Climate action isn't about reducing emissions burger by burger
We can't eradicate climate change with our own actions, but they can lead to system change
Our power is not in taking actions to reduce carbon ourselves. Our power is in taking actions to pressure the major players to act.
Being completely blunt, a person eating less meat or driving less will not stop climate change from happening. The scale on which that would have to occur to make a significant impact appears almost impossible and I don’t think it is a worthwhile goal for humans who are just trying to survive a pandemic.
Where we do hold significant power is how people influence organisations, businesses and government. Unless you are non-human, almost everything you interact with has involved a business. Probably large, maybe multinational. You’ve certainly interacted with the government if you’re reading this.
Whilst people don't have the power to en masse eradicate the impacts of climate change, corporations and governments certainly can and must take action to cut their emissions and take action to promote carbon absorption activities, such as reforestation or other similar endeavours.
Think Before Buying investigates the psychological and cultural factors which encourage us to consume without a second thought. It is a radical act to fight against these pressures and to make firms aware that we are watching them and willing to take action. Abstaining from buying from fast fashion, or refusing to give the meat industry any income, when done collectively, will work. The most polluting firms need to realise that with no customers and no demand, they won’t be able to exist. That is the threat we need to serve them with. Change and adapt, or we will leave. This is how individual actions can work on a large scale. Shifting to a 90% vegan diet or driving much less will put less money into the pockets of industries that have caused so much climate harm.
With regards to governments, populations have become accustomed to watching their national government on the news and shaking their head in despair. But this just leads to apathy and a feeling that nothing will change. We can’t take the risk that nothing will change, because the lives of 7 billion people rely on us making change. We owe it to our friends, family and billions of people we don’t know, to take action to pressure the government to act. Whether this is regulating the private sector, committing to reducing their emissions or giving money to less developed countries to pay for adaptation or mitigation strategies, the government should be working in our interests. The number one interest right now should be avoiding a climate catastrophe. We are already in a crisis, but we can prevent it from ballooning into a disaster.
The private sector requires customers and demand, and government was invented for the people. Without a healthy climate there are no customers or citizens. Never forget the power that you and I hold, even when the private sector and government tries to make us forget about it. We each owe it to each other to fight for a better future, and this means fighting with every tool at our disposal to encourage the private and public sectors to make a change.
Recommendations this week:
The activists trying to make flying social unacceptable by Umair Irfan for Vox
A lot of feel like our emotions are controlling our purchases by Sirin Kale for the Guardian
A brilliant overview of how the West needs to drastically cut consumption now by Jag Bhalla for Vox
A good summary of the major sustainability trends in 2021 and beyond from Pebble magazine
Covid-19 normalised social protection. Now apply it to the climate crisis by Teresa Anderson for Climate Home News
The cost of air conditioning from Costing the Earth by BBC Radio 4
As always, have a good weekend and don’t forget to share and subscribe!