A new genre, born from novels and movies about climate change, has surfaced. "Cli-fi," short for "climate-change fiction,” are novels and movies set in the present or the near future that put the true story of climate change in fictional settings and scenarios. They help us better understand our climate not with scientific statistics nor government charts but by engendering raw emotions with stories that are relatable.

I coined the cli-fi term to serve as a platform for writers and film directors who create art about the biggest existential threat humankind has ever faced. We need novels and movies that go beyond abstract predictions and statistics to show the moment-by-moment reality of a possibly painful future, and the tragic price we may have to pay for our passionate devotion to all the wrong things.