We’re facing down climate disaster all over the planet, and while the capitalist system is unable to properly respond to that disaster, it’s also an incredibly resilient system. Without intervention from the Left, capitalists’ embrace of green energy will leave the working class behind.

But the future of climate disaster isn’t written in stone. The Democrats’ vague mandate to “believe the science” won’t deliver a safe future for the millions of people, particularly in the Global South, who will be hit hardest by climate change. But pressure from leftist movements has brought us from the austerity of the Obama years to the current moment of potentially more expansive climate policy.

To discuss how socialists can play an essential role in demanding a Green New Deal built on the principles of international solidarity and class struggle, Daniel Denvir, host of the Jacobin Radio podcast The Dig and author of All-American Nativism, spoke with Kate Aronoff, a staff writer at the New Republic covering climate and energy. She is the author of Overheated: How Capitalism Broke the Planet and How We Fight Back, coauthor of A Planet To Win: Why We Need a Green New Deal, and coeditor of We Own The Future: Democratic Socialism, American Style. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity. You can listen to the episode here.