Why Systemic Change Won’t Solve Climate Change

We need specific solutions, not vague calls for change.

“Change the System” by burrows.nichole28 is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Preventing catastrophic climate change requires one thing: reducing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. And doing that requires us to decarbonize our economy. How do we decarbonize?

Many call for “system change” as the solution to the climate emergency. Climate strikes call for complete system change. Investors and business groups call for system change investing. In response to a report’s question about what system change meant, Greta Thunberg demanded Germany revise its plans for producing fossil fuels.

But calling for system change is simply not enough given the urgency of the moment. Focusing on system change might even delay decarbonization.

We have so little time to start reducing emissions.

At this late stage of the climate emergency, calling for system change feels too slow. It also feels like a slightly insidious negative feedback process of the carbon system, a process that…