It hasn’t even begun yet. Maybe we’re just seeing the beginning. The climate crisis is a global catastrophe. We’ve only just reached a 1.2 degree Celsius increase in average temperature compared to pre-industrial times, and this year’s amplitude is likely to exceed 1.5 degrees. This year’s weather disasters are just the beginning.
It’s likely that the catastrophic weather we’re seeing now is due to climate change from 10 or 20 years ago. This is because the Northern Hemisphere now has the longest daylight hours in June, but the effects are felt later, as in the hottest months of July and August. Just as the midday sun rises highest and sends the most energy around 12 noon, but is hottest from 2-4pm. We don’t know what kind of catastrophic weather a change of 1.2 or 1.5 degrees Celsius today will cause 10 or 20 years from now.
And yet, many people are still in denial about climate change, or the climate crisis, or are reluctant to take action. Moreover, climate crisis deniers are still largely on the conservative side of the political spectrum. Of course, there are some on the liberal side as well.
A few months ago, UN Secretary-General Guterres expressed concern that the global response to the climate crisis was losing political momentum, saying, “We are going backwards and hurtling towards disaster with our eyes wide open when we should be taking stronger action.”
In the United States, with a year to go before the presidential election, several polls show Trump leading Biden among those who strongly believe or claim that the climate crisis is a conspiracy theory. Trump’s supporters say only 37% of voters recognize the climate crisis as an important issue, while 95% of Biden supporters say it is. According to a Pew Research Center survey this June, 90% of U.S. Democrats say the country should prioritize renewable energy generation, compared to 42% of Republicans. Instead, 58% of them said fossil fuel generation should be prioritized.
This divergence in views on climate change along political lines has widened over the past decade. A decade ago, about 60% of Democrats said climate change was an important threat to the national well-being, rising to 80% today, while Republicans remained largely unchanged at around 40%.

Europe, like the U.S., is experiencing growing climate denial. In recent polls ahead of next June’s European Parliament elections, the European Greens are expected to lose more than a third of their seats, while right-wing conservatives who espouse climate skepticism are poised to win big.
Europe has been hit by extreme weather events in recent years. There have been extreme temperatures, droughts, and torrential rains. But are Europeans unaware of the climate crisis? No, they are not. They may be more afraid of the price they’ll have to pay to combat it. Globally, it is estimated that $3.5 trillion of investment is needed each year to reach carbon neutrality in 2050. That’s about a quarter of the world’s taxes. This is because they fear that if taxes are spent heavily to address the climate crisis, welfare benefits for citizens will be significantly reduced.
In South Korea, there are few surveys of climate change awareness by political affiliation. A 2020 survey by Korea Research for Greenpeace found that 97% of liberals said they would vote for a party or candidate that promised to address the climate crisis, compared to 70% of conservatives.
However, when you consider the astronomical costs of repairing the damage caused by heat waves, droughts, floods, and other climate disasters, a small reduction in welfare benefits would not be a big loss. In addition to the challenges posed by climate change, the world of the 21st century is already facing the threat of job loss due to AI. It is clear that when these two are combined, humanity will face even greater obstacles to a rosy future.

By Philip Jung (HNET) (AI translated)