5 books that will change how you think about climate change and the environment

Nature's future, our future: A man wades through a flooded street at the Section 23 residential area in Shah Alam, Selangor on Dec 19. Photo: The Star/Azhar Mahfof

We are constantly being bombarded with dire warnings about the environmental and climate emergency. Act now, we are told, or face an unprecedented global catastrophe. But while the solutions proposed – solar panels, heat pumps, eating less meat – are no doubt necessary, they are for the most part unimaginative and uninspiring – and isolated from a wider system of beliefs whereby they might acquire genuine meaning.

The following five books offer an alternative perspective. In contrast to the simplistic idea that all we need to do is implement a set of technological and lifestyle changes, they offer a new way of understanding and relating to nature.