CHAPTER I

Capitalism and the Environment: A Bad Affair

This study discusses the evaluation of the involvement of man on global destruction and

recognizes man as the major contributor in the harm that the Earth and all life forms that reside

in it receive including man himself. It aims to seek the effect of Capitalism on global issues and

how these environmental problems affect the nature of Capitalism itself presented on a

contemporary environment and aims to explore the versatile relationship of capitalism and

climate change and all that resides within it.

The environmental harm of the current generation of constant modernization and

Industrialization present the greatest threat to mankind: its own extinction. With this in hand,

man has been making efforts to reduce these effects while accepting the notion of their

destructive lifestyle. Although technical methods are still acceptable, this study gives emphasis

to the importance of individual and communal awareness of consequential anthropogenic actions

towards nature and humanity itself and aims to identify the appropriate measures to retain the

natural processes that benefit all forms of life while distinguishing the problem in its course.

Advanced Capitalism

Murray Bookchin argues that the emergence of capitalism is said to be the emergence of

'mixed economy' in the nineteenth century. Here, economy is adequately described neither as

'feudal', nor as 'simple commodity production', nor as capitalist, but as containing elements of all

three forms.1 At times, it is assumed to be a very balanced form of economy.

1
White, Damian, "Social Ecology as Modern Social Theory" in Bookchin: A Critical Appraisal, (London:
Pluto Press, 2008), p. 63-65.

1
 On the other hand, in his book From Urbanisation to Cities, a more materialistic analysis

is seen which serves as the measurement on how vulnerable to capitalism a state was. The trends

that were presented is said to be the combination of a complex and uneven fashion with more

conjunctural events such as the emergence of technological innovations.2

For instance, the most advanced sectors of post-war capitalism in the US is increasingly

dominated by ever larger corporate and multinational entities of electronics, chemistry, nuclear

and 'cybernetic' technologies (1950s and 1960s).3 This time, things are seen in a positive way-

competition is 'seen to be healthy'; trade as 'free'; accumulation as evidence of parsimony and

egoism as evidence of self- interest that worked like a "hidden hand" in the service of public

good.4 Thus, creating a market economy and gradually turns into market society.

However, capitalism produced external factors for ecological crisis to arise- that may

demand human to give interest in social change. Capitalism, organized around a "grow-or-die"

market system based on rivalry and expansion must tear down the natural world- converting soil

into sand, polluting the atmosphere, changing the entire climatic pattern of a planet and making

the earth unsuitable for complex formation of life.5 As a result, it proves to be an ecological

cancer that may simplify complex ecosystem that have been in the making in hundreds and

thousands of years.

Identifying the Resource Crisis

2
Ibid.
3
Ibid.
Formatted: Indent: First line: 0"
4
Ibid.
5
Bookchin, Murray, "Marxism, Capitalism and the Public Sphere" in Social Ecology and Communalism,
(USA: AK Press, 2006), p. 56.

2
 In this densely populous planet, there would seem to be a correlation between the amount

of people and the provision of natural resources for Earth to be able to naturally function as an

environment. According to an article from British Broadcasting Corporation, the expected

number of people from the current amount that stands at 7 billion could reach the 9 billion mark

by the year 2050; and with this, arises the need for increased stipulation of energy sources and

water demand, since almost any commercially- fabricated product needs water, in one form or

another, to be produced.6

Though overpopulation would seem as the main posing threat, contrary to this claim

would be data from Our World In Data that proposes that the population growth rate actually

continues to gradually drop despite peaking at 2.1% on the year 1962, which was significantly

higher compared to about under 1% which was before the 1800’s “with projections estimating an

annual rate of 0.1% for 2100. This means that while the world population quadrupled in the 20th

century, it will not double in the 21st century.”7 Moreover, “Over the last 50 years the global

fertility rate has halved and globally the average woman has fewer than 2.5 children today.”8 The

global human population more than doubled from 2.5 to 6 billion, but in these same decades

consumption of major natural resources soared more than 6 fold on average.9

6
Richard Anderson, “Resource depletion: Opportunity or looming catastrophe?”, BBC, June 12, 2012
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-16391040 (Accessed December 12, 2018).
7
Max Roser and Esteban Ortiz- Ospina, “World Population Growth” Our World In Data, 2013
https://ourworldindata.org/world-population-growth#population-size-vs-population-growth-rate (Accessed February
10, 2019).

8
Max Roser “Fertility Rate” Our World In Data, 2014
https://ourworldindata.org/fertility-rate (Accessed February 10, 2019).

9
World Energy Outlook 2012 Executive Summary", IEA. Dec. 2, 2012
https://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/English.pdf.(Accessed Dec. 18, 2018).

3
 With this notion, it is safe to imply that a more probable cause for intense resource

degradation would be the lifestyle of people (which will further be elaborated in the second

chapter), and with this, should this study introduce the idea of Capitalism. According to

Bookchin, “What makes capitalism unique – compared to other historical societies – is ‘the

sweeping power it gives to economics’ and ‘the supremacy it imparts to homo economicus”.

From a consequential perspective, over- consumption, the engine that has driven the three

centuries of accelerating economic industrialization, has revolutionized the technology, science,

culture, and overall human life today. Humans, in the industrialised consumer economies are not

just over-consuming fossil fuels, they over-consume everything. From fish to forests, minerals to

metals, oil to fresh water, human beings consume the planet like there is no tomorrow that is has

come to a point where fully- industrialized nations are now consuming resources and sinks at the

rate of 1.5 planets per year, that is, if people use natural resources like fish, forests, water,

farmland, and so on at half again the rate that nature can replenish them. 10

The out-of-control locomotive mowing down continents of forests, sweeping oceans of

life, clawing out mountains of minerals, drilling, pumping out lakes of fuels devour the planet’s

remaining accessible resources to turn them all into products while destroying fragile global

ecologies built up over eons of time.

This case could be enticed to deforestation, degradation of terrain, crop production and

pollution, taking in mind the corresponding rate of industrialization which is necessary to support

10
Kevin Anderson, "Nature Climate Change" in A new paradigm for climate change (2012) p. 639-640.

4
the population growth but on the other hand damages the environment to efficiently make

amends in an equal amount of receiving such resources from nature.

Referring to an article from National Center for Biotechnology Information,

Industrialization can cause harm to the environment. Industrialization gives rise to the gradual

extinction of flora and fauna species, due to emerging effects of global warming which can be

derived from irregular cases of climate change which can still be rooted from Earth’s large

population as a side effect. “These results indicate that tropical forest loss/degradation alone,

even without considering other human stressors such as climate change and habitat loss in other

ecosystems, will precipitate a mass extinction event over the next couple of centuries.”11

And to add more depth to the situation, The Paris Agreement of 2015 has established a

mark of maintaining temperature rise to a maximum of 2 degrees Celsius and brings the

members of the European Union the initiative to reduce emissions and overall heightened

awareness to climate change.12

In consideration of the inevitable, destructive and utilitarian relationship of man and

nature, quoting from The Guardian, “by 2030, if nothing changes, mankind would need two

planets to sustain its lifestyle”3

Anthropogenic Control

11
Xingli Giam, “Global biodiversity loss from tropical deforestation” PMC, June 6, 2017
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5468656/?fbclid=IwAR1Dc9mjofAVJ92ti8-
9XGNoSrlGITYRNFRbSanFCStR-V448_RtHG6kusk (Accessed February 28, 2019).
12
United Nations, “The Paris Agreement” UNFCCC, October 22, 2018 https://unfccc.int/process-and-
meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement?fbclid=IwAR05YM6sU8qE5uoDWi6cpSki5hCNrgMq5-
PJdIIFFxe3cInwYaCnZ-btnxc (Accessed February 28, 2019).

5
 Throughout the recent years of human civilization, there has been, undoubtedly a few

changes in the way man has interacted with nature. Most notably, how people utilize nature for

the sake of human development.

Referring to what was stated earlier, this kind of treatment has gone on an uncontrollable

and a quite semi-human dominated relationship wherein the environment itself isn’t being

regulated as fast as it is being damaged and/ or refined for human consumption. In relation to the

continuously developing rate of technological advancement, man has not only attained effortless

access to raw materials, but the overall control on the environment as well.

From the ideas of Norbert Elias, the birth of environmental issues would be explained by man’s

control over the natural world. As people come to control nature more easily, the more they

become less afraid the dangers it presents compared to pre- industrialized societies back in the

day due to explanations interpreted by science and thus, is the cause for rigorous economic

production that has eventually lead to global environmental problems.13 It is believed that some

form of scientific knowledge about the environment allow humans to exert some sort of control

over it.14

Alongside with this, other sociologists such as Marx and Weber have openly agreed that

these consequences are socially generated, but not to say that they are fabricated and untrue,

however it is only necessary to be viewed that the rise of Capitalism and Industrialization have

gathered alarming attention from the public and therefore creates a connection between society

by form of recognition.15

13
Philip Sutton, “Poststructuralist perspectives on environmentalism” in Nature, Environment, and Society,
(175 Fifth Avenue New York, Macmillan Education UK, 2004) p. 178.
14
Ibid.

6
 CHAPTER II

Dethroning Capitalism

This chapter delves into the relevant studies that this study sees fit to support its own

arguments. In this area, it can be seen that the presence of the bad effects of capitalism is

acknowledged and proceeds to showcase its effects into individuals from its specific audience-

the consumers and others that may be affected by its existence in one form or another.

In addition, it solidifies the assumption that capitalism is affected by its self- induced

contribution to climate change and other relevant environmental global issues and covers how it

could affect the inner workings that make up a country in both the present age and also in the

later years to come.

Commercial Control of Man over Nature

A book by Naomi Klein entitled “This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate,

presents the climate crisis humans are experiencing in a global scale. It talks about the harmful

emissions that are taking place globally and indicates that it multiplied from a rate of 4.5%

annual increase in the 1960s that soon bounced to 3.4% between 2000 and 2008 and suddenly

peaked at a historic 5.9% increase in 2010 that left climate watchers reeling. The book possesses

facts about the problem that the west alone faces due to capitalism.

It includes how free market fundamentalism helped overheat the planet and that many are

finding the cheapest and exploitable labor force, but a cheap wage means high emissions. But on

the other hand, the book also proposes various attainable solutions to pollution and other related

15
Ibid.

7
topics about atmospheric commons and the power of paying people’s own debts, and the

revolutionary power of climate change.16

Capitalism affects the environment and causes degradation due to human activities

globally; these are climate change, increase of pollution, and depletion of fish stocks, oil

harvesting and many more. One example is a natural resource by capitalism continues the

destruction on natural resources. Continuously the lack of knowledge through the works of

capitalism and production does not stop here, obviously no person would deny that the fact we

rely on nature.

Looking forward to community risks should also be considered in global capitalism. Take

the ongoing oil extraction in Nigeria Delta Region of Nigeria as an example; the risk of this in

the health of the community is affecting a large scale of people. Affecting numerous people with

chronic diseases that includes the potential risk of cancer.

There are several reports of uncontrolled activities of MNCs (Multinational Corporations)

such as the use of old pipes, pipe blow outs, and even oil pipe leaks resulting of deaths and

contamination of water that affects marine wild life that could be used as a source of food.

People in this region are unable to provide food for their families as a result of diminished

agricultural productivity due to environmental and social degradation caused by oil

exploitation.17

16
Klein, Naomi. “This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate. New York”, NY: Simon and
Schuster Paperbacks, 2014.
17
Cafaro, Philip J. “The Fat of the Land: Linking American Food Overconsumption, Obesity, and
Biodiversity Loss.”, Springer https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10806-006-9008-7 (Accessed Feb. 14,
2019).

8
 While a book by Christopher Wright and Daniel Nyberg, entitled “Climate change,

Capitalism and Corporations”, proposes some strategies that the companies around the world are

doing to lessen their emissions that cause global warming and climate change. Some of these

ideas indicate that governments should seek to reduce emissions through “carbon pricing”, “cap

and trade”, or “carbon taxes” that can leave companies additional costs. On top of this, the term

“Ecopreneur” was introduced. It refers to ‘green entrepreneurship’ that, as the term implies,

contributes to business leadership towards the eradication of climate change.18

With regards to an article from The Guardian, Larry Elliot accepts a reality where climate

change and its trailing side effects continue to progress in the succeeding years and adds a

presumption that there would be “a race against time to reduce dependency on fossil fuels.” and

simultaneously as a threat to ending one of the essential foundations of capitalism (most

specifically, industrialization): raw materials.19

And it is here that he also introduces the notion that capitalists acknowledge and perceive

climate change as a positive and negative issue which one could only assume to be referring to

the new market it garners with relation to ‘decarbonisation’ which refers to the removal of

carbon in energy production used to run the economy.

Which brings forth Philip Sutton whom describes a similar idea where modernization can

shift towards the idea of ecology and where capitalism could cater towards an environmental

audience if consumers initiate a demand for green products and boycott environmentally-

18
Wright, Christopher, and Daniel Nyberg. Climate Change, Capitalism, and Corporations. United
Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2015.
19
Elliot, Larry, “Capitalism Can Crack Climate Change But Only If It Takes Risks”, August 16 2018
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/aug/16/capitalism-climate-change-risks-profits-china (Accessed
February 21, 2019).

9
harmful ones. These kind of ideas rest in some sort of modern humanism and eliminates the fear

of industrialization, and indicates the promise of available solutions in the facing future.20

Capitalism’s Toll on Lifestyle

Capitalism is widely observable in the current days and its growth is happening hastily.

In this case, people are keeping their pace in the trend of global capitalism. It invades the lives of

people. It reminds humans that life always depends on whether a person is either a worker or a

proprietor. For someone who owns a company and employs other workers, capitalism may

make sense: The more profit your company brings in, the more resources you have to share with

your workers, which theoretically should improve the standard of living of its members.

Based on the principle of supply and demand, capitalism views consumption as a king.

The more a person consumes, the more that person earns. Capitalism takes the position that

“greed is good,” which its supporters say is a positive thing — greed drives profits and profits

drive innovation and product development, which means there are more choices available for

those who can afford them. Others say that capitalism is, by nature, exploitative, and leads to a

brutally divided society that tramples the working classes in favor of fattening the rich’s

wallets of which what can only be assumed as a consumer culture; and all of this is run by

Globalization.21

Furthermore, on a mental perspective, Global capitalism affects psychological traits

removing the communications for the cost of gaining more wealth, continuously focusing on

their job causing large amount of depression, spending more time in their job losing their ability

20
Sutton, Philip W. "Environment, Self and Society." Nature, Environment and Society, 2004. p. 154.
21
Ibid.

10
to interact with each other. According to Vandana Shiva quoted by Tara Lohan from Global

Policy Forum: “Lonely people have never been happy people and globalization is creating a very

lonely planet”.22

In a financial and production perspective, it is stated in one of the topics on the book of

Eamonn Buttler "An Introduction to Capitalism", that Capitalism has brought a wide increase on

human's wealth and living style and only until the Industrial Revolution that started in the 1760s

did humans make life a little bit different than what it used to be since the Pharaohs in the

ancient Egyptian era. Everyone worked on land using various new methods that boosted

productivity and required, if not minimal, less work force as compared to manual labor.

In the 1800s, an American economic historian named Deirdre McCloskey calculated the

average world citizen's income. The results showed that the average income was between $1 and

5$ a day and when compared to today's income, shows that it is now nearly on an average of 50$

a day.

Global capitalism wastes a large quantity of natural resources and wants to keep on

producing harmful products rather producing organic and sustainable ones. The wasting of

natural resources for example: using coal and uranium for running power plants and even

factories could cause a big problem regarding pollution. One good example, based from Eight

Reasons Global Capitalism makes our lives worse is that farmers who naturally grow food in

their own farms are forced to work in factories and produce food products mixed with chemicals.

22
Lohan Tara, “Eight Reasons Global Capitalism makes our lives worse”, Global Policy Forum, , January
16,2011
https://www.globalpolicy.org/globalization/globalization-of-the-economy-2-1/general-analysis-on-globalization-of-
the-economy/49750-eight-reasons-global-capitalism-makes-our-lives-worse.html (Accessed February 24, 2019).

11
 The wealthy become richer and creates a big gap between high and lower class people.

The reach of poverty is increasing and half of the rural population in Latin America and the

Caribbean is poor. These people suffered by living on less than 1 US dollar a day.

Capitalism strives for ever-expanding markets to increase profits sets aside the welfare of

the surroundings, US industries admit to releasing 2.2 tons of toxic chemicals where Petroleum is

considered the highest in quantity. China emitted 6.1 billion tons of carbon dioxide in to the

atmosphere causing air pollution that kills 2.4 million each year according to the world health

organization.23

Capitalism, furthermore, can be explained by: as the higher consumption, the higher

production, the higher production, the higher the sales, and with higher sales, makes higher

profit. But if humans understand that they live in a finite world, this utopian view would be seen

differently and unrealistic. Endless consumption and production is unsustainable on a realistic

setting.

In line with this, India has grown rapidly from gaining non-renewable natural resources

and creates large quantity of carbon gas. These resources are underpriced and is the result of

environmental extraction, production and use of minerals which buyers tend to overconsume.24

And in line with this, today's countries that are still under the rule of capitalism like

Switzerland, Australia, Canada, and UK now have an income of over 90$ whereas US income is

23
Sarkar, Shrii P.R.”Global capitalisms Four Fatal Flaws”, PROUT Globe October 2 2012,
http://proutglobe.org/2012/10/global-capitalisms-four-fatal-flaws/ (Accessed February 24, 2019).
24
Movahed, Masoud “Does capitalism have to be bad for the environment?”, World Economic Forum,
Febuary 15 2016,
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/02/does-capitalism-have-to-be-bad-for-the-environment/ (Accessed
February 24, 2019).

12
on an average of 100$ a day which makes modern Americans 20 to 100 times richer than their

ancestors in 1800.25

This example showcases one of the effects of Capitalism on Human's income decades

ago. On the contrary, most countries that are still most anti-capitalists remained in 1$ to 5$ a day

and is surely considered to be in a state of poverty until today which is, of course, is the exact

same average of the world citizen's income back in the 1800s, which, if seen in a modern

perspective, can barely sustain a life of a worker.

In spite of this seemingly convenient improvement in manufacturing, the quality of life is

deteriorating considering even the farm lands have been affected by the government by excessive

oil exploitation, resulting in a decrease in fish stocks. Looking onto the research stud by Philip J.

Cafaro titled “The Fat of the Land”, says that Americans have a habit of excessive food

consumption that harms their health, and cause a direct and indirect environmental degradation.

The excess food consumption has made American citizens overweight, obese and have a high

risk of heart disease. 1272 species are listed as endangered species and that the causes of

extinction are complex, facing multiple threats and have been found that habitat degradation

causes 85% of threatened and endangered species.26

This goes to show that while capitalism may seem practical, productive, and certainly

convenient, it has shifted into an act of flamboyant excessiveness.

25
Butler, Eamonn “What capitalism is”, in An Introduction to Capitalism, 2018, p.5.
26
Adalikwu-obslike, Justina, “Communities at Risk: An Aftermath of Global Capitalism”, European
Specific Journal, p. 17-19.

13
 CHAPTER III

If You Can’t Beat ‘Em

In this part of the study, some of the most notable theories that this study sees fit to

accept as a ground for its own argument will be taken into account. More specifically, it is here

where the text proceeds to refine its purpose of seeking an appropriate explanation of how

Climate Change affects Capitalism. Mind, as stated back in the last chapter that some of the

related sources shown earlier will come back in this one, as it attempts to link and most definitely

support other studies that will be newly introduced to the readers.

Note that in the first section these theories will be purposefully laid out as it will be

referred back to in the second section that will link them together in such a way that it comes to a

narrow and well- defined conclusion at the end of the process and achieves getting its message

across.

Climate Change Hits Back: Climate Capitalism

Considering the direct effect of Capitalism on the environment and climate change itself,

in some way, of course, this couldn’t only be a one- way relationship. This kind of issue is

addressed in a book titled Climate Capitalism: Global Warming and the Transformation of the

Global Economy by Peter Newell and Matthew Paterson.

The book confidently accepts the notion that Capitalism has a toll on the environment and

furthermore, has significant role in the generation of climate change and other different

environmental issues. What is certainly notable about its contents is that it assumes the premise

that climate change can affect the way capitalism performs, moreover, on agriculture, transport

and trade. It acts as a threat in the current age and for the future years to come.

14
 In line with this, the book sees how climate change has been a new area for capitalism to

explore regarding trading and investment “major city banks are trading carbon just like dollars,

oil, grains, or sub-prime mortgages, that this is seen as the cutting edge of responses to climate

change.”27

Which brings the center of focus towards the idea coined by the text as ‘Climate

Capitalism’ which is a model that redirects economic growth away from carbon- based economic

progression and towards ecologically centered development.

These kind of responses may have some conflicted feelings towards human beings when

further evaluated beyond its seemingly cruel and opportunistic persona, though in a positive

sense, climate change can also cause positive responses such as what was stated in the text as

‘decarbonisation of the economy’.

These ideas also resonate within the concepts of Murray Bookchin. One similar work

would be his “The Ecology of Freedom: The Emergence and Dissolution of Hierarchy”. This

text is considered to be the masterpiece of Murray, though it gained a lot of criticism that it

conveys utopian ideas. It supplies the description of Bookchin's concept about social ecology, the

idea that ecological problems were and are still being caused by human social problems.

Bookchin proposed that in order to defeat those arising problems, people need to reorganize

society among ecological and ethical lines.

And these are what can only assumed to be how climate change and capitalism could

have such a flexible behavior towards each other in this contemporary age and in the future

27
Peter Newell and Mathew Patterson, Climate Capitalism: Global Warming and the Transformation of the
Global Economy by Peter Newell, (New York, Cambridge University Press, 2010), p. 1- 2.

15
generations to come, how capitalism can change its precarious nature, and will definitely

advance towards later years28

Good People Make a Good World

Bookchin emanates an idea that involves individual change. Referring to social

reorganization, he particularly points out that the very personal behavior of a person should take

place, and with all of this, accumulates and amasses a new society that values the importance of

nature into their daily lives, and the expansion of every human's awareness of their shortcomings

and harmful inflictions towards nature.

Since the environment plays an important role in nurturing one's personality, it has a large

impact on the way humans behave. Bookchin gives a description about the relationship existing

between human and nature- that it is somehow similar to a mother-child relation. That without

the care, cooperation and love fostered by the mother-child relationship, individuality and

personality is either impossible or will begin to disintegrate.29 This only indicates that care,

cooperation and love are some of the characteristics society needs to apply within its members in

order to naturalize itself or humanity. Humans exist within nature and sufficiently a part of

nature to function on its behalf.

Reorganizing society does not mean that society should live the same way that the ancients

did, wherein labor and products were totally done by hands. Social reorganization may refer to

28
Ibid, p. 1.

29
Murray Bookchin, "An Ecological Society" in The Ecology of Freedom, 1982. USA: Chesire Books, Inc.
p. 321-352.

16
‘becoming a highly-disciplined and highly-conscious consumer’ thus, producing a more

ecological society. Eco communities would obey the nature's "law of return" by recycling their

organic wastes into composted nutriment for gardens and such materials as they can rescue for

their crafts and industries. The world can expect that its inhabitants would subtly integrate solar,

wind, hydraulic and methane-producing installations into a highly variegated pattern for

producing power.30 Aquaculture, agriculture as well as stockraising would be regarded as crafts.

The need to mass-produce goods in highly mechanized installations would be vastly diminished

by the communities' overwhelming emphasis on quality and permanence.31

If some eco communities wanted to share in a certain industrial entity or turn to more

traditional, yet technically exciting ways in producing goods, future generations will do the

judgement. Although there's no specific rule of production that communities need to follow, it

does not require them to maintain highly centralized and hierarchically organized mills, factories

and offices that can disfigure modern industry. But because of the reason that mankind and

nature are working side by side, humans are not fond of losing ecological direction and ethical

means.

This will give rise to the awareness of every individual about the responsibility they should

do in order to preserve the environment- which termed to be the main proponent for survival.

Although this doesn't mainly focuses on the economic aspect of climate capitalism, it

certainly serves as a bridge onto creating a society that chooses the right leaders to act according

to the rehabilitation of nature and society itself, either having an extreme capitalistic mindset or

30
Ibid.
31
Ibid.

17
not (as seen back in climate capitalism that capitalism can be a good movement when shifted

towards an eco-centric world), and having those leaders, act solely on personal knowledge on the

conservation of nature without the pressure of society pushing them to act based on the public's

demand.

Capitalism’s Wakeup Call

Now that the presence of a new arising coping ability of capitalism has been

acknowledged, it would now be suitable to observe this phenomena on a realistic setting. In

relation to the previous chapter, the study would like to refer back to the Elliot’s article from The

Guardian and continue where it left off:

People in high positions perceive their occupation as ultimately bloating the opportunities

of making profit even if the aftermath means inducing significant irreversible damage to nature.

In addition, they feel they should be free to do so without political intervention.

Most of the time, politicians hold on to the fact that there is a trade- off among economic

and ecologic flushing of the economy when there isn’t.

“When times are tough, politicians are suckers for the argument that there is a
trade-off between growth and greening the economy. There isn’t. Companies
account for capital depreciation when they draw up their profit and loss accounts.
If governments adopted the same principle and accounted for the depletion of
natural capital when drawing up their national accounts, growth would be lower.
In countries such as China and India – where the cities are dangerously polluted
– it would be markedly lower.”

In recent news, China has peaked its coal- induced carbon dioxide emissions in 2014 as it

has reportedly tripled its coal- burning in a short span of 13 years from the year 2000 to the year

18
2013, just as the industrial boom is having its fill of success on the peak of technological

advancement.

Although, it has come to China’s attention that this fact is a real ‘turning point’, that it

should be considered as a major historical event in the history of climate and the economy. With

this event in hand, this just might cause other countries to take action as it would be influential to

others and what would be known as a global crisis that calls for the attention of the world.

Moreover, if the 2C global temperature goal should be taken seriously, the use of coal has

definitely got to disappear in every country by the year 2035 comes. And in relation to this,

China is now undergoing serious transformations that make the country’s declining coal use a

trend that does not seem to be going weak any time soon. Evidence of this can be seen in the

country’s dropping economic growth initially from 9%- 10% down to nearly 6% and the focus of

the economy towards more efficient methods of industrialization that means independence from

imported fuels and less utilization of heavy industry.32

India, compared to other highly- polluting countries: US, Russia, Japan and China, has

risen about 5% more on 2016. India faces an energy and overall developmental crisis where the

reserved carbon- based energy- production which will cause a double in energy consumption in

2030 is at hand, while the rise of sustainable and greener methods proceeded it.

32
Damian Carrington, “China's coal peak hailed as turning point in climate change battle”, The Guardian,
July 25 2016, https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jul/25/china-coal-peak-hailed-turning-point-climate-
change-battle (Accessed Feb. 22, 2019).

19
 Although individual energy consumption per citizen would be on a minimum, the large

population of India would cause carbon dioxide emissions to add up to a big value, and would

therefore cause the country to be the world’s biggest polluter.

In relation to this, the cost of renewable energy sources are dropping, and they have

seriously taken advantage of collapsing prices for solar and wind- based electricity. An estimate

of 10 years says the Indian government that that no coal- based power stations would need to be

built, and by this time renewable energy would be cheaper to produce; and as coal plants come to

a halt, they will be overtaken by renewable energy sources, conforming to economical

parameters and demand as the natural course of action to take.

““The whole world would benefit from a clean, green India and can help make it happen,

says Stern, by bringing down the interest rates on the loans used to fund the low carbon

transition: “The best thing the world could do is help bring down the cost of capital.” That means

long term finance and help to cut project risks.”33

Direct capitalism might be better than the Anglo- Saxon variant and with enough political

management, climate change could subside faster than it is to be estimated in the near future with

its current standpoint.34

Moreover, in other related news, the country of Norway has started going on about a

recycling rampage as they have reportedly been conducting innovative methods to completely

maximize the use of waste and have actually started to import from other countries.

33
Damian Carrington and Michael Safi, “How India’s battle with climate change could determine all of our
fates”, The Guardian, November 6 2017,
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/nov/06/how-indias-battle-with-climate-change-could-
determine-all-of-our-fates (Accessed Feb. 22, 2019).
34
See chapter 2.

20
 Norway uses these wastes as an energy source, as they have been presumably

incinerating waste to generate electricity which have been considered to be a great market as

seen in “The UK paid to send 45,000 tons of household waste from Bristol and Leeds to Norway

between October 2012 and April this year”35. And this has supposedly been "[It] is cheaper [for

some UK towns] to pay for us to take their waste than to pay landfill fees."36

Furthermore, Norway hasn’t been the only one interested in this field of business as

nearby countries in the EU have started to open up to the idea besides exporting waste to

Norway. “Waste to energy has become a preferred method of rubbish disposal in the EU, and

there are now 420 plants in Europe equipped to provide heat and electricity to more than 20

million people. Germany ranks top in terms of importing rubbish, ahead of Sweden, Belgium and

the Netherlands.”37

35
Helen Rusell, “Trash to cash: Norway leads the way in turning waste into energy”, The Guardian, June 14
2013,
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/jun/14/norway-waste-energy (Accessed Feb 22, 2019).
36
Ibid.
37
Ibid.

21
 CHAPTER IV

Oil and Water Emulsified

In this part of the study, it will be made clear the different ideas presented before this part

of the text. This area acts as a summarization of the general theories that constitute the study,

other relevant studies, and how they could be applied within the parameters of the ideas that this

study seeks and suggests.

The first chapter indicates the sole foundation of this text. It introduces the different

terms and theories that gives the audience an idea of what the concept of Capitalism and most

importantly the overall concept that the study presents and try to seek. It first establishes the

presence of climate change and other global environmental issues that are well- known in the

modern era (and some predictions in the future generations) and instantly narrows it down to the

area of Advanced Capitalism and specifically how its industrial and commercial nature is

responsible for a significant amount of damage to the climate and the environment itself.

As a follow up, in the second chapter, the study strengthens the field and the overall

seriousness of the dilemma by immediately listing down other related studies that don’t

necessarily do the same thing, but can be traced back to some of the ideas presented in this study

that end up backing up some of the assumptions that this study establishes as a premise and

instantly results in a call for change.

In line with this, the third chapter answers the problem, and introduces the idea of

Climate Capitalism as an explanation to the kind of response major capitalists have started to

take as they have become aware of the alarming threat of climate change, and what they should

undergo to take care of the environment which will not only result in the conservation and

22
protection of their own raw materials/ resources, but could also give way to maximum profit

opportunities. We can see this on China, India, and Sweden as they have begun to take

responsibility of their own damage and also the world’s as a heavy- bearing load.

The most note- worthy turning point of this study is the fact that capitalists have not

exclusively perceived climate change as a threat, but as a wakeup call and more of an

opportunity to make more profit, which can ultimately be explained as what Peter Newell coined

as Climate Capitalism.

In accordance to the continuously rising problem of these global issues, this study can

potentially make significant difference not only to the field of capitalism and its few high-

ranking beneficiaries, but essentially to the world itself and all its members: specifically all life

that exists. In this innovative response of industries, the line between economy and

environmentalism could, in the end, disappear and could stay that way in the near future as more

and more creative solutions to environmental issues come to life, and when reached its full

potential, could create a non- conflicting relationship and what is better is a lush and thriving

complementary and developmental relationship of economic development and ecological

conservation.

23
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