The Politics of Climate Change

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The current policy initiatives that attempt to address one facet of the poly crisis, which is climate change, are insufficient. I would say that this is what the system that we're getting does to any movement that questions the system. There's almost a three SCAP process. It first opposes this new movement. It incaggingizes it. Then it sort of sterilizes the movement. And so now being green and talking about decarbonization is sort of what everyone has to do. That's the in thing, right? People keep saying decarbonized is the next big investment opportunity.

On this episode, Nate is joined by recent Stanford graduate and biophysical researcher Taimur Ahmad to discuss energy inequality within and across nations. Taimur offers a unique perspective as someone who has spent years studying the issues of the polycrisis, while also having experience growing up in Pakistan and living in the United States. How does the culture of a nation and its access to energy interrelate to create huge differences in the daily lives of the people who live there? How do the looming implications of climate change and energy depletion impact the relationship between the Global North and the Global South? And how do issues of class, wealth, and ‘fictitious capital’ interplay with the larger poly-crisis at hand?

About Taimur Ahmad

Taimur Ahmad is the author of the Fictitious Capital newsletter where he writes about understanding the base layer of the global system: money/finance, energy, and raw materials. He studied economics at Georgetown University in Qatar and recently completed a graduate degree from Stanford University where he focused on energy policy and electricity markets. After working in agricultural development in Pakistan, he worked in the Middle East supporting clients across energy, CP&I, and national development. From these experiences, he realized the importance of reframing contemporary socioeconomic issues in an energy and ecological systems framework. His work is now focused on exploring the intersection of development in the Global South, degrowth/post-growth, MMT, and leftist social theory.

To watch this video episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/4hzDKA0aNJk

For show notes, and more information: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/80-taimur-ahmad