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If Climate Change Were a Bank The Issue Would Be Resolved

By Steve Croth on Dec 11

It is amazing to see how the World came together and funded $10 to $50 Trillion in programs to stem the Global Economic Crisis. We now have another crisis - Climate Change - but this crisis is different and is not being funded to resolve it. Why?

This is something that we should all be really pissed off about. Experts that are examining Climate Change spending vs. Bailouts - like Grail Research, FT.com and The Economist (BTW - the Dec 5th to 11th issue has a special report on Climate Change) have estimated that between $10 Trillion and $50 Trillion have been spent Worldwide over that last two years on Economic Stimulus Packages in response to the Global Financial Crisis. All of this money was spent to ensure we (the general population and our economies) have positive economic growth for the foreseeable future - in other words - we'll all have jobs and money to spend.

So let's look at Climate Change from this same perspective. Should our governments not also support and fund a Global agreement stop climate change. This will ensure we have a livable planet - and we will survive as a species. What can be more compelling than funding something that will ensure the survival of our species? For those of you following the events in Copenhagen, you'll hear that the expected price tag of stopping climate change is in the neighbourhood of $10 Trillion over 20 years (from 2010 to 2030). Compare this with the Global funding of Economic Stimulus - and it represents the same or less funding over 20 years (not 2).

So why is Climate Change not being funded? Here are a some interesting theories (of my own observation):
1. It's a Political Issue, Not a Societal Issue - Do we really expect our governments to solve this problem? The same governments that can't plan themselves out of a box; are corrupt; pass the buck; spend endless hours yelling at each other instead of working together. They've already turned this issue into a developing vs. developed country issue. There's partisan politics for ya.
2. Human Psychology - Negative consequences do not motivate a behavioral shift in people. Think about why millions of people still smoke cigarettes when they know it will most likely kill them. We know climate change will lead to the demise of our species - but that doesn't motivate us.
3. Out of Sight, Out of Mind - The problem lacks "Personalization". It has yet to directly affect each and every one of us. People are not losing jobs, sleep or their health yet on a global and uniform scale because of climate change. So it lacks the personal impact and direct effect that inspires people to demand action.
4. Climate Change Lacks Immediacy - The truly universal and dire consequences of climate change are in the future. For most people, this creates a disconnection to the issue. Which breeds apathy. Don't believe this - check out this blog written by a Londoner.
5. We all Feel Helpless - People simply don't know what to do about it and feel powerless to drive change. So we're leaving it up to the Politicians. I'm not sure about you - but that scares the shit out of me. I'm going to rely on people that are heavily lobbied by industry to drive a policy of change. Stephen Harper has proved my point that Politican's rarely do the "morally right" thing. His shining example - the Alberta Oil Sands and their World Leading CO2 emissions.
6. Size and Scope - The problem is too big for people to comprehend. And many groups have used this to their advantage. They attempt to cloud the issue - make it bigger and more complicated so you don't understand it. Is this about Carbon, Black Carbon, Nitrogen or Methane. If this isn't confusing enough, people leak documents and emails that are meant to cloud the science of climate change. Clouding the truth - a proven detractor strategy should sound familiar to you - it's happened throughout history when similar big theories unleashed - remember Galelio and Charles Darwin - two examples of game changing theories that we resisted and discounted by many.
7. Western Society Can't Change - If you talk to people they understand the single biggest issue is Carbon - from power plants & factories, people in developing countries burning wood, dung & coal, industrial equipment and automobiles. But we don't have ready alternatives for clean energy, green fuel, clean transportation and green consumer goods. And since the automobile was the catalyst for Urban design in the US and Canada - we have no suitable alternatives to driving a car - because our public transit systems are woefully inadequate. Even when we shop, we have to buy plastic packaging made with oil and coal fired electricity - because that's our only choice. Our companies pollute and plunder and we know it - but we don't want to lose our job by complaining and forcing change.
8. No Money - This is just not true. If we can spend $50 Trillion on economic stimulus, we can find $10 Trillion for Climate Change. Money will flow from public and private sources if the incentives are there.

This list is in no way supposed to be exhaustive - just highlights of what I believe. So why have I written this? It's very important to understand the cause and effect of the Climate Change Issue - why we aren't solving it. Once we understand this, we're half way there to figuring out how to solve it.

In my next blog - I'll talk about the Moral Imperative and how you (as 1 person) can drive a "bottom up" revolution to help resolve Climate Change.