TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsThe left's "everything struggle" is undermining the climate cause
Instead of championing sustainability as pragmatic realism, progressives' current approach of lopping together today's multifaceted crises and those related to all manner of injustices as a single, bloated issue only serves to alienate the broader public.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
A security guard stops a group of activists from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) wearing alien costumes on July 31, 2025, during an environmental rally in Manila’s Makati Central Business District. (AFP/Ted Aljibe)
P
rogressives are caught in a trap of their own making. In an era of overlapping and mutually reinforcing crises, they have come to view every issue, from climate change and public health to energy, inequality, trade and war, as part of a single, all-encompassing political battle: the “everything struggle”.
At first glance, this approach may appear compelling. These issues really are interconnected, and no one lives in isolation.
But forcing every cause into a single battle has serious downsides. Arguing that reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions also requires abolishing capitalism, rethinking gender categories and freeing Gaza is a formula for political paralysis. Even if each individual fight is worthy on its own, combining them often undermines the broad coalitions needed to achieve meaningful progress.
Progressives would do well to keep this in mind ahead of November’s United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belém, Brazil.
After the lackluster summits in oil-rich Azerbaijan and the United Arab Emirates, many activists are hoping that COP30 will mark a return to progressive principles. In that spirit, thousands of climate advocates are expected to descend on Belém for the so-called Peoples’ Summit, a gathering of civil society and climate groups held in parallel with the official negotiations.
Given today’s economic turmoil and escalating geopolitical tensions, the chances of global policymakers producing a bold climate plan at COP30 are slim. But even if they succeed, the broader climate fight is bound to fail without public support.
Alarmingly, support for the climate agenda appears to have declined significantly. From the United States and Germany to Canada, South Korea and India, climate change barely registered as a major issue in recent elections. US President Donald Trump was reelected on a platform of “drill, baby, drill”, while support for green parties is collapsing across Europe as the far right continues to gain ground. And when climate change does come up, candidates advocating bold action are routinely defeated.
