There are lots of ideas that will be familiar, and many that I have covered on the blog in the past – the importance of mangroves, reducing food waste, urban farming, walkable cities, or geothermal energy. A variety of guest essayists contribute their own stories. Individual solutions are then explained in more detail within each theme, with real world examples to show that these are not theoretical ideas, but practical approaches that are already being used in specific places. The book explores this across a series of themes, such as oceans, forests, cities, industry and food. Regeneration is what life has always done.” It’s also about regeneration as a philosophy: “Regeneration is an inclusive and effective strategy compared to combating, fighting, or mitigating climate change.

These are actions for the next generation, a make or break moment for the planet as we know it. And the idea of regeneration runs through it.īoth meanings of the word apply. The emphasis has shifted from a potential menu of solutions to what it might look like to take action – from a ‘what if?’ to ‘how to’. But there is a different dynamic to this book. There’s a similarly large team of people behind it and a huge amount of expertise, and again all brought together by Hawken. It’s presented in the same attractive but slightly unwieldy format, halfway between a paperback and a coffee table book.

Drawdown is one of my favourite climate books, an extensive study into the top fifty ways to reverse climate change, edited into an accessible and inspiring book by Paul Hawken.

Regeneration book paul hawken