Tech billionaire, futurist and activist Elon Musk issued a rousing call for a “revolution” to create momentum among ordinary people and counter “the propaganda of the fossil fuel industry which is unrelenting and enormous.”

The world is of two minds when it comes to climate change. There is broad consensus that action must be taken to protect the Earth, but few countries are willing to make significant commitments to cut back on fossil fuel consumption.

In fact, greenhouse gas emissions are rising faster than they ever have before.

This is the dilemma that Elon Musk confronted at the World Energy Innovation Forum.

The majority of transportation in the world is powered by fossil fuels; the majority of electricity comes from fossil fuels; and the majority of heating and cooling is made possible by fossil fuels. Economic growth around the world is still tightly linked to fossil fuels, even if a few countries have managed to decouple the two.

Renewable energies like solar and wind are gradually chipping away at the dominance of coal, oil and natural gas, but the pace of growth is seriously hampered by the subsidies that dirty energy companies still receive.

These subsidies also block the growth of electric vehicles, which would otherwise be taking up a much larger share of the global market.

Musk insisted that the most viable way forward is with a carbon tax that would allow markets to dynamically adapt to emissions targets, while spurring growth in renewable sectors.

Beyond this policy, which he admits is politically challenging in the US, Musk called for broader education on energy issues.

“It is quite worrying, the future of the world,” he added. “We need to appeal to the people and educate them to sort of revolt against this and to fight the propaganda of the fossil fuel industry which is unrelenting and enormous.”

The oil company Exxon, for instance, has known about the risks of climate change for decades, yet has funded science deniers to slant public opinion.

This campaign of misinformation culminates in lobbying efforts around the world, through which oil and coal giants secure favorable economic positions and entrench their ability to devastate the environment.

For climate change to be meaningfully addressed in the years to come, countries have to eliminate subsidies handed to the fossil fuel industry and significantly curb all future fossil fuel ventures.

Recently, countries came together to ratify the most ambitious climate agreement of all time, popularly known as COP21. It’s the first time the biggest emitters in the world--US, China, Europe, India, etc.--were able to collectively agree on the urgency of climate change.

The plan is not as bold as it could be, but it’s a strong step in the right direction. As 2030 approaches, countries are expected to ratchet up their commitments, and, if all goes well, emissions will peak and start to fall in the years to come.

While that’s not an extravagant revolution, it revolves the world toward a cleaner, safer future.