In the context of COP28, there is a lot of talk about climate hypocrisy.
There is indeed reason to be cynical in seeing the future of the climate being negotiated under the presidency of Al-Jaber, boss of a large oil company. Especially since he can count on the assistance of 2,456 lobbyists from this industry from all countries.
What is happening in Dubai, however, is only the tree that hides the forest.
The real climate hypocrisy lies elsewhere.
The real question to ask
What do the climate crisis, food insecurity, housing shortages, rising homelessness, migration crises, the erosion of our public services, the amplification of social tensions, armed conflicts and inequality?
They have in common societal choices that prioritize the profits of a minority to the detriment of society and the environment.
In other words: a market economy that externalizes environmental and social costs, incapable of taking into account its medium and long-term impacts.
There it is, climate hypocrisy: believing in the utopia of infinite material and energy consumption growth without taking into account the limits of ecosystems and humanitarian needs.
One decision at a time, we gradually institutionalized greed. This system is blowing up in our faces. Faster than we thought.
Think about the causes
Profits have been privatized and costs socialized for decades now.
The fossil fuel sector in Canada is just one example. Private oil companies have been raking in record profits for decades while being subsidized to exploit a collective resource. And who will pay the exorbitant costs of climate extremes?
The whole company! The less fortunate here and elsewhere for a long time now and soon all our children.
Polycrisis
But now, even the middle class in rich countries is affected by the multiplication of interrelated crises that are generated by the neoliberal policies of recent decades.
So we invent false culprits for our problems: immigrants, minorities of all kinds, civil servants, scientists, progressive governments. Even women go through it, according to the absurd arguments of the Andrew Tates of this world and other influencers.
We swallow lies wrapped in half-truths without even realizing that we are being poisoned.
However, the causes of the problems we are experiencing are systemic. It is these causes that we must tackle together and now. A decision with both heart and rigor.
Because believe it or not: the world can be even worse than it is now, if we choose division rather than cooperation.
Joining forces
To implement solutions that will address the systemic issues that threaten our quality of life, it is imperative that we join forces rather than divide.
Cynicism and polarization of opinions create a social environment unfavorable to collaboration and collective action. They feed the system that destroys us.
We cannot change the past. But we can change the future.