ABSTRACT
This chapter centres on two problems. First, a schizophrenic problem – the inherent contradictions of current policy responses (Sustainable Development Goals, decoupling, ‘green growth’ etc.) to the environmental crisis. Second, lock-in problems – if, for example, consumption declines there are implications for places dependent on producing the goods currently consumed. It recognises that transition is difficult, particularly for sectors like agriculture, but also argues that populations need to take more responsibility for consumption patterns. In this context, agglomeration and the ‘friction of distance’ model are explored: the primacy given to financialisation, commoditisation, and the externalisation of costs. It suggests that there is a need to reassess the organising principle of globalisation as, although it does not rule out global trade, it concludes that we need to move away from the notion of resource extraction and a carbon-based economy.
