Still only a quarter of the way through, so can't judge the entirety yet, but totally agree on chapter 1.

It was suffocating - I couldn't wait to go out for a walk that single-digit Celsius rainy day

I feel the same. In fact, it felt like a bunch of background research for a novel, interspersed with some early drafts of the novel. I really found it to be the worst thing he's written.

I disagree with you there. I think the book paints a plausible way out of the crisis we are in, and shows what systemic changes need to happen to create a positive future for humanity. It's one of the few books that paints a realistic path away from the horrific future that capitalism is driving humanity towards.