Architect of 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and Her Political Strategist Write Book

Architect of 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and Her Political Strategist Write Book

Knopf To Publish The Future We Choose in February

2019-9-19 (NEW YORK, NY) – Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac – who led negotiations for the United Nations during the Paris Climate Agreement of 2015 — have written a cautionary but optimistic book about the world’s changing climate and the fate of humanity. The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis will be published in February by Knopf in the US and by Manilla Press in the UK.

Figueres was the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change from 2010-2016, and she was and remains the public face of the most pivotal climate agreement in history, the Paris Climate Agreement of 2015. For her efforts, she was chosen by Time magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. Rivett-Carnac — a former Buddhist monk — was her political strategist at the organization. Together, they are the co-founders of Global Optimism, an organization focused on bringing about environmental and social change. They have worked closely with key campaigners supporting efforts to ameliorate the consequences of climate change, among them Greta Thunberg, Al Gore, Leonardo DiCaprio, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Jane Goodall, David Attenborough, and Robert Redford.

Figueres and Rivett-Carnac will be taking part in the UN Climate Summit on September 23.

In The Future We Choose, the authors outline two possible scenarios for the planet. In one, they describe what life on Earth will be like by 2050 if we fail to meet the Paris climate targets. In the other, they lay out what it will be like to live in a carbon neutral, regenerative world. They argue for confronting the climate crisis head on, with determination and optimism, and they list ten things each of us can do to make a difference.

“We know that climate change destruction is every day more evident,” the authors said. “What we have not yet realized is that we still have the opportunity to not only protect ourselves and our children, but actually create a much better world for all. This book shows how we can do that.”

Erroll McDonald, the editor for the book at Knopf, said, “Climate change is arguably the most urgent and consequential issue humankind has ever faced. How we address it in the next 30 years will determine the kind of world we will live in and will bequeath to our children and theirs. The Future We Choose presents our options and tells us what governments, corporations and each of us can and must do to fend off disaster.”

Jane Goodall said, “The Paris Agreement was a landmark for humankind. In this timely and important book, two of the principal creators of that agreement show us why and how we can now realize its promise. I hope it is widely read and acted on.”



Media Resources:
Download the photo of Christiana Figueres (by Jimena Mateo) | Download the photo of Tom Rivett-Carnac (by Ivan Weiss)

Knopf.
208 pages. $23 ISBN 978-0-525-65835-1


For more information, contact:
Gabrielle Brooks | 212-572-2152 | gbrooks@penguinrandomhouse.com