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Offsetting into oblivion with George Monbiot (australiainstitute.org.au)

submitted 1 month ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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George Monbiot and hosts Ebony Bennet and Polly Hemming get stuck into neoliberalisms insidious effect on climate, the folly of carbon offsets, and why incrementalism will never lead to systemic change.

As Ebony Bennet says, the discussion leaves you hopeful change could be just arpund the corner.

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[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I disagree that incrementalism will never lead to systemic change. But i'm a believer that big change is precipitated by ten small changes. Cue Paul Kelly..

I don't feel George Monbiot put his case well. If we take Australia as the example, without the incremental changes we've individually already made its hard to believe that the bigger things we are actually doing now would be as uncontroversial as they are.

The big projects I'm thinking are the many renewables going in around the country. The offshore wind farm in NSW, is maybe the only exception, but even thats not stopping the nation like it might've a decade ago.

Plastic bag bans, container deposit schemes, removal of plastic straws, yellow top recycle bins, FOGO, keep cups, these are all examples of the highly visible incremental changes that, bu their constant presence, demand people rethink a wasteful practice.

I think he's right to say is incrementalism might be too slow. But his other option of waiting for the economic/climate revolution is akin to rolling the dice at a casino you don't own.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I don't feel George Monbiot put his case well. If we take Australia as the example, without the incremental changes we've individually already made its hard to believe that the bigger things we are actually doing now would be as uncontroversial as they are.

I don't agree, your argument is there "is bigger things we're doing now". I don't agree with that premises at all, we're not doing bigger things... at all. What were doing is green washing within the orthodox neo liberal order. Which I think is George's point.

Aa an example , aircraft bookings have increased some 20% from last year, we need aircraft bookings to be zero. We need private cars being banned, we'll need the removal of national boundaries or suffer the rise in violence and subsequent enviomental damage that's caused as billions flee the tropical zone. They will flee becase they must.

Another example, The Olympics should be banned and yet we're inviting 10s of thousands of people to Australia in 2034. What we're doing it banning straws at the events and putting a recycle logo on a cup instead.

We're expanding Melbourne, Hobart & Brisbane aiports and have built a new one in Sydney, they should all be closed. A new football stadium in Hobart is a laughable mockery in the face of a climate emergency.

Solutions to Climate Change and the enviomental crisis require a complete change to the social, political and economic way we live upon the Earth, what we're doing is rearranging the deck chairs.

We need to ban cars and flying but what we're doing is banning plastic bags and chopping down forests to make paper bags.

All too much to expect ? Well, that's the point and why we're not doing anything, beside incremental tokeism and why it will only get worse.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/07/un-expert-human-rights-climate-crisis-economy

Outgoing special rapporteur David Boyd says ‘there’s something wrong with our brains that we can’t understand how grave this is’