Introduction
What’s in it for me? Learn how to save the world from climate change.
Nowadays, it’s hard to come across someone who hasn’t heard of Greta Thunberg. She’s a climate activist from Sweden who helped start the Fridays For Future movement, where students around the world protest on Fridays to demand action on climate change.
But did you know that she didn’t actually start out intending to protest? Her original aim was actually to educate people about the climate crisis by handing out flyers with facts and information. This emphasis on education is still super important in the fight against climate change. Because once you understand the issue, you know what needs to be done to fix it.
Yes, we can change what is considered politically possible through education and awareness. But to do so, we need to familiarize ourselves with inconvenient truths and hard facts. That’s what this article is all about. So let’s dive into the fight against climate change, and how understanding the issue can lead to the necessary actions to address it.
Key idea 1
It all starts with the media.
If you had to guess which industry is the biggest culprit for the destruction of our planet, what would you say? The oil, gas, and coal industries? Or maybe cattle ranching, timber cutting, industrial fishing, mining, roads, the chemicals industry, or even those companies that manufacture useless junk? Well, you might be surprised to hear that the real bad guys are actually the media. It sounds crazy, but hear me out.
You see, all those industries that are causing the damage couldn’t keep doing what they’re doing without the support of newspapers, magazines, radio, and TV. Most of the time, the media has given them the green light they need to keep on destroying the planet. They’ve even attacked and vilified people who try to challenge the economic system that’s driving us toward catastrophe.
The media has misled us about the choices we face, distracted us with trivial news, and pointed fingers at the wrong people to prevent us from seeing where our real problems lie. They’ve even tried to justify a political economy that only benefits a few super-rich people and allows them to grab and destroy natural resources.
Even public service broadcasters have caused more harm than good, like the BBC in the UK, who rejected almost every environmental proposal that came their way. And when they did air environmental documentaries, they made catastrophic mistakes.
Climate deniers were given the same or even more airtime than climate scientists, and advertisers have convinced us to consume more than we need, causing Earth systems to suffer.
Without the media’s support, governments would be forced to act, and industries wouldn’t be able to fend off demands for change. But, thankfully, some outlets have consistently drawn attention to our environmental crisis, like The Guardian, Al Jazeera, and El País.
We need more newspapers and broadcasters to prioritize coverage of our existential predicament and stop misleading us on behalf of damaging industries. But it’s also crucial that we keep building effective alternatives, like Mongabay, Democracy Now!, and the Tyee.
And that’s what we need right now because, let’s face it, we’re not doing enough. The COVID-19 pandemic showed us how quickly the world can change when people are scared and want to protect their loved ones. And the same should be true of the climate crisis. If we don’t start treating the climate crisis like the crisis that it is, we’re going to be in big trouble.
Effective movements need people to bring their skills together to press for change, and communication is among the most important. By refocusing the world’s attention and changing the narrative, good media, alongside campaigners working powerfully in other fields, can force governments to act and help prevent environmental collapse.
Key idea 2
How to tackle a crisis.
We’ve known about climate change for a long time now, but it seems like we’re just not doing enough to tackle it. However, there’s hope. In Canada’s response to past emergencies like World War II, we can see four markers that show when a government has truly shifted into emergency mode. And, well, let’s just say that when it comes to climate change, our government isn’t hitting any of these markers.
First, when we’re in an emergency, governments need to spend what it takes to win. During World War II and the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada spent big bucks to get things done. But when it comes to climate action, the government is barely spending anything compared to what experts say is needed.
Secondly, governments need to create new economic institutions to get the job done. During the Second World War, Canada established twenty-eight public corporations to help with the war effort, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, governments around the world created new economic support programs. If our governments took the climate emergency seriously, they would create public corporations to manufacture and deploy renewable energy infrastructure at the scale we need, such as heat pumps, solar arrays, and wind farms.
Thirdly, governments need to shift from voluntary and incentive-based policies to mandatory measures. During the Second World War, there was rationing of core goods and all kinds of individual sacrifices, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, governments issued health orders and shut down non-essential parts of the economy when necessary. For the climate emergency, we need to do things like ban the sale of new fossil fuel-burning vehicles by a certain date and mandate that all new buildings use renewable energy.
Lastly, we need to tell the truth about the severity of the crisis. During World War II, leaders were forthright with the public and were supported by the media and arts sector. We need the same level of urgency for the climate emergency. We need regular press briefings and government advertising to boost climate literacy, and we need daily media reports on how the fight against climate change is going.
By looking to the past, we can learn what we need to do in the future. Governments have enacted big change before – and it’s time they do so again. After all, the fate of our planet is at stake.
Key idea 3
Creating a just transition.
Have you ever noticed how we think about political change in separate boxes? There’s one box for the environment, another for inequality, and others for racial and gender justice, education, and health. This is called silo thinking, and it’s a problem because it stops us from seeing how all these issues are connected. For example, the climate emergency and military occupation are linked because the thirst for fossil fuels drives armed conflict. To make real change, we need to work together across these silos and build the largest and most powerful movements possible.
That’s where the idea of a just transition comes in. It means we should work on fixing the environment, while also making sure everyone gets treated fairly. It’s not just about green energy, but also about creating good jobs, taking care of each other, and fixing the wrongs of the past.
Now, people are coming up with all sorts of ways to do this, like the Green New Deal and other similar projects. They all agree that we need to solve these overlapping crises at the same time. That means recognizing that marginalized communities, like Black, Indigenous, and immigrant communities, are often hit hardest by environmental crises. So, any solutions we come up with must prioritize their needs and give them leadership roles in developing new green infrastructure.
An example of this would be creating green energy co-ops and community-owned microgrids that keep profits and benefits within the community. This would make sure that people who were hurt by pollution in the past get a say in the new, green world.
Another important element of a just transition would be recognizing that jobs like teaching, caring for kids and the sick, and making art are all low-carbon forms of labor that should be recognized as “green jobs”. This would ensure that women’s labor is fully recognized and appreciated in the next economy. By investing in care-sector jobs and making sure that they pay a living wage, we can reduce our reliance on jobs that are based on encouraging wasteful consumption and dangerous extraction.
And let’s not forget about the workers in polluting industries – they need help transitioning to new jobs. This will require massive investments in retraining workers for the post-carbon economy, with workers serving as full and democratic participants in the design of these programmes. This includes guaranteeing the income of workers during these periods and creating jobs rehabilitating and restoring the lands that have been harmed from extraction.
Finally, we need to acknowledge that the polluters and the rich should pay for all this. We’ve got the money, we just need the guts to make it happen. The idea is that the people and institutions that have profited the most from pollution should pay the most to repair the harm it has done. This includes corporations and wealthy individuals, but also nations of the Global North who have been putting carbon into the atmosphere for centuries. This way, we can all work together to create a world that’s better for everyone – and the planet.
Key idea 4
What is to be done?
So, picture this – you live in Warsaw and you want to buy the most sustainable tomatoes from your local food shop. Should you buy the organic ones from Spain or the non-organic ones grown in Poland? Well, neither of them are really sustainable, and that’s the thing. We can’t solve climate change just by making individual choices about what we buy and consume. Don’t get me wrong, it’s important to support organic farming methods and reduce our personal consumption, but that’s not enough to reach our climate targets. We need to focus on systemic change and hold our governments and corporations accountable.
Look at voting, for example. Sure, it’s important, but what if there are no good candidates that prioritize climate action? The truth is, we can’t live sustainably in an unsustainable world, and it’s not fair to expect individuals to compensate for the wrongdoings of governments, media, multinational corporations, and billionaires. We need a series of different layers of actions, both structural and individual, to make a difference.
That doesn’t mean that we as individuals can’t do anything. We can still make changes to our lives, and it starts with redefining hope and progress so that those words are no longer synonymous with destruction. Once we stop pretending that we can fix this without fundamentally changing our societies, we can start acting.
So, what can you do? First off, become an activist. This is the most effective way to make a difference! Advocate for change, shift social norms, and pass the mic to those who need to be heard. Use non-violence and civil disobedience, and get involved in marches, boycotts, and strikes. We need billions to make a change for the better.
One thing you can do to make a significant difference is to shift towards a plant-based diet. By doing so, you could save up to 8 billion tonnes of CO2 every year, and you would be helping to save the habitats of most wild plants and animals. We currently kill more than 70 billion animals every year, excluding fish, so becoming vegan is definitely something to consider. However, keep in mind that veganism is a privilege mainly available to the affluent citizens of the Global North. Many parts of the world maintain sustainable small-scale food production that includes fish, meat, and dairy, particularly Indigenous communities and areas of the Global South.
Another thing you should consider is that flying is a privilege, and it’s not great for the environment. While it may be difficult to completely give up flying, choosing to fly less and finding alternative modes of transportation can have a positive impact on the environment. Giving up the privilege to fly altogether can also be seen as a way to draw attention to the inequalities in the world, as many people in the Global South do not have the means to travel by air and are disproportionately affected by the consequences of climate change.
Lastly, you can buy less and use less, as well as repair, swap, and borrow. But keep in mind that you should do it as a form of activism or as a moral choice – not as a consumer. We need a drastic overall reduction in resource usage, and this problem cannot be solved solely by individuals as consumers, nor can it be solved without a system change.
At the end of the day, big political change only happens with big actions. Whether it was the Civil Rights Movement, the Suffragettes, or the Stonewall Riots, it’s only when large groups of people come together that we’re able to affect positive change. So the next time you hear about a Fridays for Future demonstration, make a plan to attend. You won’t regret it.
Final Summary
The media is a huge culprit in the destruction of our planet. They’ve often supported destructive industries and misled us about our environmental crisis. We need more media outlets to prioritize our existential predicament. The way our governments responded to past crises like Covid-19 shows that they know how to shift into emergency mode. But when it comes to climate change, our government isn’t hitting these markers, such as spending what’s needed, creating new economic institutions, shifting to mandatory measures, and telling the truth about the crisis. What we need is a just transition that aims to fix the environment while ensuring everyone gets treated fairly. Lastly, we can’t solve climate change by only making individual choices. Becoming an activist, shifting towards a plant-based diet, flying less, and consuming less can make a significant difference, but we also need a system change to truly address the climate crisis.
