Contributed by Jim Hayes

It might be that the debate on climate action is about to rise again. But don’t expect too much from the Australian government, and even less form the United Sates and Europe, the leaders of which are far more concerned with pursuing their own power and interests of the corporate shareholders. This has been accentuated as these interests are impacted by internal economic headwinds, leading to the gradual decline of the western imperialism and the rise of a multipolar world. The health of the planet is rendered unimportant next to this.

This focus away from climate by the powerful stands at odds with the view of most of the globe’s citizens, who do want climate action. The powerful in Australia are standing on the other side. They join in taking attention of this issue. This month’s federal election saw climate taken off the agenda.

While all this is true, it remains that the immediate focus of most is how the state of the economy is affecting their lives. The call for governments to act on the rising cost of living, the burden of housing costs, and to ensure a better future, must be acknowledged. Economic issues are sometimes seen to be at odds with the need to protect the environment. This is wrong.  They are the two sides of the same coin. Effective climate action is impossible without a shift to an economy that puts ordinary people first, instead of the most privileged. Thus, climate action is intertwined with economic justice.

Realising this means understanding that ultimately the required reduction of carbon emissions is related to the question of political power. The climate movement must incorporate this if it is going to move forward. In today’s context, this means focus on building action from below, rather and making life aa difficult as possible for reluctant political and business leaders.

One of the important connections between climate and the economy is that climate change has already contributed to the rising prices of necessities. Drought and water shortages are doing their part. Reducing harvest and emptying supermarket shelves are now a reality with increasing frequency. In some parts of the world, there is catastrophe. Although less serious in Australia, people are still feeling the impact on their lives.

The most fundamental connection between climate and the economy is that the second has been put at odds with the first, and the source of this is the call of the corporate world for governments to protect its bottom line in the midst of growing economic instability and uncertainty. Government is pushed to underwrite the profits of those who wield enormous power. Australia is no exception to this.

Actions of the Trump administration has made matter worse. Starting with withdrawal from the Paris Agreement to ongoing climate denial and the tariff war, everything pulls in the opposite direction. The consensus in Australia’s political elite is to go with the flow.

This does not mean nothing can be done. On the contrary. Australians still care. Now that the election is over, pressure on the Labor government is starting to rise again. Now that it has an enormous majority in the parliament, there is little to cover inaction. It now faces whether to approve or deny 27 new coal and gas projects. Labor will face attention over the destructive push to exploit the North West Shelf threatened. Attention will be on whether the promise since 2022 that it will bring in new laws to align mining with the needs of nature will be honoured.

Although not reflected in the allocation of parliamentary seats, Labor is aware of the increased share of the vote for those who speak out for the environment and economic justice.  An important opportunity to build pressure from ordinary Australians is opening.