Sam Knights is a writer, actor, and climate activist. He is the coeditor of This Is Not a Drill: An Extinction Rebellion Handbook.
The climate and biodiversity crises unleashed by capitalist development are already happening. Predicting a sudden apocalypse may draw attention to impending climate catastrophe, but it ultimately diverts us from the work needed to preserve a livable planet.
Western governments have tried to blame China and India for the COP26 flop. But it was the rich capitalist states of Europe and North America that refused to accept the just demands of the world’s poorest nations, leaving us still on course for disaster.
As the links between capitalism and ecological crisis become more and more evident, the political philosophy of ecosocialism has been gaining support. Left-wing environmentalists have no shortage of ideas: now they need a strategy that can achieve the necessary power.
Right-wing forces have denied the existence of climate change for decades, but we are beginning to see a shift away from crude denial toward a terrifying eco-fascism. We have to oppose any attempt to use the climate crisis to justify racist, reactionary, and authoritarian policies.