In Larry Elliott’s article (We’re back to 1930s politics: anger and, yes, appeasement, 20 December), it is good to see an economics editor addressing, as Kate Raworth has done so effectively with Doughnut Economics, the fact that the economy is a complete subset of the environment. And Elliott is right to say that the official declaration that came out of Katowice was not nearly enough.
But that wasn’t the only thing that came from the climate talks. There was a newly prominent place for civil society, from teenager Greta Thunberg to nonagenarian David Attenborough, and some companies, and many state and city governments, stepping up to the plate.
We’ve been trashing the planet over recent decades while creating a miserable, insecure society.
The 12 years that the IPCC gave us is an agonisingly short period to transform the world economy. But both Facebook and Twitter were infants 12 years ago; rapid change is a normal part of the human condition.
History is not pre-written, or destined to repeat itself. Offering the hope that with political, economic, social, educational and environmental transformation we can build a society that works for the common good, within the physical limits of this one fragile planet, is politically essential. The politics of the far right is built on fear and we must not feed that.
Business as usual isn’t an option. But then that is one thing that certainly is not going to happen. That’s good news, for our planet and its people.
Natalie Bennett
Former leader, Green party of England and Wales
• The graphics accompanying Larry Elliott’s article hark back not to the 1930s but to the framing of ecological problems from the second half of the 20th century. People are now realising that climate change is not just about polar bears but about all life on earth, and that it relates to people’s everyday lives. Rather than carrying banners with the now rather cliched “Save our Planet”, parents, grandparents and all people concerned for the future of life are now more likely to be holding a banner proclaiming “Extinction Rebellion”, or featuring its memorable hour-glass logo.
Siân Charnley
Bristol
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