PEETER KOPPEL ⟩ Sorry, climate change isn’t our biggest concern

Peeter Koppel. Photo: Mihkel Maripuu/Postimees Photo: Mihkel Maripuu/Postimees

• Europe has dismantled its energy system in the name of climate goals.
• Russia started a war and China is increasingly aggressive.
• The dominant narrative of the West, and especially Europe, is changing.

It seems that, for a certain part of the free world, climate change is moving significantly down the list of priorities, Peeter Koppel, the editor of the «Money and Economy» section of Fookus, writes.

For years, we have been told that climate change is the greatest crisis of our time. An existential threat that demands immediate and radical action. Otherwise, future generations will suffer in the middle of a barren and scorched land, helplessly shaking their fists at our current inaction.

I have no reason to believe that this is not generally the case. I have, however, had questions over time about the methods of the aforementioned radical action. Also, whether this is not a situation where the real problem has become, among other things, a fashionable obsession that has overshadowed other problems. Today, it seems that, for a certain part of the free world, climate change is moving significantly down the list of priorities.

Let us consider the current situation. Russia is waging a monstrous war of conquest in Ukraine. This is a conflict with effects extending far beyond eastern Europe. Europe, which has dragged itself into energy scarcity, is now facing the serious consequences of abandoning realism in favor of eco-utopianism. Europe, especially Germany, is reaping what it sowed – by naively relying on Russian gas – while dismantling its own energy system in the name of climate goals.

Prioritizing climate activism over strategic survival is a luxury that society cannot afford today.

Meanwhile, China is gradually becoming more aggressive. It is sending suspicious threatening signals in the direction of Taiwan, it is expanding its influence in Africa and the Pacific, and it is also directing more and more resources into its war machine. Yet some Western leaders still seem convinced that their most urgent task is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. How adorable.

Does anyone really believe that geopolitics will pause for the sake of climate goals? While Europe is racked with guilt over its carbon footprint, China is building new coal-fired power plants at breakneck speed, and Russia is using energy carriers as political leverage. The result? The West is imposing restrictions on itself, while its opponents are essentially doing whatever they want. No, of course the Chinese have also talked about how they too will be carbon neutral by 2060. Communists’ promises are always pure gold, aren't they?

While Europe is racked with guilt over its carbon footprint, China is building new coal-fired power plants at breakneck speed. Pictured: Guohua coal-fired power station in Dingzhou, Baoding, in the Hebei Province of northern China. Photo: Ng Han Guan/AP Photo/Scanpix

The harsh truth is that, when placed on a relative scale alongside other problems, climate change is not as urgent as it has seemed so far. Unlike war, which can destroy entire countries in a week. Unlike economic crisis, which can plunge millions into the despair of poverty overnight. Unlike the loss of geopolitical position, which can make the world order permanently unpleasant. The idea that we can afford to subordinate all other problems to the climate agenda is not only unrealistic – it is dangerous.

Of course, the usual suspects will now start to protest in unison. They will say that ignoring climate change today will bring disaster tomorrow. But what good is a carbon-neutral economy if it exists under, say, the reign of terror of the Chinese? What good is enduring expensive energy for a noble cause when the world order collapses into chaos? Prioritizing climate activism over strategic survival is a luxury that society cannot afford today.

That is why we are in the midst of a development where the dominant narrative of the West, and especially Europe, is changing. Economic hardship, energy crisis and geopolitical instability give the new narrative subheadings such as survival, security and the maintenance of some kind of well-being.

Some recent election results also suggest that among Western voters, climate rhetoric has begun to seem increasingly disconnected from reality, becoming more of a luxury for the elite than an urgent priority for struggling households.

Europe must understand that in the current environment, military strength, economic resilience and strategic deterrence are far more important than any climate summit promises. If we don't understand this, Putin, Xi and their ilk seem more than willing to remind us.

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