteen purchases of the old ones; and stopping pollution/environmental damage also includes reducing your use of the trash to dispose of the old-style items. All of this kind of "yes, but" obstructive arguing is what Author Dasgupta is supremely adept at defusing and redirecting. (I can't read by LED lights so don't use them; but they're coming like it or not, and I don't, so I'm as much a problem as the louder naysayers. I have spare compact fluorescents....)
Which segues into, the more of these things you buy, the less capitalism charges for them. And here is where we discuss capitalism. The author's job in Banda Aceh was to administer the World Bank's huge pot of money meant to restore...even upgrade in the process...the tsunami's giant destruction of the area's infrastructure. Using regional governmental coordinating bodies, microcredit lending (think of the hugely successful Kiva.org system) to the affected, and capitalism's value-generating dynamo in balance, the author succeeded in doing what FEMA was prevented from doing post-Katrina.
The US has a terrible case of libertarianism, and refuses to learn that it is not an absolute theory of governmental everything, because there are no functional theories of everything. Ask a physicist. Nothing truer has ever been said than "perfectionism is the end of action." Requiring a solution to be perfect is the fastest way to perpetuating the status quo. (You've never wondered why leftists fail so very often in the US? Look at how their policies are picked apart, scrutinized, and flaws, faults, and problems get shouted about. Funny how much more muted the criticism of capitalism, authoritarianism, religion, and other regressive evils are, isn't it.)
The truth is there are people out there doing loads of practical good across multiple axes of needed change and succeeding at it. Want a dose of climate change real-life success? Follow Simon Clark on YouTube. Want to know what's worked, in reality, on the ground, in the world of positive change? Read this book. Climate Week 2025 is the 21st through the 28th of Sepember. Join the conversation in an informed, energized way.
Jane Goodall's blurb really sums it up best: “A compelling and hopeful reminder that change is not only within our grasp—it is already happening.”
The Publisher Says: Global environmental leader Ani Dasgupta takes an honest look at lagging climate action and maps out what can be done to rebuild hope for the future.
In 2015, world leaders came together in Paris and signed an agreement to save the planet. Ten years later, we have made little progress on the ground, and the climate crisis is worse than ever. We’ve mostly figured out what we need to do, but not how to get it done—and time is running out.
In this groundbreaking new book, World Resources Institute President and CEO Ani Dasgupta explores how to orchestrate change at speed and scale. How do we get countries to keep working together on climate action when multilateralism is declining? How do we harness technological innovation to protect nature, rather than destroy it? How do we dismantle entrenched power structures and rapidly transition to a clean, resilient economy?
Based on conversations with more than one hundred leaders around the world, The New Global Possible weaves together stories of unusual partnerships, collaborative leadership, and lessons learned from failure. Mining the rich history of the climate movement, Dasgupta defines the narrow path to a hopeful future—one requiring all of our collective focus and determination—and offers a radical new practice for orchestrating change for good.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: I'm always ready to agree with the old saw, "Cheer up! Darker days are coming," because in my own lifetime I've lost large numbers of people to plagues that could've and should've been stopped sooner than they were; seen my country pull the flush chain on decency and inclusion; and sweated through summers like the ones I knew in 1960s Texas...despite living in 2025 New York.
This is to let you know that I'm not the easiest to jolly-up among the audience. I respond to "it'll all work out fine" with a snarky rendition of "yeah, yeah, pull the other one" if I'm feeling polite. So I am what comedians call a tough room for optimism that isn't firmly grounded in facts and analytically robust everywhere I, with my knowledge independently gained, can push on it. Author Dasgupta, president and CEO of the World Resources Institute, passes my pressure test.(The link is to their website, for your reference; it will verify you're a human, not a malware-spreading, dDOS-havocin' bot, so be patient a few seconds.)
Starting our tour of optimism in the wake of the 2004 tsunami...in flattened Banda Aceh, no less...seemed counterintuitive to me at first. Oh gawd, I thought, another every problem an opportunity sermon. While that is a surface truth of the book, it is not close to its affect, or its intent. One of the many weapons in the catastrophist's mental arsenal is, "well it's always been this way, what can you do?" 1) No. It has not "always been this way." b) You can do something...if you look, you can do a small thing like start buying rechargeable batteries for your electronics. "It costs too much! Those create pollution and damage too!" Yep. Initial purchases are more; but, like compact fluorescent lightbulbs in place of incandescents, you buy them once for every ten or fifteen purchases of the old ones; and stopping pollution/environmental damage also includes reducing your use of the trash to dispose of the old-style items. All of this kind of "yes, but" obstructive arguing is what Author Dasgupta is supremely adept at defusing and redirecting. (I can't read by LED lights so don't use them; but they're coming like it or not, and I don't, so I'm as much a problem as the louder naysayers. I have spare compact fluorescents....)
Which segues into, the more of these things you buy, the less capitalism charges for them. And here is where we discuss capitalism. The author's job in Banda Aceh was to administer the World Bank's huge pot of money meant to restore...even upgrade in the process...the tsunami's giant destruction of the area's infrastructure. Using regional governmental coordinating bodies, microcredit lending (think of the hugely successful Kiva.org system) to the affected, and capitalism's value-generating dynamo in balance, the author succeeded in doing what FEMA was prevented from doing post-Katrina.
The US has a terrible case of libertarianism, and refuses to learn that it is not an absolute theory of governmental everything, because there are no functional theories of everything. Ask a physicist. Nothing truer has ever been said than "perfectionism is the end of action." Requiring a solution to be perfect is the fastest way to perpetuating the status quo. (You've never wondered why leftists fail so very often in the US? Look at how their policies are picked apart, scrutinized, and flaws, faults, and problems get shouted about. Funny how much more muted the criticism of capitalism, authoritarianism, religion, and other regressive evils are, isn't it.)
The truth is there are people out there doing loads of practical good across multiple axes of needed change and succeeding at it. Want a dose of climate change real-life success? Follow Simon Clark on YouTube. Want to know what's worked, in reality, on the ground, in the world of positive change? Read this book. Climate Week 2025 is the 21st through the 28th of Sepember. Join the conversation in an informed, energized way.
Jane Goodall's blurb really sums it up best: “A compelling and hopeful reminder that change is not only within our grasp—it is already happening.”
September 16, 2025
Disclaimer: Ani Dasgupta is the President & CEO of the organization that I am employed at (World Resources Institute - WRI). All comments on this book are personal and do not represent the opinions of the institution. I received a digital copy in advance for free as an employee perk. Proceeds from the purchase of this title contribute to funding WRI's projects.
With this review's potential conflict of interest addressed, I admit I was prepared to hate this book. I have been averse to any media that is blindly optimistic, especially regarding the climate crisis, but I have also generally found books that cover the international climate landscape to be uninspiring. I have been growing more disillusioned with the development field and feeling more powerless in my work, as, after more than a decade of significant progress in getting the world on board with addressing climate change, countries shift to more protectionist measures, roll back climate and environmental regulations, and pull out of international agreements. But seeing WRI's history presented alongside major climate milestones added perspective: it was a helpful reminder that the hard times for the climate movement don’t last forever, and that the journey to a cleaner future is collective:
Recent frustrations with work, beyond an increasingly limited supply of development financing, were related to feeling like an insignificant cog in the machine. The stories presented in this book made me see my role differently - even if my individual impact is not explicit, my contributions manifest in unprecedented ways. For example, I started my career at WRI with the New Climate Economy (NCE) initiative that is featured in Chapter 6. To see the outcomes of the work presented not only made me feel better about the time and effort I invested in the respective projects (even if my contributions were not explicitly recognized), but also showed me that those years were the "good" times that I could potentially experience again once this suboptimal period passes.
Dasgupta does not impose a specific agenda or opinion on the optimal way forward, though he argues for the benefits of approaches that continue to be contested, such as green growth. However, this makes each "success" seem a little too congratulatory and reductionist, especially overlooking some of the key features of these movements that made them effective. A more compelling narrative would highlight why some of these "success stories" failed (such as Kyoto) or faltered (such as NCE - the sunsetting of which is not mentioned), but others (such as GHG protocol) flourished, though this comparative analysis is out of the scope of the book's messaging and likely an impossible task to identify the specific catalysts.
That said, the messaging is still very clear and strong: "…it's time to talk less about 2030, 2050, and 2100, and instead focus on how political decisions today can practically improve the quality of people's lives." Keep your eyes on the prize.
With this review's potential conflict of interest addressed, I admit I was prepared to hate this book. I have been averse to any media that is blindly optimistic, especially regarding the climate crisis, but I have also generally found books that cover the international climate landscape to be uninspiring. I have been growing more disillusioned with the development field and feeling more powerless in my work, as, after more than a decade of significant progress in getting the world on board with addressing climate change, countries shift to more protectionist measures, roll back climate and environmental regulations, and pull out of international agreements. But seeing WRI's history presented alongside major climate milestones added perspective: it was a helpful reminder that the hard times for the climate movement don’t last forever, and that the journey to a cleaner future is collective:
"To orchestrate change for good, sometimes you must lead, but sometimes you must let go and allow yourself to be led by others. Both practices require an abundance of trust. And we must trust in progress. Though we are not yet winning the war, we have won many battles and built a solid foundation for success."
Recent frustrations with work, beyond an increasingly limited supply of development financing, were related to feeling like an insignificant cog in the machine. The stories presented in this book made me see my role differently - even if my individual impact is not explicit, my contributions manifest in unprecedented ways. For example, I started my career at WRI with the New Climate Economy (NCE) initiative that is featured in Chapter 6. To see the outcomes of the work presented not only made me feel better about the time and effort I invested in the respective projects (even if my contributions were not explicitly recognized), but also showed me that those years were the "good" times that I could potentially experience again once this suboptimal period passes.
Dasgupta does not impose a specific agenda or opinion on the optimal way forward, though he argues for the benefits of approaches that continue to be contested, such as green growth. However, this makes each "success" seem a little too congratulatory and reductionist, especially overlooking some of the key features of these movements that made them effective. A more compelling narrative would highlight why some of these "success stories" failed (such as Kyoto) or faltered (such as NCE - the sunsetting of which is not mentioned), but others (such as GHG protocol) flourished, though this comparative analysis is out of the scope of the book's messaging and likely an impossible task to identify the specific catalysts.
That said, the messaging is still very clear and strong: "…it's time to talk less about 2030, 2050, and 2100, and instead focus on how political decisions today can practically improve the quality of people's lives." Keep your eyes on the prize.
September 9, 2025
Subtitled Rebuilding Optimism in the Age of Climate Crisis, this is a book of informed optimism from the President and CEO of The World Resources Institute, an organization with over forty years of experience at the forefront of the climate movement. The book comes with high profile recommendation, including a foreword from Christiana Figueres, so I was delighted to be asked to review it. The chapters of this book are organized around 6 key themes:
Multilateralism: Countries Can Collaborate
Technology: We Must Innovate for Good
Business: The Limits of Voluntary Action
Justice: It Is Not a Choice
Cities: Laboratories for Change
Economy: A New Growth Story
Using these topics as the basis, this very detailed, impressively researched book explores various aspects of the climate crisis, sharing stories of initiatives that have worked, from the creation of extensive cycling infrastructure in Copenhagen to the large scale use of satellite photography to combat illegal deforestation to the successes of various high-profile international conferences over the years since the establishment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 1988. The author is very good at identifying what is really important, the need for governments to work together, both with other countries but also with civic society and with business.
The real conclusion is that we need to change the systems we work with, to ensure that we can better address the issues we face. And here is where the optimistic view runs into problems. After reading all the inspiring stories of forward thinking cities, collaborative projects and creative solutions, I was left wondering how we are going to achieve the overall systems change that we need so that these individual beacons of hope can actually act as the basis for a sustainable future across the world. As the author says:
"we won’t achieve our goals unless we fix the overarching economic system that incentivizes pollution, deforestation, and economic inequality. These scourges aren’t glitches to be patched up one by one; they are design features of the very economic system we have developed over centuries."
Are we prepared to dismantle that economic system and if so, do we have any chance of dismantling it quickly enough?
I found this book both fascinating and hopeful and can definitely recommend it to anyone who is interested in a cuatiously optimistic overview of where we currently stand in relation to the climate crisis.
Disclaimer: i was sent a free pdf of this book in return for an honest review.
Multilateralism: Countries Can Collaborate
Technology: We Must Innovate for Good
Business: The Limits of Voluntary Action
Justice: It Is Not a Choice
Cities: Laboratories for Change
Economy: A New Growth Story
Using these topics as the basis, this very detailed, impressively researched book explores various aspects of the climate crisis, sharing stories of initiatives that have worked, from the creation of extensive cycling infrastructure in Copenhagen to the large scale use of satellite photography to combat illegal deforestation to the successes of various high-profile international conferences over the years since the establishment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 1988. The author is very good at identifying what is really important, the need for governments to work together, both with other countries but also with civic society and with business.
The real conclusion is that we need to change the systems we work with, to ensure that we can better address the issues we face. And here is where the optimistic view runs into problems. After reading all the inspiring stories of forward thinking cities, collaborative projects and creative solutions, I was left wondering how we are going to achieve the overall systems change that we need so that these individual beacons of hope can actually act as the basis for a sustainable future across the world. As the author says:
"we won’t achieve our goals unless we fix the overarching economic system that incentivizes pollution, deforestation, and economic inequality. These scourges aren’t glitches to be patched up one by one; they are design features of the very economic system we have developed over centuries."
Are we prepared to dismantle that economic system and if so, do we have any chance of dismantling it quickly enough?
I found this book both fascinating and hopeful and can definitely recommend it to anyone who is interested in a cuatiously optimistic overview of where we currently stand in relation to the climate crisis.
Disclaimer: i was sent a free pdf of this book in return for an honest review.
November 3, 2025
Fantastic read! Dasgupta lays out all the history of multilateralism which sets a foundation for the rest of the book. I appreciate how the facts and truth are layed out without sugar coating anything. One of my favorite quotes from the book was when he writes, “We must fall in love with solving problems, not specific algorithms or tools.”
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