Despite it All: a Handbook for Climate Hopefuls is shortlisted for the 2026 Royal Society Science Book Prize, supported by the Trivedi Family Foundation.
About the book
There is a climate crisis, extinctions are accelerating, forests are disappearing, water cycles are collapsing and pollution is choking our skies and seas.
It is easy to be defeatist about the fate of our planet.
And yet, despite it all, it’s not too late: things can change for the better.
Fred Pearce has been reporting from the frontline of climate change and environmental recovery for over four decades and what he has seen has given him reason – in fact, seven reasons – for (cautious) hope. Here, we learn how nature is finding ways to thrive in unexpected places, how the population bomb has been defused, how our consumerist societies are finally approaching ‘peak stuff’, and how a combination of ancient wisdom and modern technology can help us correct our course.
About the author
Fred Pearce is an award-winning journalist and author, who has reported from eighty-seven countries. He has written for most UK newspapers and magazines and been interviewed on TV and radio by everyone from Jon Stewart on The Daily Show, to Kirsty Walk on Newsnight, and Chris Packham on Springwatch, and Jenni Murray on Woman’s Hour. His books have been translated into twenty-seven languages. The feature film Forested Future is based on Fred’s work and premiered at the ICA on 3 November 2025.
