Climate change is big — but our real problem is bigger
When we talk about “solving climate change,” we often think of new technology, renewable energy, carbon bills, or planting trees. And no doubt, climate change is a huge problem…Personally it often feels like the biggest problem we’ve had in decades. Global greenhouse-gas emissions continue to soar, and despite some hints that we may be peaking, we’re still way above a level that will allow us to go on with our lives the way we do now.
Here’s what worries me: as much as worry about climate change, climate change is not the root problem. It’s a symptom.
Who really bears the blame?
For climate change, the problem can be traced to a surprisingly small number of companies: as of 2023, just 36 fossil-fuel and cement producers account for over 50% of global CO₂ emissions from fossil fuels. A broader analysis shows that 57 companies were linked to roughly 80% of the world’s fossil CO₂ emissions since 2016.
57 companies. 80% of emissions.
In other words: a handful of corporate giants — most often driven by profit and growth — hold enormously disproportionate power over what we burn, what we consume, and the consequences that follow.
And yet they’re still not yet the problem.
Let’s look at something other than climate change. Take plastic pollution: every year, tens of millions of tons — especially of single-use plastics — flow into ecosystems, poisoning water, soil, wildlife, and our bodies. Plastic production is projected to grow (not shrink) by 52% in the coming decades — outpacing waste-management capacity (because how do you get rid of planet-scale type of garbage that doesn’t disappear for 10,000+ years?).
We have to turn off the tap of plastics.
And we’re still not yet talking about the root problem.
There’s a connecting thread here. They’re different sides of the same coin. Different outcomes from one problem: a culture built around overproduction and overconsumption, where profit is the ultimate driver, and health, community, and real human flourishing get sidelined.
Culture must change
We can adopt clean energy, regulate polluters, recycle more, and use less water (or whatever other “save the planet” choices you can find online)…But if we do all that while sticking to the same cultural script — “buy more,” “consume more,” “upgrade every few years,” “keep up with the next big gadget or fad” — we’ll end up stuck in the same loop. We could cut carbon emissions but we’ll just find the next thing to pollute with. We will still be unhealthy, unfulfilled, burdened by waste that weighs on both the environmental and ourselves.
Our modern culture is shaped by a few powerful companies: they decide what we want, sell us the next iPhone or the next big fad, and feed us marketing telling us this is what will make us happy, successful, “complete.”
Why? I’ll give you a hint, they’re not trying to maximize our happiness or health. The true answer: they optimize for profit, not for our well-being.
It’s no surprise, then, that we chase all these shiny objects marketed to us daily and many end up feeling unfulfilled, financially unstable, unhappy, unhealthy.
But there’s a light
This doesn’t have to be our destiny. We can shift culture — not by going backwards and living like it’s the year 1455, but by moving forward.
Critics of environmental movements will attest that we want everyone to live in caves and forage for food, but we can build a culture that values connection over consumption, health over hustle, community over corporate convenience, contentment over the next big trend. And we can do it without living like cavemen.
We can choose meaningful experiences — time with loved ones, creative expression, rest, care for ourselves and the place we call home. We can support local communities, repair, reuse, repurpose instead of discarding. We can value well-being more than needless growth.
We can once again learn to become part of the planetary cycle we used to be, where everything we use and every waste we produce becomes a resource for something else. We can rejoin the natural water and soil cycles of the planet so that we never take more than can be replenished. We can promise that future children will have the same clean air, water, and land that our great grandparents did.
Yes, we still need to fight climate change — but let’s understand it for what it is: not the root disease, but a symptom. The root is cultural. And if we shift culture, climate solutions will come more naturally. We’ll also cure other deep problems: pollution, waste, loneliness, emptiness, burnout, chronic illness — a chance to live differently.
Let’s make that shift. Not for nostalgia. Not to “Save the planet.” Not to go “back.” Instead, I like to think of it as moving forward — to build a future where people, our home, and well-being matter more than profit.
If you’re interested in how, stay tuned. I’m getting there!
