The society, in response to the escalating climate crisis, has evolved into three distinct factions: the Abandonment Faction, the Adaptation Faction, and the Salvation Faction. Each faction’s beliefs and strategies for dealing with climate change differ but are not wholly exclusive.
1. The Abandonment Faction
The Abandonment Faction is mired in a sense of despair and helplessness, contending that global climate change has reached an irreversible stage. They argue that neither individual nor collective efforts can halt climate change’s progression, rendering attention to other concerns more meaningful. This sentiment is borne from prior failures to tackle climate change effectively and challenges engendered by existing economic, political, and social structures.
This faction advocates for:
Acceptance of natural climate patterns: They argue that changes in temperature arise from natural phenomena like shifts in solar radiation and the Earth’s orbit, not human activities. Hence, Ice ages and interglacial periods are natural cycles unlinked to human influence.
Abandonment of contemporary environmental policies: They call for relinquishing environmental regulations, greenhouse gas emission limits, and clean energy promotions, believing them to be futile gestures incapable of affecting the natural environment but detrimental to businesses and individuals.
Cessation of climate change-related investments: They oppose the use of public funds for climate change research or carbon-neutral initiatives, viewing such efforts as pawns of special interest groups. Instead, they suggest redirecting these resources towards social welfare, healthcare, education, and the like.
An end to discriminatory fossil fuel policies: They criticise clean energy as expensive, inefficient, and reliant on government subsidies. Consequently, they demand an end to fossil fuel surcharges, thus promoting the unhampered use of traditional, low-cost fossil fuels.
2. The Adaptation Faction
The Adaptation Faction accepts climate change as a fait accompli that has wrought significant impacts. Therefore, they advocate for climate change adaptation through measures such as infrastructural upgrades, lifestyle modifications, technology and resource developments, and research.
The Adaptation Faction promotes:
Resilient infrastructure development: They endorse the creation of robust infrastructure to withstand climate change impacts, like flood barriers and coastal protective installations.
Agricultural adaptability: They encourage improved farming and breeding techniques, drought-resistant irrigation facilities, and other adaptive measures for climate change effects.
Enhanced urban planning: They favour urban planning that accounts for climate change impacts, like indoor green spaces, rooftop rainwater collection, improved urban drainage, etc.
Boosted scientific research and tech innovation: They regard these as vital tools for tackling climate change and thus call for increased funding for relevant research and innovation to devise better adaptation strategies.
Limitation of fossil fuel use: They argue that fossil fuel use, given its adverse health impacts, should be banned within city limits to avoid exacerbating air pollution in challenging environments.
3. The Salvation Faction
The Salvation Faction professes faith in human capacity to reverse climate change through proactive actions and the Earth’s ecological recovery ability. They champion scientific research, technological innovation, greenhouse gas emission reductions, renewable energy use, natural resource protection, and heightened environmental awareness.
The Salvation Faction promotes:
Substantial greenhouse gas emission reduction: They assert the existence of unregulated greenhouse gas emissions and urge society-wide investigations to curb emissions, possibly reversing climate change.
Expedited energy transformation: They vehemently oppose fossil fuel use, calling for increased governmental investment in renewable energy infrastructure, a UN-led push for nuclear fusion technology, and a total ban on fossil fuels.
Sustainable production and consumption: They advocate a circular economy, green consumption, and active public participation in addressing climate change to lessen environmental impact.
International cooperation enhancement: They view prior climate actions as meaningful yet insufficient and urge for reinforced international collaboration to collectively tackle climate change.
Population reduction: They believe overpopulation exacerbates environmental problems and propose measures like birth control to alleviate human pressure on the environment.