I think what has taken a back seat is action. We could have moved to more fuel efficient cars a long time ago (smaller, lighter more aerodynamic cars than we have today). We could have invested more in solar and wind and moved away from coal and oil. We could have built more nuclear power plants. We could have pushed for more video conferencing and less flying. We could have vacations in our own country or continent instead of flying to other continents.

Nothing of this would have required any new major technological advances.

The issue is politicians too afraid to take unpopular decisions. Voters who did not care or did not want any slight sacrifices themselves. Countries focusing more on growth and competing with each other than co-operating.