This is true - science is just a tool, it needs force and direction. This is the job of governments, so you are right that science is just one part of the solution. In my mind it is a given that you need strong government support to make changes, so this was not the differences I wanted to focus on. The German Energiewende showed that it can be done, we basically bankrolled the creation of a global solar panel industry.

I wanted to put this in contrast to the "stop growth and consume less" mindset, which I believe will be massively insufficient in solving climate change. When we switch to alternative means of energy, at least in the beginning they will be more expensive than fossil, and you need to be able to afford this. Asia must be able to afford this! And they will not give up cars and go back to riding bicycles, this is a pipe dream.

Science is primarily driven by private enterprise, that’s why. A business without any demand has no reason to exist. If the sea rises, or weather becomes more catastrophic, or oil becomes scarce, people will naturally devise solutions and mitigations. You can already see this in places like Florida where new construction techniques are being used to build houses that can withstand hurricane force winds.

You've provided a very good examnple of where private enterprise and the markets fail. If the sea rises and weather becomes more catastophic, people will indeed device solutions and mitgations.

Those mitigations won't necessarily include carbon reduction - they'll be increased levee construction, abandonment of low-lying cities and building codes adjusted so that '1 in a century' storms are encountered every couple of years.

What we are trying to do at this point, ius avoid such grim consequences, now and the market can't help us unless we promote panic, which isn't a great strategy.

And the number one problem is that waiting until the disaster hits is a really, really dumb strategy. It may be efficient on paper, but that's only if one places no value on human life and suffering, and is willing to gamble the disaster won't collapse the economy before it gets fixed.