Was reading about climate change in the light of capitalism and social, economic and political steps needed to reverse it; so thought I'd share some key points. First thing first: Is it too late already or can we do something to keep Earth liveable for future generations?

"I don’t want you to be hopeful. I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day. I want you to act. I want you to act as you would in a crisis. I want you to act as if the house is on fire, because it is.”

Who hasn't seen Greta tearing up while saying this?

There's a time lag between what we do and when it shows up, because CO2 lingers in atmosphere for centuries. So, even if we stopped emitting green house gasses today, global warming would continue to happen for decades, if not for centuries.

Some scientists believe a global disaster is already unfolding, some think we're passing a "tipping point" after which abrupt irreversible changes can take place and we won't be able to do anything. IPCC claims we only have 12 years to take radical measures before it's too late.

Everything from wildlife, ecosystems, agriculture, and human health is at danger and all we ever hear is how we should go vegan or stop using plastic. These are important steps but are only used to take attention off of actual reason: capitalism and greed.

The economy is an environmental pyramid scheme, stealing the planet from the next generation. 1) Under capitalism, you can buy whole mountain ranges and burn as much feul as you wish, if you afford to. 2) Individual billionaires will never let any socialist law to pass. (eg: GND)

We are being gaslighted by elites constantly. Take any billionaire from Elon Musk to Bill Gates, and you'll find a series of emotional quotations on why saving Earth is the need of hour but then read about their companies' policies and you'll get a quick slap back to reality.

And let's not ignore patriarchy. Women have lesser access to participate in the process of policy making, lesser resources to deal with the shocks and stress of this crisis. Same is the case with proletariats. Factors like class, gender, religion, and nationality intersect here.

States love to play the blame game using different reports, completely ignoring that tackling climate change needs money and resources.

The average GDP of top 5 "environmentally conscious" countries= 46,780 USD.
The average GDP of top 5 "polluting" countries= 1840 USD.

(Also lmao this list is a joke because the countries celebrated for their resource management and environmental stewardship are also the ones creating the most waste, they just have more resources to recycle than the poorer countries)

What has the global community done so far?

World's major greenhouse gas emitters regularly forge their own initiatives to meet new goals. Companies that exceeds the "caps" on industrial emissions can easily buy permits to emit from other companies.

Unfortunately the pledges aren't legally binding and are far away from what we need to stabilize the planet's environment. Many third world countries don't sign new conditions as it harms their economy. Politics play role in actively putting the planet on risk (cc: Amazon Fires)

UNFCCC has had two agreements till now, namely "Paris agreement" and "Kyoto Protocol". According to the United Nations Environment Programme if we rely only on the current climate commitments of the Paris Agreement, temperatures will likely rise to 3.2 °C this century???

The essential tenet of the Kyoto Protocol was that industrialized nations needed to lessen the amount of their CO2 emissions. Atleast the Paris agreement is universal and legally binding, aimed to create a fair, dynamic and sustainable model with financial aid for poor countries.

What can we do on individual level?

Urge policy makers to go green.
Buy from environment friendly companies.
Switch to solar energy if you can afford to.
Limit plastic usage.
Don't waste water.
Limit meat consumption or crops that consume more water than others.

Reuse and recycle.
Please don't fall for fast fashion trends, it's okay to wear out of style clothes and shoes.

(I know 75% of pollution is generated by only 100 companies and we ought to talk about that but while we do, we should try to change our lifestyle bcz 25 is HUGE)