Can We Change Climate Change? If So, How?

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Climate change is often portrayed as an unstoppable force — a tidal wave of destruction that humanity can only brace for. But the truth is, we are not powerless passengers. The real question isn’t just whether climate change is happening, but whether we can change it. And the answer is yes — though it requires changing more than our lightbulbs, or eating less meat. It demands a deep transformation of our systems, our mindset, and our values.

Concrete Signs in Today’s World


The evidence is already here, in the headlines and on our streets. In France recently, deadly floods swept across entire regions, leaving citizens openly blaming climate change and demanding urgent action from leaders. Wildfires have raged through Canada and Greece, fueled by record heat. The United States has also been hit hard: in January 2025, Southern California endured a series of devastating wildfires that burned over half a million acres, destroyed or damaged more than 18,000 structures, displaced over 200,000 people, and caused dozens of deaths. Scientists confirm that the extreme heat, drought, and winds that fueled these fires were made more likely by human-driven climate change. Only months later, heavy rains triggered flash floods and mudslides across California, especially in areas destabilized by previous wildfires. In earlier years, massive flooding from atmospheric rivers caused billions in damages and dozens of deaths. Meanwhile, Pakistan has suffered historic floods, displacing millions, and Southern Europe has endured repeated, deadly heatwaves. Africa and South America face worsening droughts that devastate crops and water supplies. These are not distant warnings. They are present realities that show how deeply climate change is reshaping our world.

Systems Over Symptoms


We’ve been told to recycle, drive less, or eat less meat. These actions matter, but they’re like a band-aid on a deep wound. The core drivers of climate change are systemic: fossil-fuel dependency, industrial agriculture, and an economic system that rewards endless consumption. To change climate change, we must change the very structures that fuel it. We have to make drastic changes, unless we want to go down with the planet itself. We simply must STOP. To save our planet — and our lives on it — we  have to stop. Stop the endless consumption. Stop burning fossil fuels. Stop producing meat in ways that destroy ecosystems. Stop. Stop. Stop. If we don’t stop it ourselves, the planet will stop it for us. And that will be ugly. We simply have to stop the culprit: The monetary system. But of course stopping today’s monetary system is impossible as we all depend on it for jobs and money… Read on if you’re curious about a possible solution.

The Tools Are Already Here


Solar panels, wind turbines, tidal power, hydrogen storage, regenerative farming, rewilding — the solutions already exist. What we lack is not technology, but the will to apply it at scale. The longer we delay, the more we lock ourselves into outdated systems. Imagine if the same urgency we put into weapons and wars were channeled into renewable grids and sustainable cities.

How Certain Are We?


Most scientists agree that todays climate change is primarily man-made, caused by greenhouse gas emissions from human activity. If that is the case, then we can change it — because what humanity caused, humanity can reverse. But even if science were wrong, and climate change is driven by forces beyond our control, the need for global collaboration would only grow stronger. If we are truly passengers on this ride, then at the very least we should work together, minimize harm, and prepare with dignity. Why add wars among ourselves to the challenge of facing a turbulent planet?

Escaping the Growth Addiction


Our global economy behaves like an addict: always craving more, never satisfied. Growth at all costs drives deforestation, pollution, and exploitation. Money becomes the drug, and the planet pays the price. Breaking this addiction means building systems that value life, collaboration, and resilience over profit.

From Fear to Possibility


Fear paralyzes; vision empowers. Instead of framing the climate crisis as the end of the world, we can see it as the birth of a new one. Cities designed like ecosystems. Energy drawn from sun, wind, and water. Communities thriving without waste or scarcity. The shift is not only possible — it is already beginning in pockets around the globe.

Conclusion


Can we change climate change? Yes — but only by changing ourselves, our priorities, and our systems. If we don’t stop this runaway train of destruction, nature will stop it for us, and the outcome will be catastrophic. But there is another way: a resource-based economy, where collaboration and abundance replace scarcity and profit. And where the economy is designed to take care of the planet, nature and the whole of humanity itself.

In the book Waking Up – A Journey Towards a New Dawn for Humanity, there is a picture drawn of a new world where this resource based economy has been adopted on the whole planet. Benjamin Michaels, the billionaire protagonist is shocked when he wakes up after 1oo years in cryonic sleep, only to find there is no more money in the world and all resources are optimized and shared…

🌍 Discover more about humanity’s next chapter here:


Discover more from Waking Up

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