What if Democracy and Climate Mitigation Are Incompatible?

In the past 14 months, the United States and Germany both held national elections that placed climate change policy squarely at the center of national debate. In the past 14 months, the United States and Germany both held national elections that placed climate change policy squarely at the center of national debate. In other words: Democracy works by compromise, but climate change is precisely the type of problem that seems not to allow for it. The tensions between existing methods of democracy and the problem posed by climate change are perfectly legible in domestic politics but most evident in international politics. At the same time, the arcane world of central banking is also turning to radical means to stem the effects of climate change.