Just Earth – by Tony Juniper

 This book is written by Tony Juniper CBE a leading environmentalist who actively defends Nature and has done so for over 40 years. He has led major organisations, run global campaigns and advised governments at the highest levels so when he identifies the real problems at the heart of the climate and nature crises we should all listen especially when he also identifies a hopeful way forward.

I liked the history in this book detailing how Middlesbrough gave birth to the modern world with the first port being built there and a major shipbuilding industry emerging. This led to chemical factories and foundries bursting into life. The new steam powered ships and railways meaning heavy goods could be moved easily. By 1889 Juniper says the industrial revolution had burst forth and is the reason the future of civilization is at risk because we developed and expanded our demands without taking into account the world’s life support systems. Our crises now, he continues, is that we keep demanding more of the Earth’s finite resources. The question Juniper says is ‘no longer whether we have a serious challenge on our hands but at what point will it become unmanageable?’

He describes how the late 1950’s and early 1960’s led to living standards being raised - it was the era of ‘the baby boomers’ and the first decade of the Great Acceleration. The post war explosion in consumption began and negative environmental consequences started to be felt.  The photo ‘Earthrise’ taken from Apollo 8 in 1968 allowed people to look back at the world and delivered a powerful message inspiring environmental activism – Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace were both founded at that time. Rachel Carson published ‘Silent Spring’ in 1962. He says the 1990’s was a golden time for environmental groups and describes the history of activism and conferences that took place and agreements reached as people became aware of the problems approaching. In 2015 a new set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) were set with a target of 2030. Targets that were set 30 years ago - but have still not been achieved.

Juniper goes on to explain how the factories caused pollution and how the more affluent people tended to move away from these areas and the less affluent got left behind. He also explains how society became more unequal and while billionaires built their remote bunkers, climate collapse began to impact the most vulnerable in society, affecting them first and the hardest. Juniper points out that the former Chief Economist of the World Bank said ‘Climate change is a result of the greatest market failure the world has seen’. Juniper stresses that polluting companies such as Shell are not in the business to end poverty or to combat climate change. They are structured to maximise profits and twist any narrative to ensure they achieve their goal. Politicians also are making decisions for us that only do what they think the voters will vote for not what will solve the problems of the less affluent or solve the problems of climate change. Hence the targets set do not get achieved and we have become a very unequal society.  

Juniper ends with stressing how our world has also become detached from nature and how our progress in solving climate change is held back – not by lack of facts or good policy options – we have had those for years!  We are held back by deep views in economic ideas, political priorities and cultural norms and because of our nature detached worldview which means we do not pay enough attention in our every day lives to the climate problems evolving around us our climate change progress to solve the problems does not get achieved.  

Juniper sets out his hopes for the future – trying to get society to become more equal and getting people to reconnect with nature right across societies would help to create a mandate for actions needed to halt and reverse the decline of life on Earth and if we respond in the right way, it could be less about seeing these solutions as a sacrifice and more about opportunity.

This is a complicated read with a good basis in facts and some new ideas about how to try to solve some of our climate problems – well worth a read!