We stand at a historical conjuncture where new modes of living are required more than ever.
It is increasingly argued, and publicly recognised, that three centuries of fossil fuel-based
industrial expansion have pushed the climate to the very brink of irreversible ecological
catastrophe (Klein, 2014). Over the past three decades especially, carbon emissions
associated with the massive growth of neoliberal capitalism have 'exploded' (Malm, 2016) -
with deleterious effects on the some of the poorest and most vulnerable people on the
planet (Xing-Yin, 2015). Considering the severity and scope of this threat, 'business as
usual' constitutes a dangerous option (IPCC, 2014: vii). It is claimed that the 'imperial mode
of living' is unsustainable (Brand and Wissen, 2013) and that our very survival depends on
finding alternative ways of conducting daily life (Levitas, 2013). Fundamental change -
economic, political, social and moral - is crucial.
Despite the ever-increasing urgency of demands for major societal transformation, fossil fuel
combustion remains central to the continued functioning of contemporary societies. We
continue to rely upon this energy source for 'virtually every productive and reproductive
process' (Harman, 2009) and the requirements of capital accumulation on this basis are
prioritised regardless of ecological impact (Burkett, 1999). Given the multi-faceted aspects
of the fossil-fuel complex and its centrality to accumulation, many mutually reinforcing
constraints make it hard to envisage how urgent change can be achieved.