It is irrelevant at this point, which colors my response.
Covid did, albeit trivial, not because of the death toll but because of shut down of industry, have a slight effect on climate, and perhaps, if it killed a billion people it might have effected climate change more than it did.
We can argue until the end of our lives about "would have," and "could have," but that merely distracts from is.
We are not the only species, of course, that expands beyond its carrying capacity and then collapses as a result when resources are depleted. Bacteria do it all the time. However we are a rare, and certainly the most broadly applicable, tool making species.
Malthus argued in a less than generalized way about resources and population, focusing on food. His predicted catastrophe was prevented by the invention of the Haber-Bosch process for making ammonia.
I believe it is technically feasible to address climate change; hardly easy; hardly cheap, but my readings suggest it's feasible. "Feasible" is not a word coterminous with "likely." The "feasible" will not happen in an environment in which embracing ignorance becomes a popular practice.
People like Guy de Chauliac argued during the "Black Death" bubonic plague that there might be another approach to addressing the pandemic beyond prayer. Of course, he did not have the tools to carry his ideas to fruition, but he left a mark, despite the collapse of the European population. Mysticism won out with obvious loss to humanity.
We do have the tools, but from where I sit, it looks as if mysticism is winning again, the mystical and absurd idea that the release of any radioactive materials anywhere at anytime is a vast tragedy whereas the continuous release of fossil fuel waste, which actively kills people, is acceptable.
In any case, I apologize for the harsh tone of my response, but I'm tired of this notion that "theory" trumps reality.
It doesn't.
In science, if the theory doesn't correspond to reality, the theory is dropped rather than denying the reality.
Have a nice day.
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