Acharya Prashant addresses the topic of tree plantation, stating that it is well-known that one tree, over a 40-year lifespan, absorbs just one ton of carbon dioxide, which amounts to a mere 0.025 tons per year. He questions the effectiveness of this action, especially when compared to the impact of population. Having one less child, he explains, causes a difference of 60 tons of carbon dioxide per year. He criticizes the tendency to plant a tree and then feel happy enough to go home and have a child, pointing out the vast disparity in impact: 60 tons for a child versus 0.025 tons for a tree. By planting a tree, one starts feeling they have done their bit, which he finds very unsettling. The speaker argues that all the measures of social activism cannot contribute even one percent of what having one less child does. He is critical of so-called "climate warriors" who roam around with pride for engaging in such ineffective activities. He discusses the opportunity cost, suggesting that the time and resources spent planting a tree could be invested in more impactful actions like awareness campaigns. Choosing to plant a tree instead of undertaking a more effective measure is, in his view, criminal. He asserts that misplaced climate activism is not solving the problem but is a part of it, as it makes people feel good without achieving substantial results. At the root of the climate catastrophe, the speaker identifies man's tendency to consume. He categorizes consumption in three ways: consuming other human beings (procreation), consuming man-made things (which requires energy from fossil fuels), and consuming natural resources (which involves felling forests for agriculture). All three forms of consumption lead to carbon emissions. He notes that even if everyone becomes vegan, the Earth does not have the resources to support 8 or 11 billion vegans, as growing grains requires felling forests. He concludes that the climate catastrophe is a spiritual problem that requires a spiritual solution. The two necessary components of this solution are fewer people and less consumption. The world population needs to be reduced to a sustainable level of two or three billion, and this population must be spiritual to overcome the tendency to consume. He explains that the urge for liberation, when it doesn't find an outlet, becomes the urge to consume. Therefore, much of what is seen as climate activism is just a spectacle that boosts egos but does not truly help.
