Searching for an exit from highway apocalypse

This study investigates how individuals relate to different future scenarios based on climate change and the green transition of society. The analysis focuses on their ideas of a good life, their lived experiences and emotional responses to anticipated societal and environmental changes. The study is based on qualitative interviews with 28 people active in Sweden’s industrial and forest sectors. Participants were prompted to reflect on the probability and desirability of three possible futures: degrowth, green growth and apocalypse. Respondents, unprompted, recurrently brought up experiences of an accelerating life tempo, often described as stressful and disorienting. Many respondents expressed a longing for a slower, more resonant pace of life, expressing both engagement and resistance in regard to the green transition. However, the respondents’ perceived agency in affecting society to foster the future they prefer was consistently seen as limited. The study suggests that the green transition is not only a technological or economic process but also an affective and existential one. By foregrounding peoples’ voices and ideas about the future, the importance of integrating emotional and experiential dimensions into environmental policy and planning is highlighted.