By Sebastian Ward ’26
“Our world is dying,” or any variation of the phrase, perfectly characterizes the reformist nature of the current climate change movement, and can also offer insight as to why it has been unsuccessful. Our world is not dying, our world is being killed. The people with the blood on their hands are the capitalists who prioritize profit over everything else, including human lives and the life of the planet. The slogan “the world is dying” does not assign blame to those doing the most damage. It allows bourgeois politicians to convince the masses that we all share a portion of the blame in the destruction of our planet. However, legislation such as a 10 cent tax on plastic bags posed as a means to ‘address climate change’ will solve absolutely nothing so long as corporations are still permitted to raze down forests and pump billions of metric tons of carbon dioxide into the air each year. Every day, it becomes more and more pressing to point fingers at the main culprits and dismantle the systems which give them power if we want to prevent them from destroying our planet.
On the topic of misleading slogans, we are not engaged in a fight against climate change, but rather, we are in the midst of a climate crisis. Indeed our climate is changing; we have known since the 1980s that global temperatures have been steadily rising. Exxon Mobil predicted in 1982 that the atmosphere would contain nearly 415 ppm of carbon dioxide by 2019, and then proceeded to spend billions of dollars to lobby and fund campaigns that blocked any action against the crisis so that their accumulation of profits would remain uninterrupted. However, focusing solely on the change in global temperature downplays the crises that will inevitably result from that change. If the steady rise in temperatures does not decrease, permafrost will begin melting, and the disappearance of white snow and ice will hinder Earth’s ability to reflect radiation, thus plunging us into a dangerous pattern of melting and heating. Ben Curry in Climate Chaos: Capitalism to Blame compiles a list of some of the most severe results of continued inaction in regards to this developing cycle:
Some of the world’s most populous cities will be underwater. Regions that are currently habitable will be rendered completely inhospitable. Rising sea levels will cause reserves of groundwater to be infiltrated by seawater, rendering them undrinkable. Droughts will cause regular crop failures. Sweltering heat waves will kill thousands. Devastating forest fires will become the norm. The landscape will be one of mass displacement, war over natural resources, and barbarism.
Many of these extreme conditions are becoming more frequent right now. We are at the verge of catastrophe, and actions must be taken immediately.
However, there are glimmers of hope even in this overwhelmingly depressing reality. The resources and technology necessary to address the climate crisis already exist and can be accessed. It would require a massive restructuring of society, but a planned, international public works system that invested in the production of sustainable energy sources, improved water systems, overall infrastructure, and mechanisms to protect people from the myriad of increasingly lethal natural disasters would have a substantial impact on our current trajectory and would lay the groundwork for solutions to completely eradicate the crisis. However, this hope will be just as fleeting as humanity’s existence if our society does not undergo major structural transformations.
Unfortunately, despite our access to the resources and technology to effectively combat the climate crisis, under capitalism, our society prioritizes profits over all else. Oil company executives, like those at Exxon, fund campaigns of high-profile politicians, and in return the politicians serve their interests first and foremost. Some of the largest and wealthiest companies are the ones responsible for catalyzing the climate crisis. They are not interested in advocating for legislation that will cause them to lose money even though it is costing many their lives. President Joe Biden, for example, called to end America’s dependence on fossil fuels in 2020 while he was running for office. President Biden ended up instead passing some vague legislation that did not address any of the fundamental causes of climate change, and instead, is now using the war in Ukraine to justify expanding the oil and gas industry. In March, the White House released a statement saying, “The European Commission will work with EU Member States toward the goal of ensuring, until at least 2030, demand for approximately 50 bcm/year of additional U.S. [Liquified Natural Gas] that is consistent with [their] shared net-zero goals.” In essence, the United States has now committed to meeting Europe’s demand for fossil fuels for at least the next seven years. Not too long after, Biden’s energy secretary Jennifer Granholm, said to a room of oil and gas executives in Houston that, “In this moment of crisis, we need more oil supply . . . That means you, producing more right now, where and if you can.” Even the President–who is supposed to be making significant strides in the fight against the climate crisis–is willing to switch his priorities when they interfere with an imperialist war against Russia. Both politicians and business people care more about short-term profits and maintaining their position of power than saving lives or the very planet they live on.
Despite all this, to say that the climate crisis is a bleak, unavoidable tragedy could not be further from the truth. All that is necessary for humanity to restore its relationship with the planet can be easily accessed, but the only obstacle in the way is capitalism. Addressing the climate crisis may not be in the interests of those who benefit from capitalism, but it is definitely in the interest of everyone else. To make sweeping changes that are in the best interest of 99% of the population requires stripping the remaining 1% of the source of their power: capitalism. It is an economic system that cannot function without exploiting the labor of the masses, so if the masses withhold that labor, they have more than enough leverage to make changes without the permission of the bourgeoisie. Only the collective power of the working class can dismantle capitalism, and from there, can create and implement constructive solutions for the climate crisis at hand.
