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The market will not save us: green energy in the capitalist system

‘Mainstream institutional investors are recognising that climate change is not just a threat to the health of the planet, but also a threat to the wealth of their clients.’ – Mark Lewis, FT.


Renewable energy such as solar and wind are becoming the energy sectors staple. The long-overdue end of unsustainable and damaging coal, oil and gas that exploit the natural world is nigh. These non-renewable sources have never before faced this kind of competition to their business models. It is increasingly difficult to argue that coal, oil or gas are superior fuels from an economic standpoint, let alone from an environmental standpoint.

This century will be about damage control. Controlling the effects of a climate which has been taken for granted, and subject to copious amounts of sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides through human-made processes. These are the years that will determine the future of humanity, and the state of the world we pass on. If things are bad now, ask yourself, what will the world look like in twenty years? This is The Future We Choose.

Is it enough to slowly wake up to catastrophic climate change as a society? To maybe, at a push, have phased out coal by 2050. To have replaced combustion engines by 2040. Why are we being lulled awake from a dream, reluctant; rather than horrified from a nightmare, shocked into action?

The fact that the market will eventually phase out non-renewables is beside the point. That will happen not because of moral do-gooders or awareness of the climate crisis, but because it is cheaper, more economically viable. This is a change that needs to happen NOW, not when corporations decide it might be cheaper and better for business.

On some level, it could be argued that the market triumph of renewable energy marks the biggest victory yet for environmentalists. But this ignores our attitudes and values that need to change. We need to bring about the change, not capitalist economics. And renewable energy will not save the world on its own, but it is a start.


Further reading:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/04/19/climate/climate-crash-course-1.html

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/feb/15/worst-case-scenario-2050-climate-crisis-future-we-choose-christiana-figueres-tom-rivett-carnac

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2019/12/the-decade-we-finally-woke-up-to-climate-change/

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/03/renewables-surpass-coal-us-energy-generation-130-years


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