Capitalism and Climate Change
And no, this is not a Socialist perspective
“Right now, we are facing a man-made disaster of global scale. Our greatest threat in thousands of years. Climate Change.”
David Attenborough — Naturalist and wildlife presenter.
The social and fiscal ramifications of COVID-19 will probably be felt for years, if not generations to come. The way we function has changed, and this change can be very uncomfortable. However, the disruptions caused by COVID-19 are only a precursor for a disruption far more lasting and detrimental. We anticipate its ghastly welcoming yet we are satisfied with only superficial preparations, ignoring the structural issues which need to be rectified. This next pandemic is climate change.
We have previously discussed actions a Muslim should take to minimise the effects of climate change. In this article we will explore how capitalism has enabled climate change to perpetuate. Climate change is after all the most grave of all material issues affecting our future, one whose severity we will not truly appreciate until we notice it changing the way we live.
The Anthropocene
Etymologically from Anthropo meaning ‘human’ and cene meaning ‘recent’, the Anthropocene is our current geological epoch. So profound is the human impact on the climate that this period bears our name. Earth could easily accommodate for 10 billion humans without major climate disruptions, if we all lived less luxurious lifestyles. However, the dependence on fossil fuels and meat rich diets of the modern lifestyle is simply not sustainable.
يَا بَنِي آدَمَ خُذُوا زِينَتَكُمْ عِندَ كُلِّ مَسْجِدٍ وَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا وَلَا تُسْرِفُوا ۚ إِنَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُسْرِفِينَ
O children of Adam, take your adornment at every masjid, and eat and drink, but be not excessive. Indeed, He likes not those who commit excess. (Quran 7:31)
Globally, people consume 43.5 kilograms of meat every year, skewed towards wealthier nations. The cultivation of meat is extremely inefficient, requiring 80% of all available agricultural land. Beef cultivation is especially resource draining. 60% of the world’s agricultural land is used for beef production, yet it only makes up 2% of the world’s calorie intake. The production of one kilogram of beef requires 15,414 litres of water, whilst sheep and goat require 8,763 litres and chicken 4,325 litres. On the contrary, one kilogram of vegetables only requires 322 litres of water. To satiate society’s love for eating meat, large amounts of land must be cleared and resources invested, placing immense strain on our already fragile planet.
“We don’t want to tell people what to eat. But it would indeed be beneficial, for both climate and human health, if people in many rich countries consumed less meat, and if politics would create appropriate incentives to that effect.”
Hans-Otto Pörtner, Co-chairs of the IPCC’s working group on impacts, adaptation and vulnerability.
To instigate positive change on a microeconomic level, we are not advocating to give up meat entirely. Contrary to what vegans might have you believe, there is nothing immoral with eating meat as long as it is ethically and sustainably sourced. In fact, Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet’s (ﷺ) favourite piece of meat was the lamb’s shoulder (Bukhari & Muslim). However, what we are advocating is to reduce your meat consumption levels, starting off by eating meat only two or three times per week. Understand that it is a delicacy which most past Muslims would only eat on special occasions and if they were lucky, every Friday.
Yahya ibn Sa’id reported: Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “Beware of meat, for meat can be as addictive as wine.” (Al-Muwaṭṭa’)
A by-product of advances since the industrial revolution which enables modern life as we know it is the uncurbed release of emissions such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrous oxide (NOx). The atmospheric concentration of CO2 has increased by more than a third since the industrial revolution, 89% of which was directly caused by the burning of fossil fuels. These emissions are the primary reason for global warming. Coal is the dirtiest of the fossil fuels, responsible for 0.3°C-1°C increase in global average temperatures. Oil is not much better, releasing a third of the world’s total carbon emissions. Natural gas is often promoted as a cleaner alternative to coal or oil, yet still accounts for a fifth of the world’s total carbon emissions.
The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) warns that fossil fuel emissions must be halved within 11 years if global warming is to be limited to 1.5°C increase. Although there are some governmental and corporational commitments to reduce emissions, enough is not being done. A recent UN report indicated that fossil fuel production is on track for double the safe climate limit if we are to limit global warming by 1.5°C, a trajectory which can lead to unprecedented and irreversible environmental disturbances. The tokenistic gestures adopted by most governments and companies to become ‘greener’ just masks their overall ineptitude. This leads us to what caused this mess in the first place; capitalism.
Capitalism is the Fuel for Climate Change
Capitalocene (The age of capitalism) is a kind of critical provocation to this sensibility of the Anthropocene, which is: We have met the enemy and he is us. So the idea that we’re all going to cover our footprints, we’re going to be more sustainable consumers, we’re going to pay attention to population, are really consequences of a highly unequal system of power and wealth.
James Moore — Environmental Historian and Sociologist at Birmingham University
To understand how to curb climate change we must remember how it began. The 18th century Industrial Revolution birthed a new epoch in world history, one which welcomed modernity, proselytised it through colonialism and whose fiscal counterpart is capitalism. Capitalist corporations have a pernicious history. Take one of the first corporations, the British East India Company (founded 1600) which forcefully ruled India and devastated the region’s economy and landscape, centralising it’s wealth with a handful of British merchants, proliferating cheap cash crops, and causing a monumental decline in India’s GDP.
Today’s capitalist corporations dominate the globe, founded upon the same ethos of capital accumulation as their early predecessors. Allowed to flourish for over two centuries, the capitalist framework has yielded immense global economic disparity and environmental destruction. Just 100 companies have been responsible for 70% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions since 1988. The unchecked drive for profit and demand for consumption has fuelled the fossil fuels industry and caused unprecedented deforestation for the purpose of feeding human greed and in the process, killing our planet. Make no mistake, no amount of production or consumption will satiate our desires. However, a finite and delicate earth cannot support a perpetual pursuit of self-interest.
Real affirmative action to combat climate change requires a large scale effort. The little bit we as citizens can do is well intentioned but insignificant in the grand scheme of what must be done. Institutional change is required. However, government policy is largely informed by capitalist lobby groups. They save face with the occasional tokenistic gesture to feign concern, whilst continuing to support fossil fuels and deforestation.
Power and wealth are inextricably linked. And we need the most powerful in our society to realise that the sustainability of our planet supersedes any short-term profit. But when the system monopolises wealth with the corrupt, and ultimate attainment has become worldly gain — at the expense of the Everlasting — we suffer and so does our planet. Capitalism has engulfed the world and enabled the hegemonic elite to dictate the discussion — or lack thereof — on climate change. The blame has been shifted to us as individuals, and not the system which caused this mess.
What can we do?
We believe as Muslims that if Allah wanted to, He could reverse the effects of climate change in an instant, as He says,
وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ أَنَّكَ تَرَى الْأَرْضَ خَاشِعَةً فَإِذَا أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْهَا الْمَاءَ اهْتَزَّتْ وَرَبَتْ ۚ إِنَّ الَّذِي أَحْيَاهَا لَمُحْيِي الْمَوْتَىٰ ۚ إِنَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
And of His signs is that you see the earth stilled, but when We send down upon it rain, it quivers and grows. Indeed, He who has given it life is the Giver of Life to the dead. Indeed, He is over all things competent. (Quran 41:39)
There is however a greater reason for why He allows climate change, and any other evil, to persist. Indeed, Allah speaks of our situation in another verse,
ظَهَرَ الْفَسَادُ فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ أَيْدِي النَّاسِ لِيُذِيقَهُم بَعْضَ الَّذِي عَمِلُوا لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ
Corruption has appeared throughout the land and sea by [reason of] what the hands of people have earned so He may let them taste part of [the consequence of] what they have done that perhaps they will return [to righteousness]. (Quran 30:41)
The great Islamic scholar Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya (d. 751H) said about this ayah in his Zad Al-Ma’ad (Provisions of the Hereafter) that droughts are caused by refusal to pay the zakat and unjust rule is caused by oppressing the needy. He also said about the same ayah in his Al-Jawab Al-Kafi (The Sufficient Answer) that sins cause various types of corruption in the world; the corruption of the water, the air and the dwelling places.
The capitalist system has allowed many sins to flourish in society such as riba (usury) and widespread fahisha (immorality). More strikingly, it has altered the direction of our lives from one based upon taqwa (God-conscientiousness/piety) to one based upon wealth and career.
The contemporary discussion on climate change is dominated by secular and socialist perspectives. Such an approach will only amplify the problem. Why? At the heart of this predicament is a communal transgression against the obedience to Allah. The solution can only be found by turning back to Him and being patient for a rain which will give life to a dying earth.
By Rafa Rahman
