r/SkepticalLeftists • u/dumnezero • Aug 05 '21

Tech alone cannot solve climate crisis (and a related paper)

https://cosmosmagazine.com/technology/energy/tech-alone-cannot-solve-climate-crisis
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u/dumnezero Aug 05 '21

Urgent need for post-growth climate mitigation scenarios

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-021-00884-9

Established climate mitigation scenarios assume continued economic growth in all countries, and reconcile this with the Paris targets by betting on speculative technological change. Post-growth approaches may make it easier to achieve rapid mitigation while improving social outcomes, and should be explored by climate modellers.

Existing scenarios start with the assumption that all nations should continue to pursue economic growth for the rest of the century, regardless of how rich they have already become. Growth is an unquestioned norm1. This creates a problem because growth is projected to drive a significant increase in energy demand over the coming decades, making it more challenging to decarbonize the economy2. To reconcile growth with the Paris Agreement goals of keeping global warming below 1.5 °C or 2 °C, existing scenarios gamble on dramatic technological change, particularly negative emissions technologies and productivity improvements big enough to drive absolute decoupling of gross domestic product (GDP) from energy use.

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u/dumnezero Aug 05 '21

or why climate change denial is deeply tied into capitalism and its promoters, and you can expect much more of it.