Actually, I do know how to do this

In last week’s newsletter, I struggled with a question: How are we supposed to keep caring about climate change while so much acute state violence is unfolding before our eyes?

I was able to eke out a few answers, and they seemed to really strike a chord with a lot of you. The post reached about 40 percent more readers than my pieces usually do, and many of you reached out to me directly, saying how helpful it was in motivating you to get back to climate and environmental work.

But a few days later, while preparing for an hour-long radio conversation about the piece, I realized something important: My original piece actually understated the case for keeping our eyes fixed on climate change, pollution, and the corporations fueling it during this political moment.

On further reflection, I think paying attention to polluters may be one of the best ways to understand what’s currently happening in the United States. Here are a few of the connections I didn’t fully spell out the first time.

Authoritarianism is fueled by fossil fuel dollars

I’m almost embarrassed to have not included this point in round one. Because the fact is, so many of the horrors we’re witnessing today were brought to us directly by Big Oil.

The fossil fuel industry was one of the largest corporate backers of Donald Trump’s return to power, giving at least $75 million to his campaign and affiliated PACs, and nearly $20 million to Trump’s inaugural fund. Oil and gas companies were also some of the biggest donors to Republicans in 2022 and 2024, helping secure the GOP majority in both houses.

That money helped entrench a political movement openly hostile to democratic norms. This was not an accident. Authoritarians are better for fossil fuel business. If governments actually answered to the public, the transition away toward renewables would likely move much faster.

This is why the demand that climate activists “stay in their lane” has always rung hollow to me. The fossil fuel industry isn’t staying in its lane. It’s actively underwriting democratic decay.

Interestingly, research shows that countries become significantly more democratic when oil production starts to decline. So when we talk about transitioning toward renewable energy, we’re not just talking about a climate solution. We’re talking about a potential path toward healing democracy as well.

Democracy is climate infrastructure

Many climate groups already understand the point I just laid out above: you can’t regulate polluters in an authoritarian state. That’s why so many climate organizations, like the Climate Justice Alliance and Sunrise Movement, are now deeply engaged in showing up to anti-ICE protests.

E&E News reported earlier this month: