Yeah, we would progress slower. But that’s not the real issue. The real issue is competing with other nations. If the US stops using fossil fuels but China keeps using them, then the US just handicapped itself and China is going to progress faster because of it.
I’m not saying it should be this way, just that it is. And it’s not just ‘the economy.’ It’s the military. Like it or not, nations are at war even when they’re not.