[KevinEldon]

Germany had a Total War economy in WW2. North Korea has one today. The Russian Revolution might not be considered 'Total War', but was single-minded in its focus similar to what you're suggesting. None of these economies worked out well for their citizens. Even the US economy/society during WW2 was more than victory gardens and war bonds; personal freedoms were limited, there were interment camps, forced enlistment, war profiteering, and propaganda (along with the hundreds of thousands of deaths).

[adrianN]

My point is that Americans were willing to pay that price even though the actual threat of Nazi Germany was not even in the same ballpark as the threat posed by climate change. I'm also reasonably sure that the switch away from fossil fuels can be done without hundreds of thousands dead.