Résumé: "Upfront carbon" refers to all emissions involved in making your car, your home, or any other item. These invisible embodied carbon emissions matter a lot. As we weed out fossils fuels and incorporate more renewables into our energy supply, upfront carbon becomes increasingly dominant compared to operating emissions, yet it is often ignored.


By focusing on consumption rather than production, The Story of Upfront Carbon covers:


Why we are fixated on energy efficiency, not carbon, and why this needs to change

Why carbon calculations are so fiendishly difficult

How the simple idea of sufficiency for individuals and whole economies is a powerful strategy to avert looming climate catastrophe

How big-picture thinking and a systemic approach to production can help guide the transition to degrowth and an equitable, zero-carbon society.


Leavened with wit and packed with concrete strategies for minimizing the ecological footprint of transportation, agriculture, consumer goods, the built environment, and more, this highly readable and accessible guide is required reading for a world on the brink.