I don’t know the future. But I do know that IF we arrive at a post-growth, (significantly) lower carbon future, there are certain bottlenecks we will first have to pass through. The conventional stories on how lower emissions will arrive: better tech, more renewables, public recognition of existential climate risk – viewed from the perspective of the energy hungry superorganism that is the global economic system – will not work – they will result in larger not smaller environmental impact – though we should consider this scenario- what I call 'The Mordor Economy' - as the default trajectory.