Activist Greta Thunberg has been the subject of online criticism over the release of her new book. Named The Climate Book, some have taken to social media platforms questioning the work’s carbon footprint. It urges the world to prioritise climate justice, and brings together more than 100 scientists, eco-activists, journalists, and writers to explain why the climate crisis is happening. However, some Twitter users including the cultural critic Jordan Peterson responded angrily to Thunberg’s post promoting the book with questions about the eco-sustainability of churning out the hefty hardback.
Mr Peterson asked: “What’s the carbon footprint of the book, dearie? Or is what you’re doing so important that such niceties simply don’t apply?” While musician @FiveTimesAugust wrote on Twitter: “How are these books shipped? Truck? Plane? Electric Car?
“What’s the carbon footprint to get from warehouse to bookstore? How many trees to make the boxes they’re packed in? “How much oil is used in the machinery to print the books? So many questions…”
He added: “How many trees did it take to print these books? Did you offset it by planting more? Did you use sustainable beet juice ink to print the words? Why didn’t you just keep it digital? Wouldn’t that have been better for the planet?”
Elsewhere @MarkGraham8492 posted: “How many trees? How much energy and water to produce the paper? How much dye, surfactant and solvent to produce the ink?
“How many millions of gallons of diesel fuel to transport it? Carbon footprint anyone?”
@sunnyright said: “Think of the environmental damage involved in printing and shipping this. All of the paper and ink. The energy used. “The trains, trucks, or aircraft to ship it. The vehicles to deliver it to stores or homes.”
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Thunberg’s book called The Climate Book: The Facts and the Solutions, contains essays written by professionals in the fields of meteorology, engineering, oceanography, and history who contend that catastrophic climate change can still be avoided.
In the past, Thunberg has lambasted business leaders for putting the interests of short-term profits first, singling out those who make investments in fossil fuels during the annual Davos gathering.
Thunberg’s book is structured into five sections that cover various aspects related to climate change, including how it works, how it’s impacting our planet, its effects on us, what actions have been taken so far, and what still needs to be done.
It includes 105 guest essays that cover a wide range of topics, from ice shelves to economics, from fast fashion to the extinction of species, and from water shortages to the importance of respecting the sustainable practices of Indigenous peoples.
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The book also explores the future of food production and the implementation of carbon budgets, which are meant to narrow the gap between polluting, industrialized nations and poorer nations that are being exploited for their resources but are bearing the brunt of climate change impacts such as droughts, extreme heat, dangerous storms, and coastal erosion.
In the book, Thunberg writes: “If you are one of the 19 million U.S. citizens or the 4 million citizens of China who belong to the [wealthiest] top 1 percent — along with everyone else who has a net worth of $1,055,337 or more — then hope is perhaps not what you need the most. At least not from an objective perspective.”
Express reached out to the publisher of The Climate Book: The Facts and the Solutions for a response to the criticism.