Trivialising climate action: perils of inadequate solutions and inaction

Climate action must move beyond performative gestures to real.

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Climate Change is undeniably one of the biggest challenges the world is facing, demanding urgent and comprehensive action from individuals, corporations, governments and international bodies. Treating it as a mere trending topic or race for relevance comes with perils of its own. This often leads to reduction of complex environmental issues to surface-level solutions, often undermining the seriousness of the crisis or offering ineffective responses that fail to address the root causes.

Politicians world over make high-profile pledges to address climate change but fall short on policy; corporations boast of their sustainability initiatives while continuing harmful practices; and media campaigns focus on environmental themes that feel more like trends than movements. The result is detraction from the very solutions the world needs. This performative climate action is widespread in today's climate discourse and often results in confusion, false hope and disillusionment.

The participation numbers at COP summits are a topic of discussion and reflection. Outcomes of COP29 at Baku last month are being seen as modest at best. While it may not be the largest so far, participation in COP29 in Azerbaijan has been still quite large. Even if the ironic carbon footprint of the event is ignored as a necessary evil, the outcomes from such huge undertakings need to be seen aspiring to be out of scale. Moreover, as world leaders gather to negotiate crucial climate policies at COPs, it is essential to question how much of the attention given to these events is truly about generating meaningful change, and how much of it is focused on self-promotion or corporate interests.

Events like COP29 are often accompanied by media spectacles that focus on headline-grabbing moments, celebrity involvement and dramatic visualisations of climate change impacts. Flashy panels, celebrity activists and big promises tend to overshadow the hard work of negotiators and the often slow, incremental progress required for meaningful change.

What is wrong with the performative approach to climate change is that it creates an illusion of progress, giving a false sense of enough being done to combat climate change when, in fact, the systemic changes required remain largely unaddressed. Overexposure to performative climate action, without tangible outcomes, leads to public apathy, and even a sense of helplessness.

Performative climate action also often leads to policy paralysis, where countries and corporations focus on symbolic commitments while avoiding difficult, long-term changes in energy, transportation and industrial systems. Such inaction could reflect the broader trend of political leaders failing to push through ambitious climate policies at home as they often make grand climate pledges at COP events, only to fail to deliver on the commitments once they return to their respective countries. What is needed is robust monitoring of climate commitments and policies, ensuring that rhetoric translates into real-world actions.

Enforceable and meaningful climate policies such as carbon pricing, investment in renewable energy and global emission reduction targets are needed at both national and international levels. Purely performative interventions give an illusion of impact and reduce the pressure on corporations and individuals to take substantial urgent action, while political inertia or ineffective leadership persists at government level.

It is critical that the conversation moves beyond the stage and the headlines to the policies, partnerships and actions that will genuinely reduce emissions and address the climate crisis.

Shifting the focus from publicity stunts to real, measurable progress will require all stakeholders, governments, businesses and civil society to prioritise substance over spectacle. The key would be to foster genuine climate leadership, where economic interests are balanced with environmental imperatives.

We need to remain vigilant lest we should fall gravely for the flamboyance of the Corporate Greenwashing that big Climate Conferences sometimes end up enabling. Showcasing their "green" initiatives, companies present themselves as environmentally responsible without making substantial changes to their operations massively misleading consumers and governments. From single-use plastic bans to the promotion of "greenwashed" products, many initiatives aimed at mitigating climate change present themselves as easy fixes. While some of these actions can contribute to sustainability, they often ignore the broader structural and economic changes required to reduce carbon emissions on a global scale. The approaches used often result in giving the false impression of making substantial progress when the problem, in fact, persists.

While systemic change is essential, individual actions also play an important role. However, these actions must be seen in context - small-scale changes such as reducing waste, consuming less and adopting sustainable practices should be part of a broader, collective effort. By focusing on meaningful, informed choices rather than symbolic or trivial actions, individuals can contribute to a larger movement that holds industries and governments accountable. Grassroots movements must be incentivised and provided patronage to continue to play an active role in pushing for systemic changes and holding governments and corporations accountable for their environmental footprints.

To truly combat climate change, it is needed to duly recognise and shift from trivialised solutions to bold, systemic reforms that address the root causes of environmental degradation. Comprehensive measures needed include transitioning to clean energy sources, protecting biodiversity, improving transportation infrastructure and ensuring that marginalised communities are not disproportionately affected by environmental destruction, and the whole of demography's interests are safeguarded. This involves treating climate change as a critical, interconnected issue that affects every aspect of society, from agriculture and industry to health and social justice.

The most harm any serious cause can get is not from inaction but meaningless, wasteful, counter-productive action. While the scale and level of involvement the world has reached for Climate Change reflected in and around recent COP events is much needed, the onus now is to keep the momentum of things meaningful and impact-oriented. With the terminal year of the SDGs just about five years away, Climate Action needs more than just performative gestures, and highlighting the opportunity for real, substantive climate action.