World Environment Day

World Environment Day (5 June) is the biggest international day for the environment. Led by the United Nations Environment Programme, and held annually since 1973, it has grown to be the largest global platform for environmental outreach. This year's theme focuses on land restoration, desertification and drought resilience, a rallying call for the protection and revival of ecosystems all around the world.

Here is a list of environmental books written with passion, eloquence and strong grounding in science, reminding us of our connection to nature and of our responsibility to save and protect it.

Updated May 24, 2024
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The book of vanishing species : illustrated lives
Forshall, Beatrice
Paper Book
__________________Our Earth is more beautiful and more diverse than we can possibly conceive of. The Book of Vanishing Species is a stunning homage to the planet's most mysterious, bizarre and wondrous creatures and plants. Their stories are captivating,...
A life on our planet : my witness statement and a vision for the future
Attenborough, David
Paper Book
With a new afterword, Why You Are Here- A speech on the opening of the COP26 climate summit As a young man, I felt I was out there in the wild, experiencing the untouched natural world - but it was an illusion. The tragedy of our time has been happening all around us...
Regenesis : feeding the world without devouring the planet
Monbiot, George
Paper Book
People talk a lot about the problems with intensive farming. But the problem isn't the adjective. It's the noun. Around the world, farming has been wiping out vast habitats, depleting freshwater, polluting oceans, and accelerating global heating, while leaving millions undernourished and unfed....
This is not a drill : an Extinction Rebellion handbook
Farrell, Clare
Paper Book
Extinction Rebellion are inspiring a whole generation to take action on climate breakdown. Now you can become part of the movement - and together, we can make history. It's time. This is our last chance to do anything about the global climate and ecological emergency. Our last...
The hidden universe : adventures in biodiversity
Antonelli, Alexandre
Paper Book
We don't know what we've got until it's gone... This brief, lucid book by the Director of Science at Royal Botanical Gardens takes you on an unforgettable tour of the natural world, showing how biodiversity- the rich variety of life in the world and in our own...
39 ways to save the planet
Heap, Tom
Paper Book
We got ourselves into this. Here's how we can get ourselves out. We know the problem- the amount of biodiversity loss, the scale of waste and pollution, the amount of greenhouse gas we pump into the air... it's unsustainable. We have to do something. And we are...
The treeline : the last forest and the future of life on Earth
Rawlence, Ben
Paper Book
* A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK * 'The very treeline is on the move: a devastating image. This book is an evocative, wise and unflinching exploration of what it will mean for humanity.' Jay Griffiths, author of Wild A ground-breaking and...
No one is too small to make a difference
Thunberg, Greta
Ebook
In twenty short books, Penguin brings you the classics of the environmental movement. No One is Too Small to Make a Difference collects Greta Thunberg's history-making speeches, from addresses at climate rallies around the world audiences at the UN, the World...
How to avoid a climate disaster : the solutions we have and the breakthroughs we need
Gates, Bill
Paper Book
Bill Gates has spent a decade investigating the causes and effects of climate change. With the help of experts in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, political science, and finance, he has focused on what must be done in order to stop the planet's slide toward certain...
On fire : the burning case for a green new deal
Klein, Naomi.
Paper Book
'Naomi Klein's work has always moved and guided me. She is the great chronicler of our age of climate emergency, an inspirer of generations' - Greta Thunberg For more than twenty years Naomi Klein's books have defined our era, chronicling the exploitation of people and the...
The uninhabitable earth
Wallace-Wells, David
Paper Book
The slowness of climate change is a fairy tale, perhaps as pernicious as the one that says it isn't happening at all, and if your anxiety about it is dominated by fears of sea-level rise, you are barely scratching the surface of what terrors are possible, even within the lifetime of a teenager today...
It's not that radical : climate action to transform our world
Loach, Mikaela
WINNER OF BOOKSHOP.ORG'S NON-FICTION ANNUAL INDIE CHAMPIONS AWARD For too long, representations of climate action in the mainstream media have been white-washed, green-washed and diluted to be made compatible with capitalism. We are living in an economic system...
Wilder : how rewilding is transforming conservation and changing the world
Kerr, Millie
Paper Book
FINALIST IN THE 2024 AAAS/SUBARU PRIZE FOR EXCELLENCE IN SCIENCE WRITING - YOUNG ADULT SCIENCE A global rewilding journey, exploring innovative and eye-opening projects led by passionate conservationists. Rewilding is a radical new approach to wildlife...
Wild green wonders : a life in nature
Barkham, Patrick
Paper Book
The collected writings from one of the nation's most celebrated nature writers.

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