Chicken Little said the sky is falling. My fourth-grade science teacher said it had a hole in it, and unlike the quilts my region is so keen on, this hole couldn’t be patched with cute floral cotton. We’ve all heard similar complaints. The sea level is rising (and it really is!), storms are getting more destructive (trust me—they are!), and the world is getting hotter (it is, and I’m over it!). Climate change is unfortunately everywhere, so it makes perfect sense that the ideas and fears of it have permeated literature, too. Climate Fiction—or Cli-Fi for short—is a subgenre of speculative fiction that explores just that, but don’t be afraid! For all of the terrifying possibilities Climate Fiction presents, there are just as many opportunities for healing and growth contained within its pages.
What is Climate Fiction?
Climate Fiction revolves around any plot or story that involves climate change in a major way. These stories can be set in the modern era, the past, or the future—they can even take place on completely different worlds. There’s no rule saying that Earth is the only planet allowed to experience bad weather! Imagine that the regions near a mountain flood because strip mining practices took away all the vegetation that would help soak up groundwater. Maybe a nuclear cloud so thick that rainwater can’t penetrate it drifts over New York City, or the Amazon rainforest suddenly goes dry because of diabolical weather control. All these stories and more present opportunities to explore climate fiction.
Climate Fiction is a relatively new subgenre, with climate anxieties that began rising in the 20th century informing the texts that are staples of this subgenre. While classic science fiction authors like Isaac Asimov experimented with climate in their stories, it wasn’t until climate change became a tangible and recognizable real-world problem that Climate Fiction took off. Perhaps one of the most recognizable texts in this genre is Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower. As climate change becomes more of a threat, this subgenre continues to grow. If you’re someone who experiences climate anxiety (like me!), this subgenre may be a good outlet for your concerns.
Common Tropes
The most prominent element of Climate Fiction is climate change. This can take place as droughts, floods, and severe weather among others. The sky is the limit! Or maybe it’s not. Maybe the limit doesn’t exist. Regardless, if you’re considering a romp in the Climate Fiction world, here are a few tropes you might throw into the mix.
- People Are the Worst: Oftentimes, the environmental change covered in Climate Fiction is a direct or indirect result of human activity. In other words, it’s all our fault. Think about carbon emissions and ozone layers and pollution in the sea and nuclear clouds that cover whole villages—stuff like that. Sometimes, it’s the reactions that people have to a climate crisis that brings the worst out of them, like the folk in Alison Stine’s Road Out of Winter. Either way, people are active participants in their own demise in these stories, and it’s also up to them to find solutions to the problems they brought about.
- Climate Tech: Resolving a climate crisis can’t always be done by stopping the behaviors that started it in the first place. Sometimes we need a little extra boost from some fancy technology. This technology can range from small everyday devices to large-scale innovations such as the floating Arctic cities in Blackfish City.
- Dystopian/Utopian: The response to a global climate crisis can vary, as can the results of the reactions. Some societies may spring up to form a perfect utopia that protects them from the fallout of their prior folly, as seen in Ernest Callenbach’s Ecotopia. Conversely, and more often, the world falls into a dystopian structure that attempts to divide what’s left of the world’s usable resources like the water protectors in The Water Knife. The future of climate change can be hopeful or filled with doom. That choice is up to you.
Why I Like Climate Fiction
I run on coffee and anxiety—and now that I think of it, the coffee probably makes the anxiety worse. Regardless, I spend a lot of time worrying about things. One of which is the weather. My sad story is that my hometown was devastated by an EF4 tornado in 2021. My beautiful home state of Kentucky has seen its share of climate disasters in my lifetime alone, and I’m well aware that the chances of experiencing disaster again are high. Floods. Tornados. Drought. Ice storms (that took power from my region for a while when I was in high school!). Go ahead and throw in the big earthquake we’ve all been waiting for, just for good measure. Climate and environmental change is an unfortunate aspect of the future, but by writing Climate Fiction, I can channel my fear and sadness into something a little more productive. Writing in this genre has been actual therapy for me, and it can be for you, too!
Why YOU Should Explore Climate Fiction
As mentioned, Climate Fiction is a great opportunity for you to channel your anxieties about climate change. Use this as an opportunity to explore the possibilities that come with climate change and practice your reactions. Think of it like doomsday prepping, but make it fun. If you’re considering a dip into these waters, here are a few points to consider:
- The Future Is Bright: Take this how you will. Maybe extreme drought means that there are no clouds in the sky, so it’s literally bright all day everyday—except for at night, of course. Maybe you take a more figurative approach and showcase an extreme feat of human compassion and teamwork in which society overcomes climate change. The future is in your hands!
- Facing the Consequences: Climate Fiction usually forces society to face its (bad) choices. These choices are the reason that the world has ended up in the mess it’s in. If you want to add extra depth to your Climate Fiction story, show us why these choices felt unavoidable. Or, show us all the choices society could have made in hindsight. The more impactful the reasons, the more we can regret the consequences of our actions.
- (In)equitable Climate Solutions: When dealing with stories that study society as a whole, writers get a unique opportunity to study how equality and equity fail in the face of adversity. Use your Climate Fiction story to analyze how the remaining resources fall along class lines. Show us how even the best intentions to save humanity may only save certain, privileged people.
Climate Fiction Novels We Love
I know I’m not the biggest fantasy girlie (also, insert that gif of Janet saying she’s not a girl), but one of my favorite authors of all time is Maria V. Snyder, a fantasy author. Snyder actually used to study meteorology, which has appeared consistently throughout her work. She filters this unique understanding of climate and weather into her fantasy series, Archives of the Invisible Sword. I love the world building in this series, from the drought devastated surface world to the mysterious underground cities. If you want to read Climate Fiction that isn’t so heavily tied to raw science, this might be a good series for you.
War Girls by Tochi Onyebuchi is a bold and gritty entry into the cli-fi subgenre, packed with futuristic tech, intense battles, and a fiercely human core. Set in a climate-ravaged Nigeria in 2172, the story unfolds in a world where rising temperatures and environmental devastation have driven intense political conflict. But it’s the heart of the story—sisters separated by war—where Onyebuchi truly shines, grounding the high-stakes sci-fi action with themes of survival, resilience, and hope. War Girls brings together social commentary, thrilling battles with mechas, and unforgettable characters, making it a powerful read for anyone who loves their sci-fi with a conscience.
Climate fiction is not my speed, as dystopian works feel like they so often fall into predictable patterns of conveying emotion that just doesn’t excite me as a reader. However, The Bear is a fantastic exception. This story argues that the world carries on, but it may do so without humanity. We follow the last girl on earth as she experiences the fragility of life and the pain of loss, done in a way that is heartbreaking and strangely comforting at the same time.