Why Profit Over Planet and the Link Between Justice and Freedom
- Prickly Pears
- Jul 11
- 3 min read
In January 2025, the Turkish government signed a new climate agreement; a move that, at first glance, seemed like a step in the right direction. But behind the headlines and formalities lies a more complex reality. According to climate experts and independent scientists, the agreement lacks the necessary framework to meaningfully address the ongoing climate crisis. It prioritizes industrial interests, sidesteps clear emission reduction targets, and fails to empower communities most affected by ecological degradation.
This raises a deeper question: Why are profit and short-term economic interests still being placed above the planet; and above the fundamental rights of people?
Climate, Justice, and the Right to Breathe
Environmental protection is not separate from justice. The right to clean air, safe water, fertile soil, and biodiversity is inseparable from the right to live freely, with dignity. When governments sign climate agreements that serve corporate interests more than ecosystems or people, they are not just failing to protect nature; they are violating the constitutional rights of citizens. Rights that include health, safety, and participation in decisions that shape our shared future.
In this context, environmental destruction becomes a matter of freedom. When forests are cleared without public consent, when water sources are poisoned by unchecked mining or industrial activities, when disaster-prone communities are left without protection or support, we are not just witnessing ecological collapse; we are witnessing the erosion of democratic accountability.
What Happens When the Law Doesn’t Protect?
In Turkey, a deeply rooted lack of meritocracy means that laws and regulations are often unenforced, and oversight is weak. This creates fertile ground for powerful corporations to exploit public resources; destroying nature, displacing communities, and unlawfully seizing land that rightfully belongs to the people.
The recently signed climate agreement by the Turkish government has only deepened these concerns. While it presents itself as progress, its vague targets and reliance on market-based mechanisms reveal its true intent: to protect polluting industries rather than the environment or those most affected.
When legal systems fail to defend the land and its people, sustainability must become more than a value; it must become an act of resistance.
Where We Stand: Prickly Pears and Environmental Integrity
At Prickly Pears, we create with care; for people, for nature, and for the heritage that connects them. Our commitment to slow production, ethical sourcing, and non-chemical processes isn’t just a brand choice; it’s a political one. In a time when sustainability is often reduced to a marketing term, we choose to embody it as a value.
We believe that protecting the environment is a form of resistance; and a responsibility. Especially now, when performative policies are becoming more common than real change, our stance is clear: sustainability must center people and the planet, not profit margins.
What Can We Do?
As individuals and members of society, we can’t rewrite climate agreements ourselves. But we can raise awareness. We can challenge greenwashing. We can support grassroots movements that fight for climate justice. We can vote for leaders who take climate science seriously. And we can demand transparency and accountability from those who shape national policies.
Change begins with clarity; and courage. It begins with recognizing that environmental issues are also human rights issues. That freedom, justice, and climate action are not separate conversations but one and the same.
A Call to Conscious Living
The climate crisis is not just a crisis of nature; it’s a crisis of values. It asks us to choose: will we continue to privilege profit over people and planet? Or will we shape a more equitable and sustainable future; one that honors both the earth and the rights of those who call it home?
At Prickly Pears, we choose the latter.
“Those least responsible for climate change are worst affected by it.”
— Vandana Shiva, Soil Not Oil: Environmental Justice in an Age of Climate Crisis
