This week, I struggled to find a topic to write about. Not because I ran out of topic regarding sustainability and environmental challenges in general, but mostly because there is so much out there, and sometimes, even for somebody like me who gets her hands dirty most of time, sustainability does feel overwhelming, just because it is really.
Nevertheless, a commitment to write a weekly blog post is something I want to hold on to, and I finally found what I would write about this week: green growth, aka the way to change so little about our system and feel much better about our ourselves.
Okay, reading this, you might feel that I'm quite harsh. Surely it does make a difference if you buy a t-shirt made out of from organic cotton in the UK rather than its equivalent from Primark? Well, yes, it does. But only to a minor extent.
During my last two masters, I have studied extensively green capitalism and sustainable growth (also called green growth, or any types of growth with sustainable-sounding adjectives in front it: social, different, encompassing ect). Green growth is the belief and concept that fostering economic growth and development can be done whilst ensuring that natural assets (the environment: water, air, land) continue to provide the resources and environmental services on which our well-being relies (water to drink, oxygen to breathe, land to grow stuff for example). This, is the definition by the OECD (Organisation of economic co-operation and development). The brackets are mine of course. The idea is to keep producing a lot of things but not screw the planet as much.
Depending on your opinion, your background, what you do and what you believe in, you might find the idea of green growth either absolutely amazing or terribly flawed. I personally have fluctuated from one side of the spectrum to the other, depending on where I am in my research and what I am doing with my life (yes, #bigtopic).
Considering that I have written more than a 100 pages on the topic in total and within an academic setting, I will try to sum up my opinion on the matter, so you can think as well, and have your own opinion thereafter.
Believe it or not, there are plenty of stuff you can do without a credit card.
POINT #1: The Paradox
Green growth as such is quite paradoxical. Indeed, the idea that we keep consuming as much, without any or so little negative environmental impacts is ludicrous. I mentioned it before, but it's always important to remember: we are going to be 9 billion people in 2050 on this planet. And we're not talking about 9 billion people who want to live within the planet's boundaries. We are talking about an emerging Asian and later, African, middle-class who aspires to live the way Westerners (mostly Northern America and Western Europe) do today: big houses, loads of stuff to put in them, tremendous choice of food, gyms, air conditioning ect. You get the gist.
POINT #2: Slowness
Even if green growth could work, it would not work fast enough. I remind you that 175 parties (out of 193) have signed the Paris Agreement so far which entered into force in 2016 and aims to keep a global temperature rise this century well (their word not mine) below 2 degrees Celsius. I don't want to sound redundant, but the pace we're following at the moment is going to make this hard enough (not to say impossible) so imagine if we kept up with green growth and just accepted that everybody should consume the same way, based on a Western consumption behaviour. #wearedoomed
POINT #3: Greenwashing
Most stakeholders (government, people, businesses, third sector) who support the concept of green growth usually find an opportunity in there, and most of the time, this opportunity is cash. You have all heard of greenwashing. If you haven't, a wee reminder: when a for-profit organisation disseminates inaccurate information to present an environmentally-responsible image and ultimately sell more. A concrete exemple (amongst thousands) of that is H&M's conscious collection. Anyway, green growth is about buying only, buying more, even if it's about buying different. The problem is, we have to buy (and therefore produce) less if we want to stand a chance to contain climate change and all its nice-related matters (climate migrants, loss of biodiversity, extreme weather events, food shortages...).
POINT #4: I buy therefore I am
Green growth does offer interesting solutions, such as different ways to source the materials we need to make stuff, the possibility to create different and alternative markets and to engage with another kind of consumerism. However, the main problem I have with the concept is that, it's nice enough to talk about a different way of consuming, it's another matter to advocate consuming far less. The issue is, consuming less goes against everything that our capitalist, neoliberal, socio-economic and cultural structures dictate us to do. In fact, today, to be is to buy or the other way around. You have to own a lot of material things to be someone, to be important. Bill Gates is much more mentioned in the newspaper than Vandana Shiva (as an example amongst many others). And this (and Bill Gates) is not going to save the planet.
POINT #5: Nothing New
Green growth is not challenging our economic, cultural and social models. It is about bending the deregulated capitalist economy in order to make it a bit more socially-aware and environmentally-friendly. I'm sorry to say, but unfortunately, deregulated (and I insist on deregulated) capitalism cannot go with slower, safer, more aware consumption. Green growth and green consumerism is a way to make us feel better, and it works. I am no stranger to this: I buy recycled toilet paper, I'm trying to buy natural materials when I buy new clothes (rather rare occasions I must admit), I never go to fast-food chains, and all the shit you do when you're trying to "vote with your money". But I mean, come on: you and I know we're not saving the planet.
This article (which inspired my post) gives you a good idea of what to do if you actually want to pay for a better planet: https://qz.com/920561/conscious-consumerism-is-a-lie-heres-a-better-way-to-help-save-the-world/
POINT #6: Do What You Wish
As per usual, I finish my babble by telling you that it is not about judgement or anything of the kind. If you feel like buying ethical clothing or furniture, by all means, go for it. It probably helps someone along the way. My overall point is, really, let's not lie to ourselves thinking we are helping toward a better planet, because we're not. I do think that getting involved in one way or another, by other means than through consumption (volunteering, beach cleaning, flying less, rethinking holidays and leisure time) and mostly, keeping ourselves informed, is much more effective.
So go and be knowledgeable. Believe it or not, there are plenty of stuff you can do without a credit card.