Much of the reluctance to do what climate change requires comes from the assumption that it means trading abundance for austerity, and trading all our stuff and conveniences for less stuff, less convenience. But what if it meant giving up things we’re well rid of, from deadly emissions to nagging feelings of doom and complicity in destruction? What if the austerity is how we live now — and the abundance could be what is to come?
Well the media have been pushing a lot of that messaging over time. When articles talk about the cost of adaptation they almost never mention the staggering amount of money we pump into FFs as a subsidy.
For all net FF energy importers this should be a gain because all the money that goes out of the country can now be invested in something else. Additional gains are public health which again frees up money etc.
Of course this is why FF companies have fought the transition so hard.
Not Too Late: Changing the Climate Story From Despair to Possibility
Another more general thing. Most people do not really think of the problems as doom. And the change is not from despair to possibility.
The root cause of inaction lies with our leaders who pledge things but don´t act on it. If there is despair popping up then it is because this inaction. We are too slow to meet our own pledges which means we will hit an overall goal that is over 1,5C and the higher you go the bigger the risks become.
Some people have long pointed out that there are lots of risks not actually modelled in IPCC reports and often someone came along and called them doomers. Of course by know we know that Thwaites is near collapse, actual global temps below 1C trigger Greenland, Antarctica etc.
The big problem is that we don´t know what global temperature is safe. Losing major rivers for transport complicates matters. The chance of a multiple bread basket failure increases with temperature just as the chances of many other crises all over the world.
For now we are mainly headed towards an abundance of problems.
All talk of net zero is wasted in absence of real reductions etc.
No matter how we feel about it we must move towards the FF phase out ASAP but the lack in international cooperation prevents that. Of course the US being a FF exporting country does not help.
Most people in cities won´t go for the minimalist approach because so much adds tell you to get more things. Also many big cities are not suited to be community strong.
Anyway most people don´t care enough because they all have their own problems to solve.