The Australian Government’s public analysis of climate risk, our greatest threat, is dangerously misleading. The Intergenerational Report 2023 (IGR) is a prime example. By dumbing down the implications of climate change with simplified economic models, the IGR and similar reports are institutionalising the global failure to face climate reality.
As the Africa Climate Summit kicks off in Nairobi, Kenya (4-6 September, 2023) with the theme of “Driving Green Growth and Climate Finance Solutions for Africa and the World”, I’m filled with a mix of hope, urgency, and determination. Young people like me recognise the gravity of the climate crisis and its disproportionate impact on African countries. We want meaningful action to address the environmental challenges that threaten our continent’s future.
"The report invokes the economy, markets (for energy, finance and capital), the private sector, private finance, business (once – and as a civil society actor) and a range of human activities. Yet it is the institution of private property and the dynamic of capital that produce and destroy its material and energetic environment (Kohei Saito, Marx in the Anthropocene, 2023)."
