Pope
Francis, in his recent encyclical on climate change, said that social movements
are critical in promoting action on global warming. This simple CLD shows how
the influence of climate-change movements could affect both public opinion and
the government. An important aspect is that the activism of such movements will
have a negative influence on the prestige of the fossil-fuel companies. This in turn
will weaken their capacity to influence and to exert pressure on the government.
As the movements act, pressure on the government
will increase but simultaneously the capacity of the fossil fuel industry to
pressure the government will decrease.
As a result, the government will find it easier to push trough legislation to
force fossil fuel companies to keep unburnable reserves in the ground. Climate
change moments can contribute decisively to bring about urgently needed action
on global warming