In technocratic settings, the specter of climate disaster can seem distant—a future possibility that some combination of financial pledges and fine print could still mitigate. Literature isn’t as charitable, and contemporary novels often powerfully explore the long-term consequences of our disregard for the Earth. For some readers, digesting a fictional worst-case scenario can compel real-life political shifts; they don’t want the plot to become true.

On Monday, negotiators from around the world will convene in Belém, Brazil, for the 2025 United Nations climate conference, known as COP30. For at least two weeks, they will attempt to hash out an agreement to pull the planet back from the brink of what scientists call “tipping points” : when environmental destruction becomes irreversible.

On Monday, negotiators from around the world will convene in Belém, Brazil, for the 2025 United Nations climate conference, known as COP30. For at least two weeks, they will attempt to hash out an agreement to pull the planet back from the brink of what scientists call “tipping points”: when environmental destruction becomes irreversible.

In technocratic settings, the specter of climate disaster can seem distant—a future possibility that some combination of financial pledges and fine print could still mitigate. Literature isn’t as charitable, and contemporary novels often powerfully explore the long-term consequences of our disregard for the Earth.