“It doesn’t have to be all Greta Thunbergs growing up.”

Sonja Bonness: How did you come up with the idea of ​​writing a young adult book about climate change?

Tim Schulze: At first it started with my children slowly getting to an age where they were interested in the topic. That's why I thought about how we could convey this complex topic to children and young people in a clear, understandable, but not too simple form. My impression was that it doesn't exist in this form yet. There is a lot for adults and there are children's books that deal with sustainability and sometimes climate protection, but in a way that is very simplistic. I found that there is a gap in between.

After all, the generation that is growing up now has a very important role to play in combating climate change. We only have one generation left to take all the necessary steps. And neither Germany nor the rest of the world are on the right track so far. So I think this generation can't avoid dealing with this issue at all.

So I just started writing. I'm the first author, apart from scientific publications, but the writing went very quickly. I had a pretty clear idea of ​​how the book should be structured. The main challenges then lay in making the text suitable for young people and including the illustrations.

Bastian Klamke then drew the illustrations and cartoons. How did this collaboration come about?

I had the impression early on that a book for children and young people would have to be richly illustrated in order to create easy access and also to structure the information. But how do you package all the details, such as the complex interaction between business, politics and science? Comics are a good way to get this across in a bit of a tongue-in-cheek way.

I sat down with a friend who is a journalist and hobby graphic artist early on and thought about how we could approach this. So I had an idea in my head, a rough concept, but no way to implement it myself. And interestingly, Bastian Klamke is a neighbor whose hobby has long been drawing and illustrating comics, which he eventually turned into a second profession. We talked about it at the garden fence at some point and I learned that he was very interested in the topic. And that's how we came together! He put a lot of effort into it – I think it was also a passion project for him.

Were there things you understood better through writing the book?

What really concerned me when I was writing, and actually still concerns me, is the basic question: “Who is actually primarily called upon to do and change something?” Is it primarily the politicians who have to do something, or is it more likely that they are all of us together, in our everyday lives?

Personally, I think the answer is a both/and. It trivializes the problem if it is pushed too quickly into the private sphere or if responsibility is assigned solely to citizens and consumers. On the other hand, it is also us who live beyond our means when compared to the rest of the world. But under no circumstances should politicians let go of their responsibility to approach what we have in front of us in a much clearer, more committed and, in many places, sharper manner.

Then there were also areas of the economy that I hadn't been particularly concerned with before. I did my doctorate in photovoltaics and had already delved deeper into transport and buildings, but agriculture and nutrition, for example, was a field I didn't know that much about. I found it very exciting to read about it – and in many places it was shocking how the structures there actually are.

Climate change is often positioned as a generational conflict. Do you see it the same way?

The word generational conflict would be too harsh for me. But you can already see that we are postponing necessary actions into the future by doing too little now. This is something that has been going on for decades. I became interested in climate issues about 20 years ago. And if you look back, the forecasts have only gotten bleaker since then. We have not managed to chart a path that leads us to a favorable future; in fact, the path we are on is always the worst-case assumption from ten years ago.

In this respect, one has to say that we are burdening the future generation with a lot. We actually owe it to her to tackle the problem much more courageously. Especially since many solutions in the technical area have long been available. What is missing is the will to initiate a larger transformation with everything that entails – including social challenges that need to be addressed. I would say it's not a generational conflict, but it is a shifting of responsibility and consequences towards the younger people. In this respect, I think it is completely right that they have now raised their voices emphatically and hope that their commitment will not be slowed down by the corona crisis.

What can each of us do to limit climate change? Does your book give specific tips on this?

Unfortunately, the solutions are as complex as the problem. If there was one magic action, we probably wouldn't be where we are. As adults, we would do well to question habits. I feel like it's the principle “It can't be what shouldn't be.” I buy things at the health food store, but then I want to take a plane south for my summer vacation – and I don't realize what the effects are.

For the younger ones, what was particularly important to me with the book was to present the basics and the connections in such a way that it creates something like a tool of the trade – a manual that you can use to understand the problem in its entirety. Actually, it's about maturity for me, even if the term is perhaps a bit old-fashioned. I hope that younger readers in particular get a good overview so that they can then consider in which areas they would like to become active – to work in environmental protection associations, to take to the streets and so on. The same applies to everyday life: For example, younger people don't drive their own cars yet, but when the moment comes to buy one, they may remember and make the right decisions. The book is intended to provide the facts that are necessary to make your own decision about where and how you want to take action.

What are your wishes for the younger generation?

On the one hand, I hope that your valid concerns are heard, which fortunately you are already presenting loudly and confidently. And that these concerns are taken into account seriously in what is decided politically. And I hope that the awareness of the problem and its full size and complexity becomes so deeply and broadly anchored in your generation that you can take these courageous steps that we are obviously not yet ready to take. This, I believe, is the real generational task. Not that all Greta Thunbergs are growing up now – that wouldn't hurt either, but you can't expect that. But that a generation is growing up that is fully aware of the problem and knows that everyone has to do something about it. And who is willing to set the course in the right direction again and again, even in everyday life and on small scales.

Do you have the impression that this is happening at the moment?

I was fascinated by this development. If you're in the process of thinking deeply about climate change and sustainability, then it's great to see how a global youth movement is emerging at the same time. On the one hand you have the feeling that you are on the right path, on the other hand you also see that a basis is being created. I am hopeful because I believe there will hardly be a young person who has missed this in the last one or two years. In this respect, I hope that interest has already been aroused to delve deeper into the topic. And “Heat-free in the future?” could make a contribution to this.