The illusion that we did "tech" ourselves out of anything and so can keep on "sustainably growing", aka. the Rifkinian trap, is pervasive though. The fact we used a cheap windfall of fusion energy stored through photosynthesis and sloooow underground cooking to fancy ourselves masters of the universe is lost on most, having a car that dissipates more of this very precious energy is still considered a sign of social status in many parts.

>In the absence of that, individuals aren't taking actions that could help (or reduce harm) either.

There is no way for individual action to solve climate change, that's just a way for business to place the blame and guilt on us. Solving climate change is necessarily a collective action problem, which is why I believe we aren't going to solve it. We're too selfish and unwilling to take the drastic steps we need to take and it's only going to get more difficult to solve the problem. We're all trapped in a car that's starting to smoke and make unsettling noises, yet we're cheerily driving along hoping that it will be cheaper to fix later if we ignore it now. The car is going to break down soon enough and we're all going to be stranded in the desert until we expire.

Politicians won't do that as long as there is any sort of political cost for them. They will just react, slowly, to what the society as a whole accepts as good.

I don't think the sarcasm is needed. Human ingenuity coupled with desperation when conditions truly worsen can be a powerful motivator.