What's Stopping Us From Taking Climate Action?
There is no denying that the climate crisis is very real and concerns require immediate intervention.
Despite various steps taken by policymakers and individuals toward addressing issues like global temperature rise, ocean acidification, polar melt, etc, we are failing. There is no denying that the climate crisis is very real and concerns require immediate intervention. It's not the first time mankind has learned that rapid industrialization takes its toll on the environment.
In the broad scheme of things, it is capitalism that is ingrained in society that is preventing us from taking action towards climate change. It acts as a delusional screen that masks reality. We all know and understand that plastic is harmful to the environment yet Amazon ships our orders packed in single-use plastic.
In the 1950s plastic was advertised as a boon to mankind, its utility was massive from containers & carry bags of various kinds to syringes to keep vaccines safe. How can such a thing turn into a bane? Well, it's not about the thing that's being used, in true essence the bane is our inability to dispose of the waste that's being generated from it.
Those who were funding & producing plastic knew beforehand that there could be heaps of plastic waste incinerated in the near future. Yet, we did not devise methods and technology to renew, recycle, and reduce plastic waste altogether. Every country globally gauges its economic prosperity with GDP as a measure.
The humanity of our time only focuses on production and reserves little to no incentive for 3R. Our societal ideology is result-oriented, serving finished products to people and it's the reason we have witnessed starking growth & transcended standard of living across the globe.
NASA has reached the moon and CRISPR is capable of editing genes, we have been to the depths of the Mariana Trench and VOYAGER 1 & 2 took us out of the solar system all of which could not be possible without capitalism. It is the process of arriving at the result we are failing at.
We are failing our environment, our education system, and our own identity, which is taking a toll on our mental health at the expense of growth. The easy access to finished products, and the customer-centric approach, keep producers' margins tight. The growth is fuelled by crude fossils is why we are unable to get our way with renewables.
The major roadblock in climate and sustainable innovation is underfinancing as nobody knows who owns the environment and who should pay for it. The future is not that gloomy either. The introduction of carbon credits is one such fair attempt that yields positive results.
The concept of which emerged from a crisis of ozone depletion, under the Kyoto Protocol. We are facing another climate emergency, facts of which are well documented in the recent IPCC report. We just need the right economic policy that justifies a balance between growth and ecology. I trust in human capabilities and instincts through the process of evolution, we did survive in extreme and rare conditions. We stood the test of time, and I am hopeful & you too should.
