Itโ€™s Now or Never on Climate

Part III: Climate Inequality & Indifference

Sam Chavez
Sam Chavez

Table of Contents

๐Ÿค“ Bite-Sized Knurd: A new global climate report shows we only have 3 years to act if we hope for a โ€œlivable planet.โ€ We have the solutions yet governments and businesses arenโ€™t taking the necessary steps.

Read on for moreโ€ฆ


Time is running out.

The game clock is ticking down.

Will humanity hit a buzzer-beater before itโ€™s too late?

Last week's climate report by the IPPC (the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) makes clear that we must take drastic action immediately.

If youโ€™ve been following climate news, you know full well that we are hurtling towards a planet that cannot sustain human life.

This is not an exaggeration.

โ€œIโ€™m lacking words for this. Itโ€™s beyond immoral. Itโ€™s suicidal,โ€ climate diplomat Christiana Figueres

Hereโ€™s what the report had to say:

  1. We have three years (until 2025) to start lowering emissions or weโ€™re screwed
  2. Coal must be completely phased out or weโ€™re screwed
  3. Cut oil and gas use by 60-70% or weโ€™re screwed
  4. The entire global economy needs to change or weโ€™re screwed (energy, transportation, manufacturing, food, etc.)
  5. It is โ€œalmost inevitableโ€ that global temperatures will rise to 1.5C (where the effects of climate change will become irreversible)
  6. You canโ€™t adapt your way out of this. If action isnโ€™t taken, humanity is screwed.

Notice a pattern?

If the message hasnโ€™t gotten through yet, now would be a good time to get it.

Why Isnโ€™t Climate Action Happening?

Simply put, too many people in power benefit from the status quo.

"Some government and business leaders are saying one thingโ€”but doing another. Simply put, they are lying. And the results will be catastrophic" - UN Chief Antonio Guterres

The biggest barriers to addressing the climate crisis are the consequences of a world order that has been taking shape for centuries. Capitalism asks that we keep producing and growing the economy, but doesnโ€™t stop to ask if the planet can sustain constant growth. Weโ€™re only in the beginning stages of seeing how this mindset cannot be sustained.

Top 5 Reasons We Canโ€™t Act:

  1. Change is hard; status quo is easy
  2. Powerful people profit from climate disaster
  3. Companies value stock prices more than humanity
  4. Short-term thinking infects governments
  5. The Empathy Gap is too deep

What is required to address the climate crisis is nothing short of a complete transformation of the world economy and society.

I get that that is really scary. Most people donโ€™t like change.

I raise up the truth about the climate crisis and the hurdles that climate activists face not to scare you, but so more people are aware of what we actually face.

The media, government, and businesses are incentivized to keep the status quo. If we are to have any hope for our lives and future generations, anyone that cares must do everything they can.

Iโ€™ll end with a hopeful note: We have more power than we realize. We just have to start using it.

Up Next:

๐Ÿ—ผ๐Ÿ—ž: Newsletter

Sam Chavez

Sam is a writer, strategist, and curious human. She founded the roots of change agency in 2020. Sam is a queer, white, LatinX activist whoโ€™s passionate about a livable planet & equitable societies.

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