Historically human economic activity has increased beyond the capacity of the earth to absorb the environmental impact.
The anticipated consequences of climate change range from a gradual to a catastrophic impact on the environment, ecology, economy and society.
In recent decades the UN IPCC has highlighted the risks of climate change for people, economies and eco-systems. The integrated and compounding risks of climate change amount to what the former Chief Economist of the World Bank described as “the greatest market failure the world has ever seen” (Stern 2006).
International governmental environmental responses, policies, targets and achievements for emissions reductions and renewable energy are promising, yet so far practical results are not reassuring. UN COP Projections, and other international agency environmental energy predictions for climate change and the slow pace of emissions reductions are deeply concerning. The demands upon governments and corporations, and their strategic and operational responses, to lift their performance and results on emissions reductions and sustainability are profound and insistent.
The imminent global consequences of climate change are challenging to contemplate, as are the accompanying extreme risks we all face if we do not find effective solutions. As Naomi Klein insists, This Changes Everything (2015). Despite successive rounds of international diplomacy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere continues to rise, heating the earth at an alarming rate. Scientists warn that if this global warming continues unabated, it will bring environmental catastrophes across the world including overwhelming sea level rises, severe droughts, and the widespread loss of animal and plant species. Together these environmental disasters will wreak havoc upon our polities, economies and societies, if they cannot be abated.
While the vast array of climate initiatives taking place world-wide can at times be inspiring, the insistent lag between emissions reductions promises and achievements is almost universal. More threatening still is the continued existence internationally of climate change denial at governmental and corporate levels. The election of President Trump to a second term in the White House potentially will undermine environmental programs not only in America but worldwide. Realizing that once again it is likely that under Trump, the US will experience another era of climate change denial and policy chaos, and that national statistics on climate change will be routinely distorted, US governmental agencies began moving the national data to independent repositories in US libraries and archives in November 2024.
On his Inauguration Day for his second term as President of the United States (2025-2029) among President Trump’s first actions was to again order the US withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement. The US remains the second largest greenhouse gas emitter behind China. With this act the US worryingly joined the company of Iran, Libya and Yemen – the only countries still refusing to sign the Paris Agreement.
Beyond the disappointment with the failure of national economies to achieve their targets for emissions reductions, and the disillusion with the false promises of corporations on their ESG commitments, there began to emerge in 2024/2025 a more widespread social sense of malaise with environmentalism in a growing greenlash sentiment. However, survey results indicate that people continue to care about climate change, but are afraid of changing their own habits, and unwilling or unable to sustain cost increases associated with reforms. The challenge for governments is to develop green policies that make decarbonisation affordable, and to highlight its vital benefits.
Dr Thomas Clarke
Occasional Policy Paper 4 - Published May 2025
Acrobat reader is required to download this paper. Download Acrobat Reader free.
Dr Thomas Clarke
Visiting Professor at the Institute for Public Policy and Governance at UTS. Dr Clarke is an international corporate governance and sustainability expert and Life Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He contributed to the development of international corporate governance standards at the OECD during the original formulation of the OECD Corporate Governance Principles (1999) and for the UN delivered a research paper on Sustainable Finance (2016) for the UNEP Finance Initiative.
Ready to elevate your skills in local government? Our short courses, microcredentials and postgraduate qualifications are designed to empower you for success.
Need expert advice on local government issues? Our consulting services provide targeted guidance to help you navigate the complex challenges in local government.