Het staat inmiddels als een paal boven water: willen we écht werk maken van een leefbare toekomst, dan moeten we de manier waarop wij met onze spullen omgaan fundamenteel veranderen. Maar hoe gaat het ons lukken om die omslag met elkaar te maken? En is het eigenlijk wel economisch haalbaar? Over die vragen praten we tijdens de karavaanstop in Haarlem!
Policymakers won’t abandon the mantra of economic growth unless a strong social movement forces them to do so, according to international relations expert Jesús Núñez and energy and climate researcher Alfons Pérez. In this conversation, they also spell out what post-growth would mean for the European Union’s standing in the world. “In the short term, you lose relevance.”
The degrowth movement is rapidly gaining popularity in Europe. It advocates renouncing economic growth. But without growth, can we still stand up for our values and interests on the world stage? Yes, says sustainability expert Gaya Herrington. A European Union that seeks well-being rather than growth will be in a better position when ecology takes revenge on the economy. But it must invest in defence and diplomacy.
A post-growth European Union would do well not to relinquish its technological edge over China, we can learn from this article by East Asia expert Casper Wits. The leverage that technology provides is an essential part of an EU strategy on China aimed at decreasing the likelihood of both climate breakdown and war.
Can a European Union that is the first to renounce economic growth still be a global player? In a webinar, we explored the tensions and synergies between post-growth and geopolitics. Watch the video.
Gaya Herrington, Jesús Núñez and Richard Wouters discussed whether ecological and geopolitical security can be reconciled, at the launch of the Spanish version of the Green European Foundation's report on the geopolitics of post-growth. Watch the video.
A European Union that renounces the economic growth dogma could more easily reduce its dependence on energy and materials from Russia and China, thus gaining resilience. Reducing its security dependence on the United States, however, is a tougher nut to crack for a post-growth EU.
In the European Union, we need to move beyond growth, but we must be careful not to impose any particular model of development on the Global South. On 30 August, Richard Wouters participated in the plenary session 'Geopolitics of Degrowth', hosted by the Green European Foundation, at the 9th International Degrowth Conference in Zagreb. Read his opening statement and watch the video of the session.
De kans is groot dat Europa moet gaan slijmen bij de ene autocraat, Trump, om zich de andere, Poetin, van het lijf te houden. Geen vrolijk vooruitzicht.
As the Hungarian government continues to receive criticism for its undemocratic 'reforms', one of the co-founders of the Hungarian sister party of the GreenLeft, LMP, Kristóf Szombati discusses whether they mark a return of nationalist ideology to Europe.