Editorial: Hoping fossil fuel giants will see the light on climate hasn’t worked. Change only comes with mandates and force
▻https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2023-07-21/editorial-its-not-enough-to-be-frenemies-with-fossil-fuel-companies-we-have
It should be obvious by now that fossil fuel companies have no real plans to change in response to the climate crisis. And that the only way forward is without them.
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It would be delusional to expect the trajectory to change without a fundamental shift in our economic system, including moving on from the companies that profit from the continued extraction and burning of hydrocarbons.
If only it were that easy, right? But politicians, who are often financially beholden to these planet-wrecking industries, have wasted decades with denial, delay tactics or outright hostility to anything more than incremental steps.
It’s alarming to see the extent to which fossil fuel industries have captured institutions responsible for slowing climate change. This year’s United Nations climate summit in Dubai is being hosted by an oil executive, which is like the climate equivalent of letting arms dealers hold peace talks. Instead of propping up and legitimizing fossil fuel companies, we ought to be stigmatizing them as morally repugnant for continuing to add fuel to a house that’s on fire.