Degrowth as climate policy: From GDP to consumption reduction

This paper explores the contribution of degrowth thinking to achieving emissions reductions. It begins by rejecting the claim that falling GDP is an inevitable consequence of successful climate policy. The weaker claim, that slower growth in GDP makes emissions reductions easier to achieve, is also rejected. Degrowth is contrasted with Green New Deal thinking, showing that a distinctive contribution of degrowth to climate policy is its support for consumption reduction policies for Greenhouse Gas (GHG)-intensive goods and services. The decoupling debate frames disagreement between degrowth supporters and critics as disagreement about the means, not the ends, of climate policy. But it is argued here that degrowth thinking also supports a distinctive, more radical framing of climate policy ends. From this perspective, stringent consumption reduction policies can be justified, with a focus on rationing rather than market-based allocations, in order to ensure a fair distribution of scarce GHG-intensive goods and services. The argument of this paper is less a critique of degrowth, more a plea for reorientation.