The language used in various texts, slogans, and calls to “sacrifice” for the sake of the climate (for the benefit of future generations), in the author's view, reveals that part of society is stuck in colonial styles of thinking or traditions.

So-called “climate activism” in the United States and Europe is usually explained as the “current generation’s sacrifice for the benefit of future generations”: we must consume less now to extend our civilisation’s survival, continuation, or shelf life. The newspaper The New York Times diagnoses the inability to confront climate change as “a human unwillingness to make the investments and sacrifices necessary to protect future generations”.

Concerned novelists and literary critics urge us to “see other times that are asking something of us today”. Christian leaders, including Pope Francis, call for “making meaningful sacrifices for the good of the Earth”, which requires “self-restraint”. The Vice-President of the European Commission has made a similar plea, while environmental scientists justify the importance of a readiness to sacrifice for effective climate action.