The Kākā Project: The economics of sufficiency

Chris Hipkins and Christopher Luxon believe recycling and owning electric cars will take Aotearoa to net zero. Environmental historian Catherine Knight advocates economics of sufficiency instead

It may feel good to do your recycling and switch to electric cars and renewable energy, but they are not the way out of the climate crisis. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty Images

The Kākā’s climate correspondent

Cathrine Dyer

and

Bernard Hickey

had a chat with environmental historian and author Catherine Knight about why ‘feel good' actions like recycling and owning an electric car are unlikely to be enough to create a transition to zero emissions, let alone a just one.

Knight says comments like those from Christopher Luxon and Chris Hipkins¹ in their firs…