Naomi Klein on Climate Change and Capitalism

By Isabelle Parker

Photo by Kourosh Keshiri

Noami Klein is a Canadian journalist, author and activist who publishes political and economic commentaries and anti-climate change pieces. She has released multiple books, such as No Logo, The Shock Doctrine, and This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate, which have made her a prominent voice in the anti- globalisation movement.

Klein believes that capitalism is the cause of climate change. She does not consider herself a radical environmentalist- even going so far as to call herself a 'climate criminal'- and says of her latest book that "What I hope is less about what the greens will do, but what people who don’t consider themselves part of the green movement will do".

While travelling the world for two years after the publication of Shock Doctrine, she became depressed, and decided it was time to retreat. "I have always told myself that I would not spread hopelessness. There are figures on the American left who just get up on stage and do these doom and apocalyptic presentations and it can be quite compelling. But I have seen it enough that I have told myself that if I ever get to that point, I will stay home."

Klein believes that capitalism has broadened the gap between the rich and the poor, as says that climate change is not the only issue with the arrangement. "The fact is that there are lots of problems with this system, and on top of all of those problems, it is destabilising our planet’s life support system." She believes that a new type of green activist is arising, and that "They are going after the fossil fuel companies directly as opposed to just trying to go into business with them and gently cajole them into doing the right thing".

Klein says of the shift in society, “I am not in despair. I am excited by what I am seeing. I think that the task is enormous. I think we are nowhere close to where we need to be, but I think we are on a track. There is a track".