A Good War

A bold blueprint to retool our economy and transform our politics for a zero-carbon future

The IPCC’s 2018 report told us in no uncertain terms that the world has just ten years to at least halve our greenhouse gas emissions if we are to have a hope of holding global warming to a 1.5°C increase. Canada is not on a path to meet its greenhouse gas reduction targets, and radical change to the way we live and work must happen at high speed, but how are we ever to do this?

Well, we’ve actually done it before. During the Second World War, Canadians and their government completely remade the economy — retooling factories, transforming the workforce, and creating common cause among Canadians for the war effort.

In A Good War, author and activist Seth Klein looks at the Second World War strategies and shows how they can be repurposed today for a rapid transition. He demonstrates that this change can create jobs and reduce inequality while tackling our climate obligations. From enlisting broad public support to new economic models, and new job creation to investment in green infrastructure, Klein shows us a bold, practical policy plan for a zero-carbon Canada.

In a coincidence almost too uncanny, COVID-19 has brought change upon our world that would have been unthinkable a few months ago, change very like what Klein presciently proposes in these pages. It turns out the world can turn on a dime if necessary. Now is the time to use the billions of dollars governments are spending to support their economies to invest in climate change and social infrastructure for a better future. And the blueprint is in your hands.