Observations suggest tropical convection intensifies when aerosol concentrations enhance, but quantitative estimations of this effect remain highly uncertain. Leading theories for explaining the intensification are based on the dynamical response of convection to changes in cloud microphysics independently from possible changes in the environment. Here, we provide a new perspective on aerosol indirect effects on tropical convection by using a global convection-permitting model that realistically simulates convection-circulation interaction. Simulations of radiative-convective equilibrium show that pollution facilitates the development of deep convection in a drier environment, but cloud condensates are more likely to be exported from moist clusters to dry areas, impeding the large-scale moisture-convection feedback and limiting the intensity of maximum precipitation (30 vs. 47 mm h\textsuperscript{-1}). Our results emphasize the importance of allowing atmospheric phenomena to evolve continuously across spatial and temporal scales in simulations when investigating the response of tropical convection to changes in cloud microphysics.