The Climate Crisis as a Problem of Collective Action: A Discussion with Dana Fisher
May 18, 2024
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Professor Dana Fisher, Director of CECE, discusses the social crisis of the climate crisis and the challenges of collective action. She explores the role of fossil fuel interests, parallels with big tobacco deception, indigenous knowledge, leftist infrastructure, and debates on climate activism.
The climate crisis is a social crisis, requiring systemic changes impacting various aspects of life for effective solutions.
Individual complacency due to comfortable lifestyles hinders a shift away from fossil fuels, impeding necessary social changes.
Fossil fuel interests, including extraction companies and industrial complex players, obstruct climate change solutions with significant influence.
Aligning labor movements with clean energy transitions is crucial to support workers and facilitate a shift towards cleaner energy sources.
Deep dives
Addressing the Climate Crisis as a Social Crisis
The podcast episode discusses how the climate crisis is viewed as a social crisis, emphasizing the need for social changes to tackle the problem effectively. The speaker highlights the necessity of systemic changes that will impact various aspects of people's lives to combat the worsening climate crisis. Despite current efforts, the podcast suggests that existing actions have not led to the required level of social change. It underscores the importance of personal experiences with climate-related risks driving individuals to take action for innovative social changes.
Collective Action Challenge in Addressing Climate Change
The podcast delves into the collective action challenge associated with addressing climate change, pointing out that individuals have been complacent due to comfortable lifestyles. The discussion touches on the difficulty of shifting away from fossil fuels despite clear evidence of their environmental impact. It highlights the role of organized interests, particularly fossil fuel companies, in hindering necessary social changes to address the climate crisis.
Identifying Fossil Fuel Interests and their Influence
The episode identifies fossil fuel interests, including companies involved in fossil fuel extraction, as key players obstructing climate change solutions. It delves into the broader industrial complex connected to fossil fuel extraction, such as pipeline builders and petrochemical processors. The conversation underlines the challenge of transitioning away from fossil fuels due to the significant influence and resistance posed by vested interests.
Engaging Labor and Unions in Climate Change Actions
The podcast explores the involvement of labor and unions in climate change initiatives, emphasizing the need to align labor movements with clean energy transitions. It discusses the potential risk to jobs reliant on fossil fuels and advocates for supporting workers in transitioning to alternative career paths. The conversation highlights the importance of uniting labor with the climate movement to facilitate a shift towards cleaner energy sources.
Building Community Resilience and Solidarity for Climate Action
The episode emphasizes the significance of building community resilience and solidarity to address climate change, stressing the role of relational connections within communities. It advocates for cultivating support networks within communities to prepare for climate-related challenges and shocks. The discussion underscores the value of community engagement, drawing parallels to historical social movements that leveraged community bonds for collective action.
Emergence of Radical Flank in Climate Activism
The podcast touches on the rise of a radical flank within the climate activism sphere, discussing the trend towards nonviolent civil disobedience and disruptions to challenge the existing system. It anticipates a growing radicalization within the movement, emphasizing its nonviolent nature but acknowledging potential threats from counter-protesters. The episode concludes by exploring the evolving landscape of climate activism and the imperative of adapting to address the impending challenges of the climate crisis.
Challenges Faced by Democrats in Climate Change Advocacy
The podcast addresses the challenges faced by Democrats in advocating for climate change policies, highlighting the need for grassroots mobilization and community engagement. It discusses the party's struggle to build local infrastructure and connect with diverse communities to drive climate change initiatives effectively. The conversation underscores the importance of establishing solidarity and community-based support to amplify climate advocacy efforts.
In this episode of International Horizons, Professor Dana Fisher, Director of the Center for Environment, Community, & Equity (CECE) and Professor in the School of International Service at American University, discusses with RBI Director John Torpey her approach to dealing with the climate crisis. Fisher explains how the climate crisis is really a social crisis for which collective action seems impossible. Fisher further explains the actions of the players involved in resisting the problem of climate change and their interests in doing so. Finally, she explains how important it is to approach change through strong communities and the solid infrastructures that support them.
