<
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/apr/19/theres-only-one-way-to-fight-the-climate-greenlash-appeal-to-the-naysayers-self-interest>
"For a decade, green activists in Britain have been congratulating themselves
on their luck. Unlike in many countries in Europe, where motorists, farmers and
rightwing groups have been driving anti-climate action, the UK has long enjoyed
a comfortable political consensus on the subject. But conditions for a
greenlash are assembling.
Most Britons still say they support climate efforts, but the price of
decarbonising may at last be about to hit our wallets. Meanwhile, the
Conservative party has come a long way since it sported a little green oak tree
as its logo. Last month, Kemi Badenoch declared a full culture war against net
zero, which she said couldn’t be achieved “without a serious drop in our living
standards or by bankrupting us”.
The UK is joining a global trend. Populist parties in Europe scored big
victories last year, politicians opposed to climate action are gaining ground
in Canada and Australia, and, most importantly, America has withdrawn from the
Paris agreement. As international agreements break down, reasons to be selfish
multiply. Why should other countries strain to preserve the planet as America
steams ahead?
Climate change has of course always been a collective action problem. This
applies even to those at the sharp end. Australian bush fires linger in recent
memory, yet there is a strong groundswell against climate action in the
country. That is not illogical: the fires were a consequence of global, not
local, emissions – Australia could shave its carbon footprint to nothing and
still be the victim of other countries’ carelessness. But it is an early
warning. As the worst effects of climate change show up on our doorsteps, we
may still find plenty of reasons not to act.
As countries retrench, then, it might be time for activists to take another
approach. Rightwing populists tend to be good at communicating the costs of
climate policies; their opposition, by contrast, is not good at advertising the
benefits. As altruistic arguments go out of fashion, we may need to make a
self-interested case for going green."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
