Ant syndrome. faced with the climate crisis, why is it so hard to deprive yourself?

We know, we see, we feel climate change. At the beginning of October again, a good part of France exceeded 30°C. The final touches to the hottest summer ever recorded on Earth and a glimpse of the world at +3^°:C or +4°C where we can go. In short, the climate crisis has never been more serious or visible, and our response so urgent. And yet we don’t move, or very little. “I listen a lot. “Yeah, but… It’s the ant syndrome,” sighs Flora Ghebali. At the age of 29, this entrepreneur, columnist and essayist published a second book, Le Syndrome de la fourmi (Éditions de l’Observatoire), referring to the fact that this insect can afford to turn around in a simple circle drawn. pencil. A metaphor for our denial, sometimes against the obvious.

The debate organized for the “Medef” summer school at the end of August turned into a dialogue of the deaf. To paleoclimatologist Jean Jusselle, who reminded us that we need to abandon any new fossil fuel projects to limit warming to +2°C, TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouillat replied: “I respect the opinion of scientists, the problem is that there is. “real life”. […] This transition, I’m sorry, Jean, will take time. “A perfect illustration of our difficulties in putting science ahead of economics.

A more measured life

At the individual level, the “yes, but…” reflex is also returning. Should we blame ourselves? Why is reality so hard to swallow? “The cornerstone is the fear of losing. It pushes us to inertia or, worse, to make bad decisions,” continues Flora Ghebali. And for good reason. the idea of ​​ecological transition gives the impression of jumping into the unknown with closed eyes. “What is a sustainable society? How does it work, what does it look like? » to the Amish community, as Emmanuel Macron sometimes worries, at the risk of caricature. Or just a more measured life. “The reduction of carbon emissions cannot be painless,” Flora Ghebali emphasizes, “we have to go back to the 1970s. But good news. we didn’t live so badly then. Strip us of Shane (Chinese online fashion company, editor’s note) should not kill us. Kill us, no, cost us, no doubt. “We have to admit that we are offered better: to eat what we want, to travel by plane all the time, to buy clothes by the kilo… We have learned that to live is to consume in a world of infinite, limited resources.” On a daily basis, a paradigm shift therefore entails giving up what we take for granted.

The main one is the fear of losing. It drives us into inertia

Flora Ghebali

Action above all else

Bitterness grows from the feeling of injustice. why should we deprive ourselves when the richest 10% of the planet emit half of the CO?^2: ? That billionaires fly private jets when others are asked to take the train. Of course, every emission counts, and we know the urgency of reducing airplanes, meat and cars, or even repairing our homes. However, it will not be enough. “Solutions lie elsewhere, in politics,” says Flora Ghebali. In order to change the laws before the people, we must reassert the policy, reassert ourselves by voting and working the two most effective levers.” Change jobs for a virtuous company, get trained, start an associative or cultural project… This is another perspective that puts action, not deprivation, at the heart of our lives.

Bright horizon

It is also a path that ultimately contributes to writing a new history of our relationship with the living. “There are efforts to make the ecological transition cool and desirable,” Flora Ghebali laments. Presented as an emancipation project, endowed with money and resources, it is desirable. For example, energy renovation of buildings. we managed to make it something Kafkaesque and hyper-angiogenic. But experts in the field are excited. their whole work is changing.’ It is important to distill this energy and this thirst for newness everywhere. The Industrial Revolution was seen as an era of endless possibilities. Our time is different. “There are huge challenges ahead. Rolling your wings is fruitful.” And much happier than tightening your seat belt.