Book Review: There is No Planet B by Mike Berners-Lee

Mike Berners-Lee is a researcher, writer and consultant on sustainability and the climate crisis. The first version of this book was published in 2019, before the pandemic, but has since been updated.

Mike Berners-Lee is also the author of How Bad are Bananas, about the carbon foot-print of food.

This book is my go-to book to dip into to learn about the real effects of climate change. The author covers a wide variety of topics such as Food, Energy and Transport. He details out the facts and gives his opinion in a no-nonsense way that ensures you have heard his message. The author consults for many large corporations, and it shows in the style of writing. It’s not quite preachy, but it makes the point in order for whose who make decisions to sit up and take notice.

However, this is also a book for those looking to find out more about the climate crisis in a factual way. Do you really have to become vegan, give up all car transport and make your own clothes to live a carbon-neutral life? Read this book to find out why this isn’t necessarily the case.

The author is also a realist. He clearly states the case for ceasing to fly on aircraft. However, he acknowledges that this isn’t always practical. Therefore he urges that, if you have to fly and go on holiday, go for longer periods of time, and when you’re there, make the most of your time by getting to know local cultures and learning something useful.

Some of the writing can come across as impenetrable, with numerous facts and figures. It is these facts and figures that give power to the author’s opinions – you feel that you can trust what he is saying, because he knows what he is talking about.

This is a book that you can dip in and out of. You don’t need to read it all at once, and feel overwhelmed. Read a section at a time, and go away and think about it.

If you had to change one thing, as a result of reading this book, what would it be?

Finally, the author has a sound grasp of the complexities of modern international economics. He makes it very clear that there is no easy way out of the climate crisis – a decision in one area may well have unintended negative consequences in another.

However, he emphasises the difference people can make by working together. After all, there is more than enough ‘energy’ and food to go around in the world today – how difficult can it be to share?