The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis

This last chapter presents 10 actions that the authors argue all people must do to combat climate change. They note that it’s time to make a decisive and intentional choice to move forward and do what’s necessary. This will require wholesale changes not only in mindset and environmental policy but also in terms of politics and economics. If the new system doesn’t work for everyone, the authors warn, reactionary voices spreading fear will work to sabotage the change. The European refugee crisis of 2015, during which Germany took in many Middle Eastern refugees, foreshadows what could happen. Far-right leaders capitalized on the migration to stoke fear and gain political power, weakening Angela Merkel’s centrist government.

The first action the authors recommend is “let[ting] go of the old world” (89). Change is hard because it involves entering a new life full of unknowns. People often cling to the past because it represents something familiar. What’s more, some people capitalize on this insecurity to foment tribalism and division. Change also can lead to blame, which the authors caution against. It does no good to blame others for the past, and it can come back to haunt us. After World War I, much of Europe blamed Germany for the destruction of the war. Historians point out that this ill will contributed to the rise of Adolf Hitler, who capitalized on the German people’s feeling of exclusion, and led to a second world war.

In order to let go of old ways, humanity must look firmly forward and fight the urge to become nostalgic. In addition, people need to get out of their bubbles of like-minded individuals and attempt to understand others’ viewpoints and concerns. Often this means engaging in person and in local communities. To move forward without blame, people should emulate Nelson Mandela, who forgave his captors when he was released from a long jail sentence. This does not mean he forgot his ordeal: As president, he instituted the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which dealt with the past without blame or retribution, allowing a new country to emerge. This is what humankind must do on a worldwide scale.

The second action is to deal with the grief of losing one world while keeping a vision of the future firmly in mind. This vision must not be conflated with the goals necessary to achieving it, as happened with the international climate change agreement: Because it was so difficult to get all the nations to come to a consensus, doing so started to become the vision. It’s important to remember that goals are merely the means of realizing the vision and to focus on why the vision is important. This focus will help people cope with setbacks and continue moving forward. Martin Luther King Jr. did this in his address at the March on Washington in 1963, when the outlook for civil rights was anything but certain, and the Civil Rights Act passed just one year later. Following a vision also requires imagination. The status quo might seem ingrained, but we should keep in mind that large changes have come to things that appeared permanent—for example, the Soviet Union, which broke apart in a matter of months.

A third action people can take is to defend truth. This is a challenge because, while politicians have always stretched the truth, today “an altogether different level of lying is evident in the political arena” (103). The phenomenon known as “confirmation bias” gives people a feeling of positive emotion when someone affirms their preexisting ideas—with or without corroborating evidence. The authors urge readers to free their minds through self-reflection and being open to new information. Importantly, people also need to be able to differentiate between real science and pseudoscience. Fake science is often packaged slickly to give it the veneer of authority and may be authored by people who are well educated. If necessary, people should follow the money trail and determine who funded the information. However, it’s important not to shun or shame climate deniers; sometimes reaching people comes through social ties rather than argumentation.

The fourth action is to “see [one]self as a citizen—not as a consumer” (109). Consumerism is an unnecessary phenomenon that contributes a large share of global emissions. It feeds people’s sense of identity but encourages them to define themselves more by what they purchase, own, and wear than by their ideas or behavior. Huge amounts of money are spent on advertising to keep purchases flowing. Meanwhile, global supply chains mean goods are shipped around the world rather than made domestically and distributed nearby. Planned obsolescence and the fact that products break so easily keep people buying ever more. To combat this, the authors suggest redefining what a good life is. Spending money doesn’t make someone a good person and often coincides with an empty, hollow feeling. People can also become better consumers, voting with their dollars to support high-quality products that last and companies that share their values. Finally, people can dematerialize, finding the same products through services instead of physical objects. Digital music is an example of this, replacing albums, CDs, and cassette tapes.

Fifth, society should move past fossil fuels. These sources of energy may seem necessary for people and nations to thrive, but that isn’t accurate. Fossil fuel companies often drag their feet and throw up roadblocks that hinder the shift to renewable energy. Governments around the world, despite talk of clean energy, are still subsidizing fossil fuels—$600 billion annually. However, the necessary shift to renewable energy source must be planned and orderly to avoid a “jump to distress” (117)—i.e., carbon-based assets suddenly and drastically losing their value. Given how reliant governments and companies are on these fuels, this could be disastrous for the economy. People should support companies and politicians that promote “100 percent renewable energy” as soon as possible (188). Individuals should also plan to cut their use of fossil fuels sharply by 2030 through things like getting an electric vehicle and reducing travel by airplane.

Another action people can take is to reforest the Earth. Forests promote healthy ecosystems and absorb carbon dioxide. In 2018, humanity cut down forests at the rate of “thirty football fields a minute” (124). Deforestation in the tropics is primarily driven by four products: “beef, soy, palm oil, and wood” (124). Therefore, people can also help by reducing their consumption of meat and dairy products and by boycotting specific products that contribute to deforestation. This happened with Kit Kat bars when Greenpeace ran an ad publicizing how the candy’s use of palm oil contributed to the destruction of rainforests. When people protested, the parent company, Hershey, changed its policy on sourcing palm oil.

The seventh action is investing in a clean economy. Economic growth, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP), has always reigned supreme as an indicator of progress, but the authors argue that this must stop. This kind of linear growth is based on extraction and thus destructive. Humanity needs an economy that is based on sustainable growth. Furthermore, there are many indicators of progress besides GDP, such as access to education and healthcare. The UN has identified 17 such indicators and named them Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Some people have begun pushing for financial institutions and pension funds to divest from fossil fuels and invest in renewable energy. Others can help by contacting their pension funds or banks and encouraging them to do the same.

Using technology responsibly is the eighth action. New technologies, especially involving artificial intelligence (AI), have tremendous potential to help cut emissions. They require careful management, however, since they are a double-edged sword and could degrade quality of life. AI can be used to track people illegally, and automation could widen the gap between the haves and the have-nots. On the plus side, AI machine learning can find ways of doing things that people haven’t thought of. For example, after the company DeepMind applied its algorithms to Google’s data centers, the demand for energy to cool the servers fell 40%. Google’s engineers were considered the best in the business, but AI dramatically improved upon their results. AI could improve the efficiency of energy use as demand increases alongside population.

The ninth action to take is building gender equality. Research has shown that “when women lead, good things happen” (144), so women must be involved in making decisions in all areas of society. Women-led governments, companies, and other institutions are more involved in the fight against climate change, yet discrimination against women often prevents them from being more involved. Women’s leadership style often involves qualities like careful listening, empathy, and collaboration—all things that the climate change fight requires. In addition to combatting discrimination, society needs to give girls greater access to education. An estimated 130 million girls worldwide cannot go to school. This not only reduces their ability to earn money and participate in institutions but also greatly increases the average number of children they have. If all the girls now prevented from going to school were allowed to attend, the estimated population of the world in 2050 would have 843 million fewer people, alleviating the strain on the world’s resources.

The final action is perhaps most important: Be politically active. The authors contend that stable, responsive democracies are essential to tackling climate change. Climate change itself, as well as the issues around it, creates instability. What’s more, corporations and their trade associations work to move government away from climate change measures. Citizens need to elect the best leaders they can: those who pledge to work immediately and forcefully to combat climate change. They also need to participate in nonviolent demonstrations to make their voices heard on the issue: Research shows that once 3.5% of a population does so, the movement is bound to succeed.