Issues, like fads, tend to come and go once people have “had enough” and want to move on. However, climate change problems won’t go away; they’re increasingly threatening our ability to live our lives on this planet. Predictions of increasing numbers and severity of storms, and of famine are happening even more quickly and more severely than forecast.
Global leaders, like Trump, resist fact-checking, have good homes, good food, and yachts, to move from harm’s way when storms happen. Citing MAD Magazine’s Alfred E. Neuman, “What, me worry?” By itself, worrying won’t solve the problem. We need “consumer pressure” to force oil producers and other polluters to change. If we – you and I – don’t act, who will? I’ll add comments afterwards.
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Huge election year worldwide sees weakening
commitment to act on climate crisis
Among sweeping rightwing electoral victories across
the globe, the ‘big loser of the elections has been climate’
The Guardian
23 Nov 2024
An unprecedented year of elections around the world has underscored a sobering trend; in many countries the commitment to act on the climate crisis has either stalled or is eroding, even as disasters and record temperatures continue to mount.
So far 2024, called the “biggest election year in human history” by the United Nations with around half the world’s population heading to the polls, there have been major wins for Donald Trump, the US president-elect who calls the climate crisis “a big hoax”; the climate-skeptic right in European Union elections; and Vladimir Putin, who won another term and has endured sanctions to maintain Russia’s robust oil and gas exports.
Catherine Fieschi, an expert in European politics and populism, said …
“It’s quite clear that in most advanced economies
the big loser of the elections has been climate.
It’s been a bad year for climate and we’ve seen a
gradual erosion in the public’s commitment to
action for a couple of years now. The paradox
is, of course, that major climate events are hap-
pening more frequently everywhere, yet people
are no longer willing to prioritize this.”
From an apogee about five years ago, with Greta Thunberg’s ubiquitous activism and talk of massive new green investments, climate has slipped down the agenda for many countries after a pandemic, wars in Ukraine and Gaza, unease over inflation and a rise in populist political figures. Fieschi said …
“It’s been the perfect storm. Even the vocabulary
has changed – not so much green now, but clean.
There’s been a shift in the political balance
where climate has taken a back seat to
inflation and energy prices. Rather
than climate being the existential
threat, it’s the Green New Deal
that is seen as the threat.”
Even though this year is almost certain to be the hottest ever recorded globally, with floods and heatwaves roiling Europe, Asia, the US and Mexico, the climate crisis has mostly been a background electoral issue, apart from in India, where protests by farmers, whose harvests have been wrecked by extreme weather and unpredictable rains, helped shape a backdrop upon which Narendra Modi won a third term as prime minister.
In Europe, rightwing parties that declared climate action to be costly and unnecessary fared well in the EU elections, while in the US, Trump defeated Kamala Harris after making explicit promises to gut environmental regulations and ditch “green new scam” climate policies.
The trend isn’t universal – in the UK, Labour resoundingly beat the Conservatives while making clean energy growth a mantra and the far right was unexpectedly defeated in French parliamentary elections. Even in the EU elections, the center-ground parties largely held firm despite the advances on the right.
But this year has suggested a sputtering in the global momentum to deal with rising temperatures, amid scientists’ warnings of breached climate targets and the onward upward march of planet-heating emissions.
Jan-Werner Müller, a political scientist at Princeton University, said …
“I think it’s misleading to say that there has been
a tsunami of populism; not everyone who voted for
Trump is onboard with a far-right agenda. But there
are worrying signs. If you look at the center-right
actors in Europe, some of them think they should
make concessions on climate to make people think
they are listening and not going too far, too fast.
“They are making pre-emptive concessions to popu-
lism and are reading climate as part of the culture
war. But if you repeat the talking points and framing of
the hard right you are just making them more powerful.”
A troubling year for the climate crisis has been rounded off by a troubled Cop29 climate summit in Azerbaijan, which was skipped by most world leaders. It is the third consecutive UN climate gathering to be held in an authoritarian state, and the second in a row, after Dubai last year, taking place in a petrostate.
Even though governments agreed last year to move away from fossil fuels, there has been a defiant tone at this year’s summit with Ilham Aliyev, president of the host country, Azerbaijan, calling oil and gas a “gift of God” and Argentina, led by the populist president Javier Milei, quitting the negotiations amid speculation the country will exit the Paris climate agreement.
The lack of progress in cutting emissions, or in agreeing to climate finance for vulnerable developing countries, has rankled activists. Gerry Arances, executive director of the Center for Energy, Ecology and Development, on the paucity of funding from wealthy countries, said …
“We started Cop29 with alarm that the outcome
of the US presidential elections would deter
global climate action – apparently, the halls of
Cop29 are already flooded with many Trumps.”
Even some leaders have publicly expressed similar frustration. Edi Rama, prime minister of Albania, said:
“We wonder how governments of historically
polluting nations still dare show their faces
with claims of climate leadership and com-
mitment. What on earth are we doing in this
gathering? What does it mean for the future of
the world if the biggest polluters continue as usual?”
Although this year has also seen progress in the growth of renewable energy and hopes that oil use will soon peak, these ongoing delays and a looming Trump presidency have dampened optimism. Müller said …
“People said in 2016 when Trump won
that it might not quite be as apocalyptic
as anticipated. But now we don’t have
any leeway with climate change. We
are running out of precious time.
Every day lost matters now.”
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I’ve always had a tendency to personalize issues, wondering where my actual behavior is on which side of an issue … chauvinism, elitism, wealth, charity, racism, and now, sustainability. So, I now have a home that’s more beautiful than any in which I’ve lived before and provides all the creature comforts without a utility bill, including power for my e-car … except for Verizon. And I discovered living this way turns out to be much less expensive. Yet, I feel what I’m doing probably has the global impact of a gnat on an elephant’s butt.
Similarly, might you wonder: “How much will my tank of gas really hurt Earth?”
Labor unions gained power when its members came together and all committed to take action if their demands weren’t met. That led to better education for our kids and a better economy. Maybe we need some sort of collective action, like a “climate union,” to solve this problem and be able to continue enjoying life on planet Earth. Adding D’s comments …
“As Stuart has said many times, ‘help is at the end of your arm.’ As is playing out in the world of politics, governments are not able to consistently address climate change. If climate change is important to you, then you must do what you can do to support the Earth and you and yours. Again, this blog has given many, many ideas of what you can do in your own home, and even in an apartment or rental home, to make some changes. We will give a partial list of things to consider:
- “Live where you are happy and as safe as possible from potential climate events.
- “Think about adding solar to your home, as well as super-insulating and changing to wood casement windows (as 40% of a home’s heat is lost via infiltration.)
- “Drive a car that uses no fossil fuels.
- “Develop sources of food – either from your own garden or from a local farmer – to ensure a steady food supply.
“We would encourage each and every one of you to find passion and joy in your life to help build resiliency for changes that are coming, whatever they may be.”
