We have most of the technology we need to combat the climate crisis - and most people want to see more action. But after three decades of climate COPs, we are accelerating into a polycrisis of climate, food security, biodiversity, pollution, inequality, and more. What, exactly, has been holding us back? Mike Berners-Lee looks at the challenge from new angles. He stands further back to gain perspective; he digs deeper under the surface to see the root causes; he joins up every element of the challenge; and he learns lessons from our failures of the past. He spells out why, if humanity is to thrive in the future, the most critical step is to raise standards of honesty in our politics, our media, and our businesses. Anyone asking 'what can each of us do right now to help?' will find inspiration in this practical and important book.

‘I was engrossed. It’s now my go-to book. A hopeful and empowering book raising the challenges humans face and offering clear and straightforward actions for individuals, organisations and governments alike to take to reduce the worst effects of our planetary impact - all in bite-size chunks. A must-read for - well - everyone.’

Deborah Meaden - entrepreneur

‘Reading this book is like diving into a freezing lake: it’s bracing, lucid, and leaves you buzzing. Packing a life's worth of wisdom into every chapter, Mike Berners-Lee sets out the hard facts while holding the consequences with deep care. Dive in.’

Kate Raworth - author of Doughnut Economics

‘Mike Berners-Lee's book is persuasive and informative. He is rightly dismayed at the lack of urgency in global efforts to limit climate change. This book will energise campaigners, and offer them, in compact and highly readable format, the information that citizens need.’

Martin Rees - Astronomer Royal

‘The focus on truth-telling is crucial here. The author is right: if we can't cut to the heart of our dilemma, our chances of solving it are small.’

Bill McKibben - author of The End of Nature

‘This is an astonishing, essential and radical book. I’ve never read anything that digs so deep and ties things up so completely. The brilliance of A Climate of Truth is that it cuts through the layers of mistruths to reveal the starker realities of the polycrisis we are facing. Everything that we do is entangled - and heading in a dangerous direction. Mike Berners-Lee provides effective solutions, but they are going to demand enormous changes in human behaviour, replacing our constant desire for growth with a genuine sustainable approach to living.’

Rosie Boycott - crossbench peer and climate campaigner

‘Much has been written on the climate crisis and solutions to it, but few books are as comprehensive, readable and engaging as this one. Even fewer have something truly original to say. This book is different. Here, climate, social and political science meet behavioural economics, and more. The book covers values and value; expediency and honesty; law and lore; lying hard, lying down and taking a stand. A conversational style combined with serious erudition makes for ready reading, but this book is much more than just words. A Climate of Truth provides a real action plan that goes beyond the conventional list around the climate crisis with which many are already familiar. Far more than a moral sermon, it is a rallying call to action. Read this book.’

Hugh Montgomery OBE - University College London

‘This is a book we all need to read - a humane, honest and intelligent approach to why we are where we are and how we can still make impactful change. Mike makes hope a generative action.’

Mary Portas OBE

‘Mike’s new book is a fabulous read, offering up tangible actions for every one of us and I thoroughly recommend it.’

Dale Vince - founder of Ecotricity

‘Mike documents clearly why business-more-or-less-as-usual is not working and won’t work. We need a Plan B. Mike provides the key components that we need for such a plan. Let’s collaborate to co-create and implement such a plan.’

Pooran Desai OBE - founder OnePlanet.com and originator of One Planet Living

‘In his unique style, Mike Berners-Lee dissects the challenges we face, explains why they remain unaddressed, and offers guidance for a new “age of truth”. Crucially, Mike’s contribution aims to empower us all with the tools to drive change ourselves. It’s not about admiring the expertise of others but about equipping the reader to play their part in sparking a bottom-up transformation. Mike strikes a careful balance between opportunity and hope, without falling into the trap of ungrounded optimism. While I sense a greater urgency and need for social change than Mike suggests, I still wholeheartedly recommend A Climate of Truth to anyone looking to channel their concerns about the future into informed and meaningful action.’

Kevin Anderson - Tyndall Centre, Universities of Manchester and Uppsala

‘Truth is an increasingly scarce commodity in a world of alternative facts and weaponised obfuscation. In the context of the climate and ecological emergency, this is more than frustrating - quite literally, a matter of life and death. As planetary breakdown spirals out of control, we are staring a grim, hothouse future full in the face, and only hearing and taking on board the truth will ensure we have any chance of spurring the wholesale action needed to stymie looming cataclysm. In this marvellous, inspiring and heart-felt narrative, Mike Berners-Lee reveals how embracing truth, honesty and plain speaking can not only transform every aspect of how we live our lives on planet Earth, but also ensure that our kids and their kids inherit a world worth living in.’

Bill McGuire - author of Hothouse Earth: An Inhabitant’s Guide

‘A tonic for our reality-avoidant political culture. Meticulous, measured and meaningful. You’ll have heard of the audacity of hope: this is the audacity of truth.’

Jonathan Rowson - co-founder and CEO of Perspectiva, and author of The Moves that Matter: A Chess Grandmaster on the Game of Life

‘This is Mike Berners-Lee’s magnificent magnum opus. An excellent book distilling his work so far on the climate crisis and leading to the key issue of honesty, with chapters on how we can get truth into business, media and politics. This is all the more relevant given recent election results.’

John Bowers KC - Principal, Brasenose College, Oxford, and barrister

‘Mike Berners-Lee shows us how the world’s environmental problems - including the loss of biodiversity and climate breakdown - are all interlinked. He goes on to demonstrate that the obstacles to remedying these crises are not technological. Instead, he conclusively demonstrates that we need substantial social and political changes to cope with the growing threats. I was particularly struck by the emphasis he places on improving the standards of honesty in public life as a prerequisite for addressing the many challenges we face. As in all his writing, Mike is clear, forthright and compellingly persuasive.’

Chris Goodall - author of Possible: Ways to Net Zero

‘Do you want to understand the ‘polycrisis’? Mike Berners-Lee takes you inside it. The crucial demand saturating this book is that - hard as it sometimes is - we have no alternative but to tell and face the truth. This book will provide you with crucial help in accepting this, and gives you vital information on what we all might do about it.’

Rupert Read - Co-director of the Climate Majority Project and author of Why Climate Breakdown Matters