In this dissertation, I establish a theoretical and empirical critique of modern forms of environmentally sustainable technology. Theoretically, I critique the application of environmentally sustainable technologies in modern capitalist economies using the treadmill of production theory and metabolic rift theory. I also expand on these theories by developing an analytical concept – the displacement paradox. The displacement paradox refers to a counterintuitive phenomenon, where green technologies expand rather displace traditional production processes. Empirically, I assess the assumptions of the displacement paradox by analyzing the relationship between organic farming and agrochemical application, organic farming and greenhouse gas emissions, organic farming and water pollution, and alternatively fueled vehicles and total fuel consumption per vehicle. In each of these cases, I find that green technology (in the form of organic farming and alternatively fueled vehicles) is not displacing traditional production processes, and instead expanding alongside them. I argue that these findings are a result of the broader socioeconomic structure that green technology is produced under. Specifically, I contend that because current socioeconomic systems are established around traditional production processes, to substantially reduce environmental degradation, green technologies must operate as a social and technological counterforce to traditional production processes. Currently, the green technologies explored in this dissertation act as a technological alternatives to traditional production processes, making them commodities that sustain the current structure of social relations, as opposed to social and technological counterforces to environmentally hazardous forms of production. I conclude that in order for green technologies to successfully reduce environmental degradation, they must be established under social conditions that support their use over traditional production processes.

As the consequences of climate change is increasing the need of replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy globally is becoming more urgent. A central question that has been questioned in the literature is that if the world is on track on a transition away from fossil fuels or if we are only adding renewable energy to the energy mix in a world that continues to grow and consume more energy. Because of the above mentioned, this thesis aims to investigate if the increased generation of electricity from renewable sources are displacing the generation of electricity from fossil fuels. This is tested using a time and country fixed effects model including 176 countries with yearly observations from 2000 to 2020. The result from the regression showed that one additional kWh electricity generated from renewable sources has not statistically managed to displace one kWh of electricity generated from fossil fuels, net of controls. Previous studies using a similar methodology but on older time frames has shown result were almost no displacement has occurred when renewable sources have been added. The result from this thesis should not be interpreted as that the transition is not going to happen since it might be that the global initiatives taken around the globe to make the transition happenis not get visible in the numbers used in thesis, but the result does on the other hand indicate that several economic, political, and social factors has made the transition to renewables difficult, and that we should not assume that renewable energy will replace fossil fuels for electricity generation without policy measures that supports the transition.