With the failure of the Biden administration's "Build Back Better" Act and the onset of spiraling inflation and the war in Ukraine, the democratic nations of the world appear to be assigning climate change a lower priority. They are rushing to secure access to fossil fuels to replace those provided by Russia and to lower fuel costs for their citizens. These developments have thrown into sharp relief the choice confronting the world. The effort to resist Russian aggression makes continued reliance on Russian coal, oil, and gas which helps to fund Russia's military, strategically and ethically untenable for the world's democracies. Simultaneously, the expansion of fossil fuel extraction and infrastructure seems to presage a continued reliance on fossil fuels that will doom the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting warming to 1.5 ° Celsius, making the survival of democracy and perhaps even human civilization untenable. In a parallel development the failure of the "Build Back Better" Act seems to doom the climate commitments made by President Joe Biden at COP 26 in Glasgow. Given this context, this paper will draw on my book “Populism, Eco-Populism, and the Future of Environmentalism” to argue that the world faces a stark choice between an eco-populism that might salvage a livable future and democracy, on the one hand, and an eco-fascism as the extraction and burning of fossil fuels worsen the effects of climate change leading to a zero-sum struggle for the world's remaining resources and habitable areas on the planet.

Authors:
James Stone, Mt. San Antonio College, United States

About the Presenter(s)
Dr. James Stone is a Professor of Political Theory and Environmental Politics at Mt San Antonio College. He is co-founder of the Mt SAC Climate Commitment Environmental Justice Committee and co-author of its Climate Action Plan.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-stone-12639538/

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