Amidst all of the rhetoric and dire predictions surrounding global climate change, it is easy to lose one’s perspective. But, we will not successfully minimize the risks created by global climate change without perspective.

Speaking at the United Nations, 16-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg said that if humanity really understands the science of climate change and still fails to act, we’re “evil.” This is because climate change means “people are dying.” Helpfully, she also told us what we must do to act correctly: In a bit more than eight years, we will have exhausted our remaining allowance for carbon emissions, so we must shut down everything running on fossil fuels by 2028.

The world is in great danger of spending scarce resources on climate policies that hurt rather than help its poorest people. Governments should instead focus on growth-enhancing measures such as trade liberalization, which provide a pathway to increased welfare and greater equality.

Let them lead by example before they lecture the country on carbon emissions, gun ownership, and ‘white privilege.’