January 01, 2021

A glimpse into the future of the climate crisis

topic:	Arts
located:	India
editor:	Tish Sanghera

A devastating heatwave hits northern India. High humidity and searing heat means Frank, an aid worker in a remote village near Lucknow, struggles to keep his neighbours alive. The taps run dry, there is limited water in the tanks stored in his office and the generator-powered AC unit runs out of fuel. The children and elderly do not survive the night. In desperation, people head to the nearby lake, but it provides little relief. A rescue team eventually arrives, but only Frank is found alive. Around 20 million die in a single week.

So begins The Ministry for the Future, the latest science-fiction novel by Kim Stanley Robinson. It is set in the near future, as the world’s bureaucrats fail to tackle the climate crisis. Disasters like the big heatwave, as the event above is called, trigger extreme responses. A new international climate body is created within the United Nations and dubbed the Ministry for the Future. We are told this organisation is “charged with defending all living creatures present and future who cannot speak for themselves.” Crucially its mandate is to protect the right of all future persons to a livable planet. 

The novel unravels with more ideas and experimental approaches to policy and technological innovation, suggesting potential solutions to our own very real climate emergency. One of the most interesting ideas, though potentially far-fetched for now, is repurposing the technology that pumps oil out of the ground to extract melted ice water from underneath glaciers, which is then transported to the surface, where it refreezes into thick sheets. 

The strongest message, though, is that humanity’s current economic system has brought the environment to a tipping point and the only way to reverse our disastrous path is to fundamentally change our abusive relationship with the planet. Interestingly though, this not only means immediately halting the exploitative overconsumption that depletes natural resources and pollutes the planet, but also looking at issues like ensuring fair wages for all, building a more just tax system and treating refugees with compassion.

The author introduces ambitious, yet not totally ‘sci-fi’ ideas that could lead to such an overhaul. One example is the idea of carbon coins - an alternative currency backed by the world’s central banks which is earned by sequestering carbon. Not only does it incentivise traditional polluters, like oil companies, to keep their assets in the ground and invest in green technologies, it is also backed by blockchain technology, tracking each deposit and helping to stamp out corruption and tax evasion. Countries, cities and even ordinary citizens are encouraged to green and rewild their land and the whole world works towards the ‘Half Earth’ goal, where over 50 percent of the planet is given over to nature and wildlife corridors - helping to restore the biosphere.

Violence is not missing from this overall optimistic novel. Though it is the policy wonks and bureaucrats that correct our current trajectory from environmental destruction to rehabilitation, terrorists bringing down passenger jets causing the industry to collapse and murdering the super-wealthy owners of coal plants with automated drone weapons provide the kick-start which the officials sorely needed. 

In summary, the novel offers a realistic image of our impending future - the good and the bad. However, by heeding its warnings and considering its radical approach to innovation, we could just avoid the worst of it. 

Photo by Issy Bailey

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