ABSTRACT
A primary reason to consider degrowth as a response to the climate and biodiversity crises is the mounting evidence illustrating that other proposed solutions will either be insufficient or too risky and therefore represent “false solutions.” While some current solutions do indeed offer positive contributions, they remain insufficient because the economic growth imperative undermines their potential. The call to “go green” usually implies changing our lifestyle and everyday routines to address environmental problems, including switching to energy-efficient lightbulbs, weatherproofing homes, driving less or buying a hybrid car, carpooling, taking shorter showers, and buying “greener” products. Because of its ubiquity in climate policy, it may strike the reader as strange to label improving energy efficiency (energy use per dollar) and carbon efficiency (emissions per dollar) as “false solutions.”.
