The climate crisis is undoubtedly one of the greatest existential threats humanity has ever faced. The last nine years have been the hottest ever recorded, and with Earth’s surface temperature averaging 1.46 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, 2023 appears to have been the hottest year out of the last 125,000. Yes, governments and corporations seem intent on ignoring the effects of climate change, even as temperatures noticeably increase and natural disasters worsen. Yes, we’ve all had reason enough to despair about the climate crisis’s consequences. Yes, we are bombarded by bad news about the climate, but those headlines don’t tell the whole story. This fight isn’t over just yet, and we can still beat the climate crisis because we’ve done it before; because we’re doing it better than our best indicators predicted; and because we care.
The climate crisis of today is unprecedented in scope. However, it bears other similarities to the ozone depletion of previous decades. Like the climate crisis, ozone depletion was a climate-related, man-made threat to worldwide health and safety, caused in large part by everyday and industrial chemicals. The ozone layer is now healing, thanks largely to the work of lawmakers and government policy of international cooperation — a blueprint that can be replicated in response to our climate crisis. Despite today’s political climate, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 represented the single largest investment in fighting the climate crisis in human history. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (2021), CHIPS (Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors), and Science Act (2022) have led the way in climate-conscious infrastructure, job creation, and manufacturing investments. The Biden-Harris Administration’s American Climate Corps, investments into rail projects, and international coordination via the rejoining of the Paris Climate Accords have all represented significant steps by the government and international community against climate change.
Replacing fossil fuels as a source of energy will be one of the greatest obstacles to defeating the climate crisis, but it’s important to remember that significant progress has already been made on this front in the affordability, accessibility, and transition to clean energy. According to the International Energy Agency, solar power is currently providing the cheapest electricity in human history, with prices having fallen by over 20 times in the last two decades alone. Solar and wind power are anticipated to account for a third of the world’s electricity by the end of the decade, and incentives and assistance provided by the Inflation Reduction Act are likely to keep up the momentum. The Department of Energy is supporting research and development into nuclear fusion as a potential alternative to current nuclear power and fossil fuels. Excluding the pandemic period — when U.S. emissions declined even more rapidly than usual — American carbon dioxide emissions have steadily fallen by over 17 percent since their peak in 2007, a further 12 percent of which is offset by the growth of forests and urban greenery. Carbon taxes and renewable energy subsidies in the European Union have also helped make clean energy competitive. Contrary to many expectations, clean energy has proven to be a viable alternative to fossil fuels, and one that is set to continue its exponential growth into the near future.
The best reason to believe that we can overcome the climate crisis might simply be that people care. Climate change deniers are certainly loud, but they are largely in the minority. A recent Pew Research Center survey revealed that 69 percent of Americans agree that the U.S. should take steps towards carbon neutrality — and the Biden-Harris Administration has accordingly shaped policy to get the U.S. to net zero emissions by 2050 — a goal that had far less legislation during previous administrations. Nearly three-quarters support international cooperation against the climate crisis, and support for climate action and clean energy is higher among younger people, the very generations that will go on to shape government policy over the coming decades. Furthermore, a 2022 survey demonstrated that climate change is, on average, seen as the “top global threat” among 19 developed countries. Public consensus is clear: even in an era of widespread misinformation and corporate influence, people care about beating the climate crisis.
The climate crisis is shaping up to be the greatest existential threat of our lifetimes, and we must act sooner rather than later. We have a long way to go before reaching our climate goals, but we must also keep in mind the tremendous progress that is being made around the world in fighting the climate crisis. And that’s not just for optimism’s sake, but also to prevent hopeless climate apathy from taking root in online circles. It may be true that the best time to take climate action was twenty years ago — but the second-best time is today, and we must remember that if we mean to make anything of it. Through today’s international cooperation, clean energy, and public opinion, confronting the climate crisis head-on is possible. We cannot afford to forget that.
