A lucid and merciless critique of the misapplication of the concept of sustainability, which is substantially worsening the planet’s equilibrium and increasing inequalities. One of the most popular words in recent years is “sustainability,” but by sticking it everywhere, we have lost sight of its essential meaning: there is no such thing as sustainability without reducing inequalities, distributing wealth more evenly, and bridging the gap between “a world where people die of hunger in one room and waste food in another.” Instead, the green development model that has taken hold, detached from its original roots, has created new divisions, new walls, and new privileges that benefit a small group of lucky people. Antonio Galdo, a journalist and writer specializing in environmental issues, analyzes some key sectors of our society, our economy, and our daily lives—food, electric cars and mobility in general, climate, cities, and artificial intelligence—and, with data in hand, photographs the drift underway under the label of sustainability. A drift, Galdo suggests, that can be stemmed by two factors: our lifestyles and the reconquest of the primacy of politics over techno-finance.

Antonio Galdo is a journalist and a writer, and has worked for leading Italian newspapers and on television with Enzo Biagi, and has produced several radio programs for Radio 2 and Radio 3. Several years ago, he founded and now runs the website nonsprecare.it. He has written books on sustainability, including Non sprecare, Basta poco, L’egoismo è finito (Einaudi 2008, 2011, 2012) and Vivi lieve (Mondadori 2019).