Petro-politicians are stuck in the polluting past

What is it with politicians who are dead set against any kind of progress? It’s clear that digging up, processing, transporting and wastefully burning gas, oil and coal is polluting land, water and air, heating the planet to critical levels and driving inflation. Renewable energy causes far less damage, is more efficient and less expensive, creates good jobs and doesn’t heat the planet.

Yet politicians from Pierre Poilievre to Danielle Smith to Donald Trump have prioritized opposing anything that would facilitate the necessary transition away from fossil fuels. If people like them had their way in the 19th century, we’d still be burning whale oil and riding horses and buggies.

After losing his seat in the federal election, Poilievre was parachuted into a riding he was assured of winning. He made his priorities clear on byelection night, proposing to scrap electric vehicle regulations and incentives — and no mention of climate change.

Some politicians outright deny that the climate and biodiversity crises exist and are dangerous to humanity, but even those who profess to understand the predicaments seem wilfully blind to them.

Electric vehicles won’t save the world; private automobiles are bad for the environment no matter what powers them. But electric vehicles are far better than gas-fuelled. They are more efficient, last much longer and contaminate and cost less. We should be moving away from private cars and ensuring that transit, delivery, emergency, taxi, ride-hailing and other necessary vehicles are electric.

Health Canada estimates that air pollution from gas-fuelled cars, trucks and SUVs here causes 1,200 premature deaths and millions of medical issues every year. They’re also a major source of greenhouse gas emissions.

Some politicians outright deny that the climate and biodiversity crises exist and are dangerous to humanity, but even those who profess to understand the predicaments seem wilfully blind to them. In response to a disinformation campaign led by the fossil fuel industry and taken up by the opposition, the new federal government immediately scrapped the carbon levy — a proven market lever to encourage companies and individuals to shift from polluting, climate-altering fossil fuels to cleaner power.

Wastefully exploiting resources is one of the quickest ways to create jobs and boost the endless-growth economy.

It appears these politicians are governing for the benefit of a single industry — certainly not for the people they were elected to represent. In Canada, they’re ignoring their constituents’ wants and needs for the benefit of mostly foreign corporations, many owned by undemocratic states. Looking at fossil fuel industry donations to politicians in the United States, it’s clear they wield enormous influence.

The petro-pushers also demonstrate a lack of imagination and foresight. Many political parties base their policies on short, election-cycle timelines. It’s all about the fast buck. Wastefully exploiting resources is one of the quickest ways to create jobs and boost the endless-growth economy. But the resources eventually run out and the bill eventually comes due. I guess they don’t care that most of the burden will fall on their children and grandchildren.

An extractivist economy also suits the monopolistic, hyper-capitalist system. Writer George Monbiot explains the appeal of fossil fuels: “They exist in a small number of discrete locations, where the right to exploit them can be owned and monopolised. Most can be extracted commercially only at scale, excluding small competitors. They can be stored and traded all over the world, allowing prices to be optimised across time and space. Renewable energy, by contrast, can be generated almost anywhere, by almost anyone with a small amount of money to invest.”

Renewables are now cheaper than fossil fuels (and nuclear), making them less attractive to the monied class. “Fossil fuels are uncompetitive and highly profitable. Renewables are highly competitive and not very profitable.”

Many people are duped by the billionaires who buy politicians, start fake “grassroots” organizations and wage disinformation campaigns through traditional and social media.

It appears few politicians — and voters, for that matter — are willing to give up on an outdated economic system that encourages waste, hyper-consumerism, monopoly power, wealth inequality and destruction of the biosphere our health and lives depend on.

Many people are duped by the billionaires who buy politicians, start fake “grassroots” organizations and wage disinformation campaigns through traditional and social media. As Monbiot points out, “The billionaire press has defended their interests at every turn. It remains the principal outlet for their denial, disinformation and delaying tactics. Some of its proprietors are heavily invested in fossil fuels.”

Meanwhile, those who care enough to protest this appalling destruction and the systems that enable it are treated as enemies of the state.

Let’s stand together, gather our courage and change direction. Time is running out.