From the fires in Lahaina and Los Angeles to the recent flooding in Asheville, North Carolina, America's record-setting weather disasters have a few things in common. Communities are unprepared for them, people are insisting on living in unsafe places, and cities are forcing them to do so in order to generate property tax revenue.
But the most dangerous denominator is global climate change. It brings killer heat, heavier rain, drier droughts, longer wildfire seasons, and warmer oceans that fuel storms. Severe weather is not uncommon, but many of today's events are more extreme than anything in memory or recorded history.
These events have something deeper in common. Their new destructive power comes from their use of fossil fuels. Fuel pollution contains greenhouse gases that collect in the atmosphere and insulate the Earth, making the Earth's surface even warmer. That changes the weather.
The fossil fuel industry and government leaders who shape the nation's energy policy know this. for at least 50 years. There are no cost-effective technical fixes across the entire fuel value chain. The only sure solution is to move the United States and other countries to non-polluting energy sources.
This is not the first time we have achieved a large-scale energy transition. Otherwise, our cars would run on whale oil or wood.
Fossil fuels have dominated the world economy for nearly 150 years. they still offer 80% or more Even though scientists established a causal link between fossil fuels and climate change generations ago, the impact of energy in the United States and around the world continues to grow. Current science points to catastrophic weather it will be worse If we don't stop using these fuels, the situation may even become irreversible. But many elected leaders are proud that the United States produces more oil and gas than any other country, and the president-elect produce more.
Whether we burn oil, gas, or coal here or export it elsewhere, the resulting disasters are the least prepared for disasters, the least able to afford them, and the least responsible for causing them. It's an order of magnitude more serious for families. But the prevailing mindset among many CEOs and legislators is that the sole purpose of business is profit, regardless of social or environmental costs.
In this view, fires, floods, extreme temperatures, rising sea levels, devastating droughts, unsustainable pressures on government spending, uninsured property destruction, and rising consumer prices are likely to be the culprits.climate change“'' is simply the cost of doing business. Oil companies and their lenders and shareholders aren't worried about collateral damage. Because they don't pay for it. Therefore, eight of the major oil and gas companies “Positioning failed” The Paris Agreement puts the world on a trajectory far beyond its limits.
It is becoming increasingly clear that this profiteering is a crime against humanity and a moral crime, even if it is not codified in statute or treaty.
Fuel producers are not the only ones to blame. It is also financiers and investors who make this possible. At last count, the world's largest banks provide the fossil fuel sector with: Approximately 7 trillion dollars Since governments adopted the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015.
But legal liability is evolving. of international court of justice It considers claims by vulnerable countries that fossil fuel production violates international law. When the court asked the U.S. government to respond, our lawyer pointed out No law or treaty requires any country to stop producing fossil fuels. They did not address moral issues.
It is clear that the industry and its enablers will not change of their own accord. Must be forced. There are several ways to get started.
Litigation is one of them. Children in several states and countries are suing governments for endangering their futures through fossil fuel subsidies. Cities and states are suing major oil and gas companies for damages caused by climate change. of The number of suits has almost tripled In the last 10 years. However, despite the fact that major oil companies are said to be responsible; trillions of dollars No court has forced the industry to pay for damage to housing, infrastructure, or livelihoods.
Market forces are another option. We can encourage consumers to cooperate with the energy transition.
The first step is for the U.S. and other governments to end fossil fuel subsidies. Instead, 177 countries more than double direct subsidies Between 2020 and 2022.
The second step is to make energy prices reflect the social and environmental costs of fossil fuels. Lastly, I would like to report that 40 countries and 25 subnational jurisdictions Added carbon price to fuel. Although the U.S. Congress failed to do so, two regional carbon trading programs representing 12 states We are active in the United States. Other states are welcome to participate.
Next, Congress should protect the $370 billion in clean energy incentives under the Inflation Control Act. Donald Trump wants money to extend tax cuts support the richest Americans. The House Ways and Means Committee calls clean energy incentives “green corporate welfare,” ignoring the fact that the oil industry has received tax breaks for more than a century. The difference is that fossil energy subsidies accelerate climate change, while clean energy subsidies help stop climate change.
Additionally, voters need to pressure Congress to reduce the influence of corporate money in elections. The oil and gas industry has spent staggering amounts of money $220 million To influence the 2024 election. Thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court, this has made it legal to bribe elected officials.
Finally, the nuclear option is for the U.S. government to take control of Big Oil and do what the industry won't do: make a humane, fair, and orderly transition to clean energy. Through years of lies, obfuscation, greenwashing, blackmail and backroom deals, the industry has proven that it cannot be trusted to contribute to the decarbonization of the economy. The government nationalized some industries to save them from collapse. Now, society is too big to fail.
With a president who insists global warming is a hoax and a Republican-controlled Congress that acts like a publicly traded subsidiary of a major oil company, none of these options are likely to gain traction. Between now and the 2026 midterm elections, climate change activists should work together on an aggressive campaign to educate voters about the link between fossil fuels and climate disasters, and the reality that their communities could be next.
There is no place to run or hide from climate change. The government's latest scientific assessment shows that climate impacts are “already widespread and worsening And without significant reductions in fossil fuel pollution, “serious climate risks to the United States will continue to increase.”
We should have listened to the past. If we don't listen now, we'll all benefit.
William S. BeckerHe is a former regional director for the U.S. Department of Energy and the author of several books on climate change and national disaster policy.100 day action plan to save the planet” and “The Creek Rises: People Living with Floods”
