Great Adaptations: In the shadow of a climate crisis

Across ten captivating and beautifully illustrated chapters, Morgan Phillips recounts stories of adaptation from the air-conditioned pavements of Doha and the feral camels of Australia, to the ‘cool rooms’ of Paris and the ‘fog catchers’ of Morocco. These are the lesser-told stories of good, bad, ugly and very ugly adaptation to climate change – they will be the inspirations for the positive adaptations of the future; and the forewarnings of the mal-adaptations that must be avoided. Great Adaptations is a call to action, it presses home the need for adaptations that are ecologically restorative and socially just. It examines how adaptation is framed, unpicks the contested notion of Deep Adaptation, explores the potential of Transformative Adaptation, and questions the legitimacy of the ‘reassuring stories’ that still dominate mainstream climate discourse. It is conversational, provocative, engaging and visually arresting – a tactile, pocket-sized and very shareable object.