An entire book later, the politics of Deep Adaptation remain loosely defined and worrying in their implications. Less compelling, though, is the tendency towards an anti-humanist primitivism. The social and economic transformations necessary for climate justice do not appear in close sight. We are not on track to avoid runaway climate breakdown.
They are also right to reject the scientific basis of the global aim to limit global average temperature rises to 2.o oC: “That figure was agreed by governments that were dealing with many domestic and international pressures from vested interests, particularly corporations.” Emissions are already beyond safe levels. Bendell and Read argue, rightly: “When it comes to global heating, there is still no sign of an action that would resemble a true case of emergency.” The validity of the science on which Bendell relies has been called into question, but given the current trajectory their pessimism seems justified. You won’t know whether to stay or go.” We are warned of looming disease, civil conflict and war. “You will depend on your neighbours for food and some warmth. Descriptions of societal collapse focus on food and extreme weather. The main strength of the book is that the contributors are unafraid to challenge conventional wisdom on the climate crisis and go against the grain with a provocative assessment of what we are now able to achieve and where we should focus our efforts. The claim made that we should begin to consider what it means for humanity to adapt to a changed climate is convincing.īendell’s interpretation of the climate science is of “inevitable collapse, probably catastrophe and possible extinction”. This retains and amplifies the main arguments first proposed by Bendell in his online paper, which went viral and became influential within Extinction Rebellion, including among its co-founders. The book starts from the premise that societal collapse induced by climate change is inevitable or highly likely, arguing that humans should adapt to this new reality by moving away from industrial consumer society.
This is the context in which many people are now reading Deep Adaptation: Navigating the Realities of Climate Chaos, a collection of essays brought together by Bendell and Dr Rupert Read, his long time collaborator and one of the many XR co-founders. The debates within XR often centre on a difference of approach between long standing members who were influenced by Dr Jem Bendell's paper calling for "deep adaptation" and those who want to focus on climate justice and a rapid dismantling of "fossil fuel capitalism" to avoid the need for such adaption. Activists in Extinction Rebellion are currently discussing the movement's new published strategy.
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