Why Aren't We Trying Harder to Save the World?

Source: Dan Meyers / Unsplash

The recent United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), and its frustratingly small accomplishments, got us thinking about the climate crisis. We seem so close, yet so far, from being able to prevent a major worsening of this crisis.

What makes us say that we seem so close? There are three vital things we already know and have in place to effectively address global heating:

1. Climate science clearly identifies what the problem is—the burning of fossil fuels and agricultural practices that continue to increase carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere.
2. We know what needs to be done about it—a rapid changeover from fossil fuel energy sources to renewable energy sources, and changes in our agricultural practices to reduce carbon and methane emissions.
3. We already have the technology available to accomplish this, such as solar and wind sources of power, and improvement in electric vehicles and appliances. The price of these renewable energy sources has decreased dramatically in recent years, which makes it economically feasible to deploy them on a large scale. In fact, market forces now favor renewables, but government policies continue to bolster fossil fuels through enormous subsidies. It will be very challenging to accomplish a changeover from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources in the necessary time frame to avoid worsening effects of climate change, as this would involve a total transformation of government policies and energy systems within the next decade or two. We’ll need a mobilization at a scale and speed that Americans haven’t seen since World War II. But it is technologically and economically possible to do.

With all the things we have going for us, why do we seem so far from being able to address this crisis, especially as carbon emissions continue to increase? A commonly cited explanation is lack of political will. Despite all the climate summits and pledges made by governments, most politicians still seem unwilling to address the crisis with the urgency that it deserves, given the huge money and lobbying power of fossil fuel extracting corporations.

But if the majority of the population were strongly committed to taking serious climate action and insisted on it in a sustained way, politicians would be compelled to come along, leaving fossil fuel extraction without the government support that sustains it.

As Professor Cary Coglianese of the University of Pennsylvania put it, “Sufficiently strong policy measures ultimately require a public drive for climate action that overcomes self-interested resistance.” If the will of the large majority of people becomes unified, focused, and persistent—emphasis on “if”—then that’s a very powerful force.

There has been steadily rising interest in climate change, especially among younger generations, but we’re not yet close to the levels of engagement of the general population that we need. Several factors stop us from unifying to protect the most important things imaginable to us—our health, our money, our children’s futures, our very survival, and the future of humanity as a whole. For one thing, a tremendous amount of money is being spent to deny or minimize the issue of climate change. But the disinformation efforts are becoming harder to maintain in the face of the steady stream of climate news unfolding around the world. Science has established the reality of climate change unequivocally.

Still, even as the disinformation campaigns become more implausible, there are some seldom discussed, but crucial psychological hurdles we all face that stand in our way of unifying around climate action. In our next two posts, we’ll go into two of them: learning to face frightening realities without being completely overwhelmed, and learning to feel connected as a global community. Overcoming these hurdles is no small challenge, but it is possible.

Ashley Pallathra and Edward Brodkin share their views here for educational and informational purposes only. The views expressed in this post are not a substitute for individualized psychological, psychiatric, or medical care from a clinician familiar with your specific circumstances.