Many people believe that technological innovation can solve climate change without requiring deep changes in our social and political systems. The World Economic Forum, for instance, argues that “we must invent our way out of climate change.” According to this view, addressing climate change is mainly a matter of pouring resources into new technologies. Technocratic tools like the carbon tax also assume a straightforward link between problem and solution. A carbon tax is built on the premise that, once emissions are priced correctly, businesses and consumers will naturally cut back on carbon and shift toward cleaner options. The “fix” is framed as a technical challenge of designing the right tax rate, scope, and enforcement rules. While technological advances and tech-centered policies are undeniably important, this approach has a major blind spot. It largely ignores the crucial social and political dynamics that shape climate action. This technology-first perspective relies on three myths about how large-scale social change occurs. Myth 1: Environmental policies, activism, and solutions emerge automatically in response to environmental harm. As environmental damage intensifies, we might expect that societies will naturally adopt stronger measures. Yet this doesn’t always happen. Severe wildfires or record-breaking heat waves, for example, should in theory build momentum for tougher climate policies. However, decades of work in sociology and political science demonstrate that grievances and urgent needs do not, by themselves, generate movements or reforms. Take the “London Fog,” one of the most famous cases of a serious environmental problem that endured for generations without substantial policy change. For over a century throughout the…