Why nothing changes

Every year the warnings on climate change become more urgent.

Every year temperatures break new records.

Every year politicians promise action.

And every year, far too little changes.

Why?

In this video, I argue that the failure to tackle climate change is not because we lacked scientific evidence or practical solutions. Scientists warned us decades ago, and they were right. We also had credible alternatives. I explain why the Green New Deal, which I helped develop before the financial crisis of 2008, offered a practical programme linking climate action, investment, jobs and stronger public services, and why politics chose to ignore it.

The deeper problem, I suggest, is that modern politics has lost the ability to imagine a different future. Too much of economics assumes today’s system is inevitable. Politicians defend existing institutions instead of asking whether they still work. Meanwhile, powerful vested interests continue to profit from fossil fuels and resist meaningful change.

Climate change has exposed something much bigger than an environmental crisis. It has revealed a crisis of political imagination.

If we continue trying to repair yesterday’s economy instead of building tomorrow’s, the consequences will become increasingly severe. We can no longer afford the inaction that is our politicians' preferred policy choice. Either they must change, or we will have to be rid of them.