Is it possible to build an advanced zero-carbon civilization?
By Julian Scaff
If we all buy electric cars and solar panels, recycle our plastics and buy organic foods, we can beat the climate crisis without suffering any changes in lifestyle. Except, this is a lie. Solving the climate crisis and saving the world is far more difficult and complex than most of us think. Is it even possible to build an advanced, technological civilization that doesn’t destroy the planet? Can we design a world that is both sustainable and free from preventable human suffering? We’re running out of time to answer these questions.
The critical task of transitioning to a zero-carbon civilization while fostering a sustainable and equitable economic model presents a formidable set of challenges. This essay explores the intricacies and difficulties associated with designing and building a zero-carbon civilization framed within Kate Raworth’s Doughnut Economy model. The goal of this model is to highlight the balance required to meet human needs without exceeding the Earth’s ecological boundaries. This balance ensures that efforts to build a sustainable future do not inadvertently exacerbate climate and ecological crises.
If we fail to transition to a zero-carbon civilization within the framework of the Doughnut Economy, we are on a trajectory toward ecological collapse and potential extinction. Our current economic models prioritize growth at the expense of environmental health. They are rapidly pushing the Earth beyond its ecological limits, evidenced by escalating climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. These environmental crises threaten the natural systems that sustain life and the foundations of human society, including our food supply, water resources, and the stability of habitable climates. Without a shift to an economic model that balances human needs with the Earth’s ecological capacity — such as the Doughnut Economy proposes — we risk widespread social upheaval, severe economic dislocation, and a planet irreversibly damaged, incapable of supporting future generations. The path we are on not only forebodes severe human suffering but potentially heralds the extinction of countless species, including humans.
The initial phase of establishing a zero-carbon civilization involves dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This endeavor entails phasing out fossil fuel-based energy systems and transitioning to renewable energy sources like solar, wind, and hydroelectric power. Technological innovations, such as advancements in battery storage, carbon capture, and alternative fuels like green hydrogen, are pivotal. However, the paradox lies in the initial requirement of significant energy and resources — mostly from carbon-emitting sources — to build these green technologies. If we are not careful, we could burn so much fossil fuel to build new systems that we push the climate past tipping points before achieving true sustainability. We must build a green economy using the minimum of fossil fuel resources. Indeed, we must do everything we can to ensure that as much oil, natural gas, and coal stays in the ground as possible.
Strategies such as prioritizing energy efficiency, developing green supply chains, and producing renewable energy equipment using renewable sources are vital to mitigating this transition’s carbon footprint. However, the practical implementation of these measures involves substantial economic restructuring and widespread behavioral changes.
The most significant challenge is giving up systems we rely on that are inherently unsustainable. For example, swapping gasoline-powered cars for electric cars will not make transportation zero carbon. The materials and energy for manufacturing and maintaining cars, batteries, roads, street lights, electricity generation and distribution, and urban sprawl carry untenable carbon footprints. Private car ownership is untenable and must be abandoned for more efficient and sustainable modes of transportation, meaning we must radically redesign all our towns and cities.
Another example is with our carbon-intensive food systems. We must face the uncomfortable fact that we must reduce animal meat consumption, particularly high-carbon animals such as cows and pigs. We must stop shipping foods needlessly worldwide and rely upon more local and regional food supplies. Globalization must be massively scaled back or eliminated in terms of shipping energy and materials at significant environmental and economic costs. This means redesigning our products, jobs, homes, cities, infrastructure, and nearly every way of modern life. It is no small task.
Global economic systems are predominantly extractive, operating under the unsustainable myth of infinite growth on a planet with finite resources. This growth-obsessed paradigm drives relentless resource extraction and environmental degradation, disregarding the ecological limits that sustain life. As natural resources dwindle and ecosystems falter, these systems set themselves up for inevitable collapse. The persistent pursuit of economic expansion fails to account for the environmental and social costs, leading to a critical imbalance that threatens global stability and well-being. Such a model, inherently flawed by its disregard for ecological boundaries, is doomed to fail, as it cannot maintain its foundational structure against the depleting natural capital it relies upon.
The Doughnut Economy model offers a visionary framework that encapsulates the dual objectives of staying within ecological limits while ensuring social equity. Its implementation requires reimagining economic structures to prioritize human well-being and environmental sustainability over traditional growth metrics. The inner ring of the Doughnut represents essential human needs that must be met for a dignified life. In contrast, the outer ring marks ecological ceilings that should not be breached to prevent environmental collapse.
Achieving this balance demands a regenerative economic approach to reducing emissions and enhancing the Earth’s capacity to absorb carbon through reforestation and soil regeneration. Moreover, it necessitates distributed prosperity, ensuring that resources and opportunities are equitably shared, thus addressing global inequalities that could hinder collective efforts towards sustainability.
The ambitious integration of a zero-carbon goal with the Doughnut Economy is fraught with systemic challenges that cut across three domains. First, the need for global cooperation and political will cannot be overstated. International agreements must be ambitious, enforceable, and equitable. The international agreements around the climate crisis have fallen short in every regard, and we are still a long way from meaningful international action. More sustained grassroots action by citizens is needed to push political leaders to act.
Second, economic incentives must be realigned to support sustainable practices. This includes phasing out subsidies for fossil fuels, massively reducing energy usage, and rapidly de-globalizing and re-localizing supply chains. Developing metrics that replace GDP to measure well-being and ecological health accurately is essential for tracking progress and making informed policy decisions. In the near term, these changes seem improbable, as the industries at the center of the climate crisis hold too much political power over public policy. It will likely require multiple system shocks and disasters to disrupt this political power.
Third, cultural shifts are equally critical. Consumer behavior must evolve towards sustainability, and lifestyle changes such as massively reducing or eliminating private car ownership and single-use plastics need to be widely accepted. We must collectively learn to use less materials and energy in everything. The zero-carbon lifestyle is slower, more local, and more social.
For Americans, the needed changes are particularly challenging because of unsustainable but deeply rooted cultural beliefs about car culture, meat consumption (particularly around quintessential American foods such as hamburgers and hot dogs), and extreme individualism taking precedence over the good of society. For many, the transition to a zero-carbon culture will feel like an assault on their national identity.
The journey towards a zero-carbon civilization within the confines of the Doughnut Economy is thus complex and fraught with challenges. It requires a holistic transformation of energy systems, economic structures, and societal norms. Despite these challenges, the urgency of the climate crisis and the dire consequences of inaction necessitate ambitious efforts to redesign our economic models and lifestyles. While the task is daunting, the evolving global consensus on climate action and sustainability provides a foundation to pursue these ambitious goals. Achieving a sustainable balance will be challenging, but it is essential for the survival and flourishing of humanity on a healthy planet. While international political systems, economic policymakers, and most citizens are not ready to make the necessary shifts, increasing pressures from climate disasters and shifting cultural attitudes of younger generations foreshadow tipping points of significant action in the next decade. Let’s hope it’s not too late.
