For decades, the climate crisis has been painted as a challenge solvable through individual actions like recycling, carpooling, and reducing personal carbon footprints. While these actions are valuable, they obscure a harsh reality: capitalism, particularly in its neoliberal form, is one of the primary drivers of climate change. Neoliberal policies, which prioritize free markets, deregulation, and privatization, have systemically undermined efforts to address environmental sustainability. Here’s the secret: the current economic system thrives on exploitation—of resources, labor, and ecosystems—while shifting blame onto individuals.
The roots of the problem: Growth at any cost.
Neoliberal capitalism is fundamentally rooted in the pursuit of perpetual economic growth, often measured through metrics like Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This growth model depends on the extraction of finite natural resources and the externalization of environmental costs. Whether it’s deforestation in the Amazon to meet global beef demand or the endless burning of fossil fuels to power industries, the system prioritizes short-term profit over long-term sustainability.
Corporations, operating within this framework, are incentivized to exploit resources with minimal accountability. The consequences? Widespread deforestation, soaring greenhouse gas emissions, and catastrophic biodiversity loss. Despite these impacts, neoliberal policies have done little to rein in corporate practices, favoring voluntary regulations and market-based “solutions.”
Market-based solutions: A false savior.
A hallmark of neoliberalism is the belief that markets can solve any problem, including climate change. Initiatives like carbon trading, carbon offsets, and “green” capitalism are touted as solutions. However, these mechanisms often serve to delay meaningful action.
Carbon markets, for instance, allow corporations to continue polluting by purchasing credits rather than reducing emissions. Offsetting programs often displace local communities or fail to achieve genuine reductions in greenhouse gases. Meanwhile, the marketing of “green” products shifts the focus to consumers, making sustainability seem like a matter of purchasing power rather than systemic change.
Privatization: Weakening of environmental protection.
Neoliberalism’s emphasis on privatization has also crippled efforts to protect the environment. In many countries, natural resources such as water, forests, and minerals have been handed over to private entities. This often leads to overexploitation and the marginalization of communities that depend on these resources for survival.
Public institutions, which traditionally play a critical role in enforcing environmental protections, have been gutted under neoliberal reforms. Deregulation and austerity measures have left governments ill-equipped to address environmental challenges, further entrenching the dominance of profit-driven entities.
Individual responsibilities vs. systemic change.
One of neoliberalism’s most insidious tricks is its ability to deflect responsibility. By framing climate action as a matter of individual choice—recycling, buying energy-efficient appliances, or eating less meat—it lets corporations and governments off the hook.
The truth is, the top 100 fossil fuel companies are responsible for 71% of global emissions. Yet the narrative pushed by these industries and their allies in government focuses on individual behaviors. While personal actions are important, they cannot substitute for systemic reform.
Breading Free: What needs to change
Addressing climate change requires challenging the neoliberal framework itself. This means advocating for policies that prioritize the planet over profits, such as:
- Strict Regulation: Enforce caps on emissions and penalize corporations for environmental damage.
- Public Investment: Fund renewable energy, public transportation, and green infrastructure to build sustainable systems.
- Community Control: Support indigenous and local communities in managing natural resources, as they often employ sustainable practices.
- Global Cooperation: Push for international agreements that hold corporations accountable across borders.
- Degrowth: Embrace economic models that prioritize well-being and sustainability over endless growth.
Conclusion
The neoliberal capitalist system is inherently at odds with environmental sustainability. Its emphasis on deregulation, privatization, and individualism perpetuates environmental degradation while delaying meaningful action. The secret that capitalism doesn’t want you to know is that solving the climate crisis requires dismantling the structures that prioritize profit over people and the planet.
True change will only come when we demand systemic reform and hold corporations, not just individuals, accountable. Climate justice is social justice—and it starts with reimagining a world beyond neoliberal capitalism.
