Has capitalism caused climate change?

by | Jul 6, 2022 | Climate change and sustainable development | 0 comments

Photo by Patrick Perkins on Unsplash

By Charlotte Ephgrave

Capitalism has caused climate change to become a global issue that humans now face. This effect on the environment is because of human activities associated with greenhouse gas emissions. According to the Met Office, the main cause of climate change is the burning of fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal. These fossil fuels release carbon dioxide which causes the earth’s temperature to increase. This climate crisis has become a focal issue for humans in modern society. Lindsey and Dahlma stated that the earth has roughly increased by 2 degrees Fahrenheit in global average surface temperature since the pre-industrial era. Thus, one must acknowledge that capitalism and globalisation has been the fundamental cause of climate change.

Firstly, capitalism has caused tremendous change to society and the environment. Humans have exploited the natural resources while also causing extreme damage to the earth. Marx and Engels highlight how capitalism caused the growth of industry, transport and aviation, agriculture and technology. Since capitalism, massive volumes of greenhouse gases have accelerated climate change which has meant the Antarctic ice caps are melting because of the warmer air and ocean water. This has also affected animals as more species are becoming extinct due to changes of habitats and ecosystems. The earth needs stability hence the disruption to the earth’s temperature has caused harmful and dangerous consequences.

Capitalism has also led to globalisation as products and goods are transported all over the world due to the focus on consumerism. This also contributes to climate change due to the emissions from planes, cars, lorries etc… However, Marx and Engels also highlighted how the modern bourgeois ‘is like the sorcerer, who is no longer able to control the powers of the nether world whom he has called up by his spells’. Capitalism has caused ‘disorder into the whole of bourgeois society, endanger(ing) the existence of bourgeois property’ (Marx and Engels) due to the negative effect capitalism is having on the environment. Leahy also writes that capitalism may not end in the way that Marx originally stated with a revolution by the proletariat but the negative effects that capitalism is having on the environment could cause societal change. However, Monbiot demonstrates that humans don’t change when faced with an ‘impending… climate or ecological breakdown, we seem to go out of our way to compromise our survival. We convince ourselves that it’s not so serious, or even that it isn’t happening’. This is evident in the buying and burning of oil as countries continue to do this act because it would massively effect capitalism and the country’s economy if they stopped. Thus, capitalism is causing the continuation of climate change.

Countries are trying to become more sustainable. The UK government for example in June 2019 joined the Paris Agreement. According to the UK Government, the Nationally Determined Contribution commits the UK to reducing economy- wide greenhouse gas emissions by at least 68% by 2030. However, the irony of this is that Energy UK has stated that most of the UK’s electricity is produced by burning fossil fuels, mainly natural gas (42% in 2016) and coal (9% in 2016). Therefore, this highlights that governments sign onto agreements involving sustainability, but they are still burning massive amounts of fossil fuels and contributing to climate change because of capitalism and maintaining the country’s economy.

Donald Trump has also contributed to people not considering the lasting consequences of climate change. The BBC has reported that Trump has called climate change ‘mythical’, ‘nonexistent’, or ‘an expensive hoax’. The Climate Deregulation Tracker also documented 130 steps that the Trump administration took to scale back measures to fight climate change. However, Joe Biden has now joined the Paris Agreement which could have changed people’s minds to believe that climate change is a problem that actively needs to be resolved. However, like the UK the US still engages in mass production and transportation of goods and burning of fossil fuels to maintain its economy and capitalism. Therefore, could capitalism continue without this detrimental impact on the environment?

In summary, capitalism and the focus of maintaining a stable economy are the main causes of climate change. As discussed, humans aren’t massively changing their actions to stop this impending problem. Therefore, humans need to continue to change society to become more sustainable while also implementing legislation to force governments and companies to become more sustainable. Humans need to resolve the damage so that the environmental problems that are out of control don’t completely destroy civilisation and the earth.

References

Energy UK (2016). Electricity generation | Energy UK. [online] Energy-uk.org.uk. Available at: https://www.energy-uk.org.uk/our-work/generation/electricity-generation.html.

GOV.UK. (2020). The UK’s Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Agreement. [online] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-uks-nationally-determined-contribution-communication-to-the-unfccc.

Helier Cheung (2020). What does Trump actually believe on climate change? BBC News. [online] 23 Jan. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-51213003.

Lindsey, R. and Dahlman, L. (2021). Climate change: Global temperature. [online] Climate.gov. Available at: https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-global-temperature.

Marx, K. and Engels, F. (1848). Manifesto Of The Communist Party.

 

Met Office (2019). Causes of climate change. [online] Met Office. Available at: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/climate-change/causes-of-climate-change.

Monbiot, G. (2021). Capitalism is killing the planet – it’s time to stop buying into our own destruction | George Monbiot. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/30/capitalism-is-killing-the-planet-its-time-to-stop-buying-into-our-own-destruction.

Urry, J. (2009). Sociology and Climate Change. The Sociological Review, 57(2_suppl), pp.84–100.

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