In recent years, a divide has opened up on the Left over climate change and degrowth. In the “degrowth” camp, economic growth is seen as incompatible with a sustainable future on a planet with finite resources. Against this perspective, an increasing number of activists and intellectuals have united under the banner of “eco-modernism,” arguing that growth — powered by state-led economic planning — is indispensable to achieving a socially just transition.

One of the leading proponents of this view is the writer and journalist Leigh Phillips, whose book Austerity Ecology helped set the terms of the debate seven years ago. Jonas Elvander, an editor at the Swedish left-wing magazine Flamman, recently spoke to Phillips about why he opposes degrowth and how the Left should think about fighting climate change.