Climate Change and Inter-Group Cooperation

Earth is threatened by numerous ecological dangers. To solve these issues, humanity needs to work collectively.

Almost a decade ago, an editorial in the prestigious scientific journal Nature announced the dawn of a new age, declaring, “Welcome to the Anthropocene.” The Anthropocene—an epoch defined by the massive planetary impact of human behavior—is a time of great anxiety. To varying extents, everyone is affected by diminishing biodiversity, overfishing, and severe climate changes (which is a contributing factor to the extreme weather that we’ve been experiencing lately).

Recent data suggests we’re “approaching a state shift in Earth’s biosphere” and creeping up on the dreaded tipping point where the climate abruptly and irreversibly changes. If this happens, new ecosystems will form and pose daunting challenges to plant and animal life across the globe. Catastrophe could result.

To avoid as many of the adverse consequences as possible, we need an existential shift in perception that enables us to view humans as Earth’s caretakers who are charged with effectively managing the planet, not exploiting it.

Managing the planet’s climate is fundamentally a collective action problem. Solving this dilemma requires globally coordinating behavior so to promote the interests of our species. This is tough because what’s best for the group as a whole may not be best for some individuals, at least not in the short run. Indeed, because individuals often feel tempted to free ride, the allure of egoism can be the death knell of cooperation.

This essay was co-written with Jathan Sadowski and Thomas Seager

Illustration by Jac Depczyk (from The Economist)

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