I think the point is that we are not that civilized. If the stakes are as high as many claim, we would be waging war to stop climate emissions. Of course, we won't do that. And if we did, many more would wage war to continue emitting (and emit in the process). This is a one-way train unless and until there's a lower-cost, low emissions solution. Humans are humans, and politics are politics. The stakes are too high to "altruism" our way out.