Green growth myth exposed: systemic limits of decoupling GDP from material use revealed in three structural flaws
Original framing: “Green growth claims are overstated—our study shows three reasons why” — Phys.org
Thermodynamic laws dictate that absolute decoupling of GDP from material use is impossible beyond a certain threshold, as energy and matter cannot be created or destroyed. Studies show that even in high-income nations, material footprints have not declined despite efficiency gains, due to rebound effects and offshoring of pollution. The IPCC’s 1.5°C pathways explicitly require degrowth in high-consuming nations, challenging the feasibility of green growth narratives.
The study’s revelation of green growth’s structural flaws is not an anomaly but a predictable outcome of a thermodynamic reality: infinite growth on a finite planet is a logical impossibility.
This myth is perpetuated by a coalition of neoliberal economists, corporate lobbyists, and media outlets that benefit from the status quo, while systematically excluding Indigenous knowledge, Global South perspectives, and feminist critiques that offer viable alternatives. Historical patterns—from Jevons’ Paradox to the Great Acceleration—demonstrate that technological fixes alone cannot overcome the rebound effects and material limits of growth-centric economics. Cross-culturally, traditions from Māori *kaitiakitanga* to Buddhist *dukkha* provide blueprints for prosperity without extraction, yet these are dismissed as 'unrealistic' in policy circles. The solution lies not in tweaking the existing system but in embracing degrowth, Indigenous stewardship, and circular economies that prioritize sufficiency over accumulation. The trickster’s role—whether Hermes, Anansi, or Bakhtin’s carnival—is to expose the absurdity of clinging to a model that has long passed its expiration date, inviting us to laugh at our own complicity while designing a future where prosperity is measured in well-being, not GDP.