I have been juggling three separate books recently: Falter by Bill McKibben; Growth by Vaclav Smil; and After Geoengineering: Climate Tragedy, Repair, and Restoration by Holly Jean Buck. I am a fairly consummate book starter and over my lifetime, not always the best finisher. I venture to say that this is perhaps not limited to books. Projects, chores, writing, pretty much all fall under this guise. Yet, COVID has been somewhat beneficial to reversing this trend. Let’s just say I’ve had more opportunities to follow through on reading. So, over the next few weeks I have set a personal goal to be better at capturing and sharing my perspectives too.
Today, I want to start with some thoughts on collective versus individual action. This winter and spring, I have observed a persuasive argument around impact asymmetry. Recent attribution research has concluded that just 20 companies are responsible for 35% of all carbon emissions. The resultant logic can disempower individual action or more forcefully say we are slaves to a corporate monopoly. One conclusion has been that we should not beat the drum of individual action, rather, make these polluters pay. (Of course they should!)
I resonate with the elimination of guilt for the actions of the few. The majority of people should not feel guilty nor should be told to feel guilty if they don’t take action. Most individuals are trapped by their economic position and hardly need guilt layered on top of their already unequal position in society.
It is ironic that one of the tools the fossil fuel industry is wielding to protect their interests is “consumer choice”, when for the majority of their existence consumers had no real choice but to stay addicted to their product. The perpetuation of that addiction and the impact of polluters is deeply troubling. The climate is obviously in a fragile state, and the fact that so few people profited grandly off the destruction of a stable climate is perhaps the worlds greatest example of inequality. But strip away the climate change lens for a second.
The fact is, these individuals and their companies undermined democracy in order to maintain momentum and advance narrow self-interests. Inordinate wealth and an entire world addicted to their product only increased the economic and political influence over time.
It is for these reasons that every personal action matters. In his book, We Are the Weather, Jonathan Safron Foer makes the case that individual action alone will not solve climate change, but that climate change also will not be solved without individual action. This, I believe, is a healthier message.
Opposition and polarization to clean energy and climate solutions has been ginned up for the very reason that it is a viable solution. There are going to be hard sectors of our economy to decarbonize. Then again, even ten years ago, most people did not imagine renewables to be as competitive as they are today. The metaphorical inch was given then, and enabled reinforcing trends to grab the next mile. Steep cost reductions, more renewable deployments, and many quality jobs created a new political voice. You have to believe those carbon intense businesses are taking notes. Inches are no longer for sale. Continued personal and collective actions will work.
The most dangerous threat is one to a growth narrative.
That is exactly why individual action matters now more than ever. Coronavirus shutdowns have revealed the fragility of unbounded growth narratives. The collapse in oil markets is the most apparent example. How will stock prices adjust when investors realize most of that oil will be kept in the ground?
Further peddling the fossil addiction happens everywhere. Gas utility companies will pay huge incentives to convince individuals to convert their home to gas. The investment is worth it if they can capture a client for a lifetime, and keep convincing shareholders and ratepayers they they have a growing business with declining costs to consumers.
Every minor victory matters. You don’t have to solve climate change single handedly. In fact you can’t. But you do have the power to change narrative. Individuals can combat growth stories by electrifying their homes and businesses. Heat pumps have changed the math on heating the air and water for our homes. Induction stoves are doing the same for the experience of cooking. Like the promise of the 1970’s all electric homes are once again the safest, healthiest, and cheapest option.
It will never be about just one individual’s actions, but about the rippling effects and the capture of a collective mindset.
If you follow climate change, you probably read an article ten years ago on how divestment was an ineffective tactic. My alma mater said as much in a letter to us alumni who petitioned them to divest. Economists and investors proselytized a high level view that divesting did not change the number or shares in circulation - they just made them cheaper for someone else who would see the opportunity to get in. However, the shortcomings of that perspective are now on display for all to see. Divestment is working. Fossil fuel companies have started citing downside risks of divestment on their required SEC paperwork.
The growth narrative is over for these huge oil and gas companies, and personal decisions have and will continue to impact that.
So, if you are in a stable enough position after all this to spend some money to save money, invest in efficiency and invest in electrification. Buy that electric vehicle or replace your gas water heater with a heat pump water heater. These actions do matter and they do influence the imagination of what is possible. Positive change is reinforcing, and it starts with all of us. By flattening the carbon curve, you are also accelerating the clean economy of the future.
If you’re not in a position to make these changes, don’t feel guilty, but do advocate for a cleaner, more democratic future, and encourage those who can afford to do their part. We are in a battle to reimagine our future, and from my perspective, I see a diverse coalition pushing toward a clean, low carbon future.