As someone who has been active in climate for a few years and a concerned citizen even longer, I have routinely been frustrated by the narrative around tackling climate change. We’re supposed to believe that we can either have a strong economy with good jobs or we can act on climate, but not both. It seems so intuitive.

But it’s wrong. Sometimes we are told stories that cloud our intuition. And while we take the time to unlearn what we were led to believe, a lot of damage can happen.

It used to be common practice to view quality control as a cost in the United States. After the advent of mass production, American industry had focused on getting material through production lines as cheaply as possible. But in the 1980s, we had to learn the hard way how wrong that was. Japanese industry understood that it is not the cost of the final product, but the total cost, including the repairs, returns and damage to brand that poor quality control created. American industry had to unlearn what seemed intuitive and relearn what the craftsman always knew – pride of product paid.

We have finally come to this place on climate. It is dawning upon us all that the scientists on climate are not “crying wolf” but warning us of a legitimate threat ready to devour our future. They’re warning not dealing with climate is a grave risk to our future safety and our future business. Corporate boards across the world are starting to legitimately price climate risk into their actions.

But that still misses the bigger picture. Climate-investment pays now. This isn’t something to watch for in the future, but something that makes money in the present. Companies that act on climate make money through increased efficiency, through happier and more productive employees, and through an engaged customer base. That is why we created Aclymate – to help small businesses become climate leaders so they can both improve the climate and their bottom line. If you’d like to learn more, please visit us at Aclymate.com.

The thing is this: investing in climate is not just a business problem. It pays for countries to invest in climate, too! As a veteran with years of service to the United States, I want to see my country win the race for the future. Always. So, it pains me to see some of our politicians fail to seize the opportunity ahead of us. Simple physics will force us to change and those who deny it are so unserious that they should be excluded from the conversation.

We cannot let world events, painful as they may be, drive us to make short-term changes that lead us back into our previous thinking. We cannot drill our way out of the problem, but we can invest into a more resilient, independent electricity grid, domestic EV production, energy efficiency and nature-based and technology-enabled carbon-capture solutions. These aren’t costs. They’re an opportunity to win the future. And we cannot afford to do otherwise.

The time for investing in climate is now. For individuals, for businesses, and for America. Let us learn the right lesson.

Mike Smith is the cofounder/CEO of Denver-based Aclymate, a member of GBC, and developer of the largest carbon reforestation project in the United States, the 2M trees Collins-Modoc project in northern California.