Global warming is accelerating, bringing increasingly severe and frequent extreme weather events. Rising sea levels, melting ice and ocean acidification are already disrupting societies, economies and food security across the world. Yet despite the urgency, progress in cutting emissions and adapting to these effects remains slow. Why?
Instead of being treated as a shared global emergency, Dukeries Eco Watch believe climate change has become entangled in party politics and economic constraints. Political polarisation, vested interests and widening economic disparities all obstruct meaningful action, while international cooperation has declined, weakening collective progress.
When climate policy becomes partisan, agreement collapses. In the UK, where all parties once accepted the scientific consensus, some now attribute climate change to natural variations rather than human activity. This makes consensus and coordinated policy almost impossible. Governments frequently reverse previous pledges.
Competing political and economic priorities also push climate issues down the agenda. Governments facing rising living costs, inflation and public spending pressures must balance climate investment against funding for healthcare, education and social care. Energy security, particularly during geopolitical instability, often takes precedence over environmental goals.
Economic growth is still widely viewed as incompatible with environmental protection. Immediate concerns – jobs, energy bills and taxes – carry more political weight than long-term sustainability. In this climate, short election cycles discourage long-term planning, as politicians favour policies that deliver visible results before the next vote rather than those addressing systemic, decades-long challenges.
Vested interests further complicate progress. The fossil fuel industry wields enormous influence through lobbying, campaign donations and media narratives that cast doubt on climate science or portray climate policy as a threat to jobs and national energy security. The documentary Big Oil v The World highlights how campaigns have deliberately undermined public confidence in climate action.
Social inequality adds another layer of difficulty. Low-income households often cannot afford electric vehicles, home insulation or solar panels, while carbon taxes can hit poorer communities hardest. Wealthier nations can invest, but developing countries frequently lack the resources to adapt, leaving them disproportionately vulnerable. Even within wealthier countries, poorer families are more likely to live in areas prone to flooding, extreme heat and air pollution.
Wars and geopolitical rivalries further erode focus. Nations preoccupied with defence, alliances and energy security devote fewer resources to climate cooperation. Global agreements such as the Paris Agreement rely on national enforcement that is often weak or inconsistent.
The finance sector also remains a major obstacle. Despite growing public pressure, banks continue to pour money into fossil fuels. These investments lock economies into high-carbon systems and delay the transition to renewable energy.
In short, the barriers to effective climate action are as much political and economic as they are technical. Dukeries Eco Watch argue that if humanity is to survive and thrive, we must resist allowing the climate issue to be sidelined by politics or profit.
Pauline Meechan, Dukeries Eco Watch