Words: Eva Smedeby
According to the UN, the Earth is ‘1.2°C warmer than it was in the late 1800s and emissions continue to rise.’ To combat this and preserve a livable planet, organizations like the UN propose net zero, insisting that global temperatures should not surpass 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. However, as many industries profit off of the rise in global temperatures, nations involved with the UN perpetually fail to make these commitments. Instead, governments issue a false sense of security with plans to limit fossil fuels –like solar energy schemes including the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) – whilst being large shareholders in the production and distribution of oil. “Green countries” are a facade, temporarily band-aiding the climate crisis to capitalize off of a dying planet.
Data from the EIA reveals the top profiters and consumers of oil: the United States, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Canada, Iraq, and Brazil. Unsurprisingly, the majority of this list does not reflect a population-to-emissions ratio. Coincidentally enough, the United States, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, China and Russia have economies reliant on the consumption, marketing, and trade of petroleum-based products. This ratio is not a reflection of habitability, rather a mirror into which countries indulge in climate capitalism.
Many companies are found responsible for similar transgressions, advertising themselves as “green” organizations while contributing to the overflow of global emissions. Consumers around the world are persuaded by this marketing scheme called “greenwashing”. Brands like H&M, Zara, and Uniqlo have contributed to mass fabric waste, with only 20% of their ‘organic’ and ‘environmentally friendly’ clothing having been recycled.
According to Changing Markets, 80% of these ‘organic’ fabrics are actually made out of cheap synthetic fibres produced by fossil fuels, primarily oil and gas. To stop false advertising or at least regulate it, we desperately need governmental intervention. Of course, the countries with the highest CO2 emissions earn revenue off of these chains, making it likely that power will be perpetually abused to advocate their damaging and misleading narratives.
These companies, and those that enable them, are 3 amongst many who contribute to the harmful practice of greenwashing. Beyond the fast fashion industry, businesses like Volkswagen, Coca-Cola, and Starbucks likewise participate in this marketing fraud.
As countries continue to fall short on current climate plans, the UN says that net zero will not be achieved by 2050. For this to be fulfilled – as stated in the Paris Agreement – emissions would need to be reduced to 43% by 2030, and all governments must reinforce their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). We are far from that objective. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released data of global carbon emissions from 2024, which rose 1.0 billion tonnes from the previous year. As many administrations prioritize national profit over climate control, this number is due to rise.
This doesn’t even account for biological and nuclear warfare. Using only a thousandth of ammunition, explosives and other weaponry – as historically emitted from a nuclear war – would generate 690m tonnes of CO2, and 700m tonnes can be released from smaller nuclear conflicts. In a year, Russia’s war on Ukraine contributed to 120 million tCO2e, comparable to the total emissions in a 12 month period for a country like Belgium.
The use of weaponry is another issue, as its creation and distribution remains a profitable business for nations across the globe. During the ongoing war on Ukraine, Russia has been receiving imports from China, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. Simultaneously, India, Saudi Arabia, and the United States race to purchase discounted Russian oil – every crisis monetised. What is the planet, and the innumerable loss of human life, if not another business exploit? While countries hand out drilling licenses across the North Sea, the “pipe dream” proves to be a global pursuit.
The inevitability for a global rise in temperature is alarming. Of course, the people behind these administrations have less to worry about in the case of planetary cataclysm. Life is certainly easier when someone has a private jet ready to whisk them away to a private island or a first class ticket for colonizing Mars. In truth, climate capitalism is not just a middle to lower class problem, it presents a very plausible foundation for mass extinction and utter collapse, to which the rich will not be magically exempt. And when this final calamity inevitably arrives, who will be left to profit?
