The world that awaits: Our life in Sweden with the climate change. That is the title of climate reporter Peter Alestig's new book. A titel that says alot about the future we have infront of us when we get a warmer temperature on earth. The reader gets thrown in a future scenario that touches snow loving Swedes at heart, already in the first chapter. It shows that the climate changes are nothing that comes in the future. It is already here and affects Sweden to a very high degree.
Peter Alestig is a journalist with a focus on sustainability and climate and has worked for several major daily newspapers. In the spring of 2022, he took a leave of absence to write the book, which was completed in just six months. The world that awaits is not a fact book full of graphs and tables, but Peter has chosen to write the book in running text so that as many people as possible can absorb the content. The purpose of the book is to educate the public and put the finger on what he thinks is missing in the climate debate, namely how the crisis affects us Swedes. His hope is that the book will "inform about the change we are facing, and which we will all be affected by. And that the adjustment we will all have to make - we don't do it for anyone else, but we do it for ourselves, and for our children's future".
The book has received very good feedback from readers, reviewers, researchers and colleagues. Peter has spent a lot of time on research and at the end of the book there is a solid list of sources. He himself has plowed over 300 reports and was surprised at how poorly he actually had knowledge in certain areas and how the insights gave him both nightmares and hope for the future. For example, Peter mentions that he was surprised by how complex the consequences of climate change actually are and that he found chain reactions that he could never have imagined. Flooding is a concrete example. It rains much more in Sweden today than it did 30 years ago. Large amounts of rain lead to landslides, landslides, and material destruction, which has economic consequences in several different ways. The insurance companies will not be able to insure houses located in flood affected areas. Banks do not want to lend money to those who want to buy a house right there because that you cannot insure the house, etc. Many places in Sweden are in risk areas in case of large amounts of rain. "Here we see large economic values that are under threat. The overall picture is frightening and the climate crisis is really a crisis for the whole of Swedish society," says Peter.
The book is dedicated to his 1.5-year-old son and he admits that the first chapter about "snow" was the section that touched him the most. "I myself remember when I was a child when the snow still existed on the west coast, where I grew up, which unfortunately is only a memory today. That children in the future will not be allowed to play in the snow, that touches me deeply."
And when asked if, despite new insights and new knowledge, he is still hopeful, he answers; "I am hopeful that I think we still have the chance to avoid the worst climate scenarios and as he also expresses it in the book: Sweden has woken up, but we are still newly awake".
We hope to see more of Peter Alestig at the Nordic Sustainability Expo in May next year and highly recommend that you read the book. Peter has generously given all NSE newsletter subscribers an exclusive 25% discount. Enter the code: ALESTIG25 at this link: https://mondial-forlag.myshopify.com/products/varlden-som-vantar-vart-liv-i-klimatforandringarnas-sverige