The Green New Deal
Why the Fossil Fuel Civilization Will Collapse by 2028, and the Bold Economic Plan to Save Life on Earth
What's it about
Are you worried about the climate crisis but feel overwhelmed by the scale of the problem? Discover a bold, actionable plan that argues we can transition to a green economy faster than you think, creating millions of jobs and saving the planet in the process. This summary unpacks Jeremy Rifkin’s groundbreaking vision for a post-carbon future. You'll learn why the fossil fuel industry is on the verge of a rapid collapse and how we can leverage new technologies and economic models to build a sustainable and prosperous civilization before it's too late.
Meet the author
Jeremy Rifkin is an economic and social theorist who has served as an advisor to the European Union, the People's Republic of China, and numerous heads of state. His extensive work with global leaders on sustainable economic transitions provides the foundation for his urgent analysis of our fossil fuel civilization. For decades, Rifkin has been at the forefront of policy and economic planning, uniquely positioning him to architect the bold, actionable plan required to navigate the coming industrial revolution and secure a livable future on Earth.
Opens the App Store to download Voxbrief
The Script
The average age of U.S. electrical transmission lines is over 40 years, with 25% of the grid being 50 years or older. Meanwhile, a staggering 99.8% of the power generated by renewable sources like solar and wind never reaches the grid; it’s lost due to the intermittent nature of its production and a lack of storage capacity. This is a fundamental disconnect between a 21st-century energy source and a 20th-century delivery system. The cost of this inefficiency is measured in the estimated 1,200 gigawatts of wind and solar projects currently stalled in interconnection queues across the United States—enough energy to more than double the country's current electricity generation capacity.
This colossal mismatch between potential and reality is precisely what Jeremy Rifkin has spent his career analyzing. As an economic and social theorist who has advised both the European Union and the People's Republic of China on their own large-scale infrastructure and sustainability plans, he saw the urgent need for a cohesive vision for the United States. Rifkin wrote "The Green New Deal" as a pragmatic economic blueprint. He argues that the convergence of new communication, energy, and transportation technologies is creating the foundation for a Third Industrial Revolution, and this book outlines the necessary steps to build the smart, decentralized infrastructure required to unlock its potential.
Module 1: The Great Disruption and the Carbon Bubble
The global economy is entering a period Rifkin calls the "Great Disruption." This is a rapid and chaotic decoupling of economic growth from fossil fuel consumption. For decades, progress meant burning more coal, oil, and gas. That era is ending.
The core driver is simple economics. The cost of renewable energy has fallen so dramatically that it now outcompetes fossil fuels. The levelized cost of energy, which is the total lifetime cost to build and run a power plant, for new solar and wind projects is now lower than even the most efficient new gas or coal plants. This is a fundamental market reality that is triggering a cascade of consequences.
This price inversion creates what Rifkin terms the "carbon bubble." Think of it like the dot-com bubble or the 2008 housing crisis. There are trillions of dollars invested in fossil fuel reserves, pipelines, and power plants. These are assets on the books of major corporations and investment funds. But if it's cheaper to build new solar farms than to keep running an old coal plant, those assets become liabilities. They become "stranded."
So what happens next? Financial institutions are starting to wake up to this risk. Mark Carney, the former Governor of the Bank of England, warned that investors face "potentially huge" losses from fossil fuel reserves that will become unburnable. Citigroup projected a staggering $100 trillion in stranded assets if global climate targets are met. As a result, a historic divestment from fossil fuels and reinvestment into green energy is beginning. Over a thousand institutions, including massive global pension funds, have already committed to shifting trillions of dollars. This is about fiduciary duty and avoiding catastrophic financial losses. The stampede away from carbon has already begun.