The Ministry for the Future

The world of the near future, fighting climate change over the next couple decades, as told through the eyes of several protagonists. Among them Mary, who leads the Swiss-based Ministry for the Future, and Frank, one of the few survivors of a devastating heat wave that killed 20 million. The solutions and problems they encounter while attempting to save the planet are very grounded in our socioeconomic reality, and sometimes feel like a nonfiction blueprint of ideas. There's a cryptocurrency tied to carbon sequestering - carbonCoin. There's climate-motivated bombing of planes, causing a widespread and convenient fear of flying. There are initiatives to return half the planet to wildlife - Half Earth.

I think I appreciated the idea behind the book more than I enjoyed the flow of it. But, I did have a big smile on my face when I realized that this is a hopeful book, presenting us with a happy ending, telling us that it'll be hard and difficult, but that ultimately we'll get there.