We’re already in a period of prolonged stagnation. It’s time to accept new economic – and ecological – realities.

New Statesman

Does the world need green growth or degrowth?

The idea that we need to transform the economic system in order to avoid environmental catastrophe is growing in popularity. The degrowth movement is currently the most prominent movement for post-capitalist economics, and it is true that getting past the imperative for economic growth is an important element of the needed economic transformation. 

Resilience

Cosmolocalism: the key to our economic transformation

Degrowth isn’t the same as a recession – it’s an alternative to growing the economy forever



Qrius

Are the UK and Germany in recession or is this the age of ‘degrowth’?

The UK economy unexpectedly shrank by 0.3% in March, according to the Office of National Statistics. And though the country is likely to narrowly avoid an official recession in 2023, just as it did the previous year, the economy is projected to hit the worst growth rates since the Great Depression, and the worst in the G7.

The Conversation

Degrowth isn’t the same as a recession – it’s an alternative to growing the economy forever

What’s your immediate reaction when you hear the term ‘degrowth’? If it’s to instantly dismiss it as nonsense or wishful thinking, it’s worth suspending your disbelief as, chances are, what you’ve heard about it isn’t fair or accurate.

Are you preparing for degrowth? And if not, why not?

WHEN ECONOMIC ACTIVITY PLUMMETED across the globe in 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic presaged how the world might experience climate-induced shocks to economic life.

The Baffler

Degrowing Pains

Just as the machine-smashing Luddites of the 19th century were wrong about the consequences of technical progress for jobs, so may be the champions of the more recent theory of “degrowth.”

The Washington Post

Want to Save the Planet? Re-Industrialize

The green transition is reshaping our societies, our economies and the international system. More than a break with extraction and growth, so far it looks like different version of the same pathway that is straining the planet's limits.

EU Observer

Degrowth needs a strong geopolitical and geo-economic proposition'

As Europe embraces clean energy to fight climate change, a leading ecological economist argues for going beyond “green growth”.

ScienceBlog

Once Unthinkable, The Prospect Of Society Driven By Wellbeing Gains Traction

Challengers raised points that merit responses. Mine lead to one answer: degrowth.

The Tyee

I Warned Against the Green Energy ‘Boom.’ It Sparked Debate

The list of misleading environmental and sustainable descriptors used to market shirts, dresses, pants and T-shirts is unfortunately very long. Last week, experts decoded terms such as carbon neutral, circular, organic, regenerative, sustainable and zero waste.

The Guardian

 Fashion greenwashing glossary part II: what do ‘biodegradable’, ‘closed loop’ and ‘degrowth’ really mean?

There is only one alternative to the mental model of permanent growth, and that is degrowth, also known as energy descent, post-growth, sufficiency, the great contraction, the great simplification, the great unraveling, or living within planetary boundaries.

It’s getting to look a lot like degrowth: Part 2

Despite unprecedented commitments on loss and damage and to a reform of international finance at the recent climate change conference, or COP 27, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, a key conversation was missing: degrowth.

Devex

The 'degrowth' economic model is key to fight climate change

In its March report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stated that there is a “rapidly closing window of opportunity” to secure a livable and sustainable future for all. To achieve this and to prevent a catastrophic “hothouse earth” scenario of extreme warming and sea-level rise, “rapid and far-reaching transitions across all sectors and systems are necessary,” the report said.

World Politics Review

‘Green Growth’ Won’t Prevent Climate Collapse. ‘Degrowth’ Might

When people of Alex Boyd’s stature speak of energy transition without promoting degrowth, they fail to acknowledge the urgency of the climate crisis. The more we talk about renewables only, the more we covertly support the mindset of continuing consumption and waste, and thus instead of solving the problem, merely prolong it. 

Gisborne Herald

Degrowth required as well for sustainability

The left had managed to narrowly pass them through amendments in the morning, against the advice of the government. But the National Assembly finally rejected Thursday, April 6 afternoon, measures to block food prices and a “inflation basket”.

Globe Echo

Anti-Inflation Measures: The Price Freeze Is Debated In The Assembly, Before The Rejection Of A Text

PTo meet its greenhouse gas emissions reduction target (−55% by 2030 compared to 1990, net zero emissions in 2050), theEuropean Union must double its annual effort over the next ten years, compared to the 2005-2019 period.

We Must “Decarbonize Economic Activity Rather Than Reduce It”

In ‘Marx in the Anthropocene,’ author Kohei Saito examines the environmentalism of Marx and Engels, drawing on their extensive collection of unpublished works.

Scroll.in

Could a reimagined version of Marxism offer solutions to the current environmental crisis?

An author should be pleased to see his thesis bolstered by events. Yet since writing The Coming of Neo-Feudalism in 2020, I have not found any joy in the continued growth of the West’s class divides, as wealth becomes increasingly concentrated in ever fewer hands.

FCPP

A Neo-Feudal War on the People

The degrowth movement is on the ascent, and Marxists are joining the debate, spurred by Kohei Saito's best-selling book on "degrowth communism".

The Ecologist

Degrowth in the age of the climate emergency

Degrowth | Research

As consultations continue on development of a National Health and Climate Strategy, it is important to think beyond health services and systems. The Department of Health and Aged Care’s consultation paper has a gaping hole where there should be some serious discussion about phasing out fossil fuels, as we reported recently.

Croakey Health Media

On climate change and health, we have more than one elephant in the room

As political leaders gather for a second conference at the European Parliament on how to move “beyond growth”, we, the undersigned academics and civil society organisations, see the geopolitical crisis as an opportunity to disengage from the socially and ecologically harmful growth competition and instead embrace a wellbeing cooperation.

Post-growth Europe: 400+ experts call for wellbeing economy

The popular theory acknowledges the waste and inequality built into capitalism—and demands radical change. But, says Sophie Squire, some advocates think that we can rid ourselves of the worst aspects of the system without overthrowing it


Socialist Worker

Degrowth — can it save the planet?

As humanity continues to grapple with the growing impact of climate change, many are questioning the traditional economic model of perpetual growth. Increasingly, experts and thought leaders are discussing an alternative approach — a radical and groundbreaking concept that challenges us to reevaluate our priorities. 


Shout Out UK

Beyond Growth: A New Path for a Sustainable Future

This episode of Hub Dialogues features host Sean Speer in conversation with Jason Crawford, founder of the U.S.-based non-profit organization Roots of Progress, about human progress, why it has slowed, and how a new philosophy of progress can help to accelerate it.

the hub

Make the future bright again: Jason Crawford on building a new philosophy of progress

ONE issue which unites a large part of contemporary Scottish politics – namely sections of the SNP, Labour, Tories, Lib Dems, the political commentariat, media and business – is a near-universal disdain, bordering on contempt, for the Scottish Greens and wider green ideas.

The National News

Scottish Greens ignite rage from Fergus Ewing and Alex Massie

As an Australian, it troubles me that if the whole world lived like us, we would need 4.5 planet Earths. 

How Does Degrowth Apply to Our Minds?

According to the latest report of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the world is likely to fail to reach its most ambitious climate target – limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above the preindustrial temperatures. The report warns that now is our last chance to avert a climate disaster.

The Daily Star

Collaboration is in our collective interest

A YOUNG environmentalist who spearheaded the ‘Fridays for Future’ climate action initiative in Limerick has been appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General to an international advisory group on climate change.

Limerick Post

Limerick student appointed to UN climate change advisory group

Professor Jason Hickel, a leading advocate of “degrowth“, recently confronted the Dutch House of Representatives with the myth of green growth. Economic growth always turns out to cause more energy and resource consumption. 

Innovation Origins

A plea for degrowth in Dutch parliament

World trade hit a record $32 trillion in 2022, but growth turned negative in the last half of the year. Environmentally friendly products defied the trend.

UNCTAD

Global trade slows, but ‘green goods’ grow

In the 20th century, the pursuit of economic growth became central to political decision-making. As the environmental consequences of this obsession have become increasingly clear, ideas of ‘green growth’ and ‘degrowth’ have emerged as ways of re-organizing economies to try to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change.

London Review of Books

Green Growth and Degrowth

The creators of a new climate change curriculum want to help their teacher colleagues overcome personal fears about the planet’s future and learn how to educate students on the subject in a way that empowers them to take action.

Penticton Herald

Planting hope for the future

Expert from Sustainable Systems Research Institute explains the concept of degrowth from the perspective of Ecological Economics.

Pachamama TV

The Imperative Path towards Degrowth from the Perspective of Ecological Economics

The Center for Global Development (CGD), a think tank with former US Secretary of the Treasury Lawrence Summers as head of their Board of Directors, announced that “we may have reached Peak Progress.”

Counter Punch

Degrowth or Debunk: Do Degrowth proponents have a strategy?

Degrowth | Advocacy

Tax extreme wealth to pay for the climate-related damage to the poorest, a group of more than 100 leading economists have urged

A wealth tax could help poorer countries tackle climate crisis, economists say

Instead of relying on GDP to measure nations’ prosperity, the Beyond Growth approach prioritises human well-being and ecological sustainability. Could this emerging paradigm revolutionise our understanding of progress and help steer us towards a more sustainable and equitable future?

Fair Planet

Beyond Growth: a New Vision of Progress for a Sustainable Future

We live on a finite planet. One with a fixed number of square metres of land, and with a fixed number of tons of copper and lithium and oil and all other resources. We have only so much room to move and only so much stuff to feed into our economic activity.

Stuff

We need an economy that doesn't choke the Earth

In the fifth of six monthly conversations, three experts ask: can the way nations spend money help bring about the change needed to cool the Earth?


News Decoder

Rethinking the economy for the planet

Just as the architects of our current economic system designed the system around perpetual growth, we can redesign the economy around delivering wellbeing to all, within planetary limits

Newsroom

The perpetual myth of perpetual growth

Prepare for a people’s revolution against policies that will abolish choice and impoverish millions.

The Telegraph

Net zero is a Trojan horse for the total destruction of Western society

The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently published their annual report on the state of global warming and mitigation efforts. Unsurprisingly, the media has leaped to doomsday scenarios, describing it as a “dire warning about humanity’s future” and claiming “time is running out” to combat climate change and its impacts.

Real Clear Energy

New IPCC Report Should Inspire Hope, Not Panic

Short term the Government has to be focused on deflationary spending, mid term economically we need radical climate change adaptation, long term they need to start navigating  a post growth economy.

The Daily Blog

New Zealand is falling to pieces, we need a radical rethink of our neoliberal experiment

Scotland's first Festival of Economics begins today in Dundee.

Over the next three days, it will bring together leading global economists, lecturers, politicians, authors, commentators and activists to share art, comedy, music, with economics.

Yahoo News

Scotland's first Festival of Economics kicks off in Dundee

Fashion is one of the biggest industries in the world, generating around US$2.5 trillion in annual sales. It is also thought to be responsible for a sizeable 10 per cent of annual global carbon emissions – more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined, according to a McKinsey report.

South China Morning Post

If chasing GDP and consumption is bad for the climate, what are the alternative economic models?

Scientists have delivered a ‘final warning’ on the climate crisis, as rising greenhouse gas emissions push the world to the brink of irrevocable damage that only swift and drastic action can avert. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), made up of the world’s leading climate scientists, set out the final part of its mammoth sixth assessment report on Monday.

IPCC gives us our final warning on climate change – it’s time to be honest about what we face

Billion-dollar disaster was the term used to describe the climate breakdown that rocked our world last year. Floods in Pakistan droughts in China and Europe and tropical cyclones in other parts of Asia and America. India in the month of October last year experienced extreme weather events on 30 out of 31 days according to India’s Atlas on the Weather.

Countercurrents

Linking Climate Action to Decolonization and Degrowth

Biden's budget. On Thursday, President Joe Biden released a $6.8 trillion budget plan for 2024 that he says will cut deficits by $2.9 trillion over the next decade, increase military funding, raise taxes on the wealthy and corporations, and pay for Medicare and Social Security without any major cuts or reforms to the programs.

Tangle News

Biden proposes a new budget

Degrowth | Finance

Smith argues that “perhaps only degrowth can save us” from ecological catastrophe.1 It won’t. Degrowth will make the ecological crisis worse. It is ecological iatrogenics2 or, if you will, economic quackery.



The BMJ

No, degrowth won’t save us

A recent survey of climate-policy researchers finds the field aligning around ‘agrowth’ and ‘degrowth’ approaches

National Review

Climate scientists increasingly favor destroying the economy

They are issues of great interest to Europeans, but cannot be fully understood through a single national lens. The climate crisis, geopolitics, people trafficking, economic insecurity – the biggest challenges are not limited by national borders

Guardian Europe: What do migration, climate, Covid, Ukraine and rightwing populism have in common?

National emission reduction targets under the Paris Agreement have a territorial focus, incentivizing mitigation actions domestically. Here we examine the theoretical basis for adopting complementary consumption-based net-zero emission targets and assess the consequences of adopting such proposed targets for Sweden

Nature

Emission pathways and mitigation options for achieving consumption-based climate targets in Sweden

When it comes to economics, there are a bunch of different schools to choose from, but pretty much all of them are focused on boosting growth. Except, that is, for the degrowth movement, which aims to refocus economics away from GDP. As more and more complaints about "late-stage capitalism" seem to be piling up, along with worries about the impact of rampant consumerism on the environment, is this the degrowth movement's time to shine? 



Bloomberg

Why the degrowth movement is on the rise

When it comes to economics, there are a bunch of different schools to choose from, but pretty much all of them are focused on boosting growth

Why the degrowth movement is having a moment

There is growing awareness that the only way to avoid climate catastrophe is to reverse unfettered growth. In Taiwan, the conversation has barely begun

Taipei Times

Degrowth or collapse: the choice facing humanity?

The idea we can hit net zero targets and grow the economy just isn't real and will hit the wall

Political and business leaders still living in Fantasyland

The notion of green growth – the idea that environmental goals can be aligned with continued economic growth – is still the common economic orthodoxy for major institutions like the World Bank and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

Corporate Knights

Green growth or “degrowth”? That is the question

Ziggy Marley has again taken aim at leaders of the world, this time for refusing to work together to remedy problems affecting the global population, and instead opting to incessantly wage unnecessary wars against each other

DancehallMag

Ziggy Marley takes aim at warmongering world leaders

 The science today is pretty clear: more and more growth will lead to a climate disaster and yet the newspapers, politicians and social media cannot give up on the continuous chant “we want growth, more growth”. There are a few of us who want degrowth, but our voice is virtually unheard

Otago Daily Times

Letters to Editor: buying less, costly fixes and fired-up over wood pellets

This week’s cavalcade of climate events around the UN General Assembly has once again paralyzed New York City as thousands of government officials, corporate executives, environmentalists, academics, sustainability activists and environmental-social-governance investors have descended on the Big Apple for this annual rite.



New York Post

Think Manhattan is a mess this Climate Week? Wait until the UN-led movement bans fossil fuels

Growth rules the world. Presidents succeed or fail, companies soar and crash, and countries are invited to the table on the basis of their growth percentage

Yale Climate Connections

Let’s free ourselves from the story of economic growth

Describing her vision of an economically buoyant and sustainable Europe in the era of climate change, she called on the EU to accelerate the development of the clean-tech sector, "from wind to steel, from batteries to electric vehicles." "When it comes to the European Green Deal, we stick to our growth strategy," von der Leyen said

Phys.org

Idea of green growth losing traction among climate policy researchers, survey of nearly 800 academics reveals

A survey of nearly 800 climate policy researchers from around the world reveals widespread scepticism toward the concept in high-income countries, amid mounting literature arguing that the principle may neither be viable nor desirable. Instead, alternative post-growth paradigms including “degrowth” and “agrowth” are gaining traction

Informed Comment

Are green sustainability and 20th century-style ‘economic growth’ compatible? Scientists increasingly fear not

Prodigious rainfall and the failure of long-deteriorated earthen dams caused a rush of waters through Derna, in Libya, on September 11. Thousands of residents died, infrastructure was destroyed, and buildings ended up in the Mediterranean. Failure to protect residents, maintain the dams, and sustain the lives of all Libyans point to societal collapse

Libya catastrophe is a double whammy; capitalism is to blame

In this panel, which took place during Socialism 2023 in Chicago on September 3, Erica Jung and Güney Işıkara discussed converging and diverging theoretical imperatives and strategies among radical environmental activists, with the goal of enriching and strengthening our collective struggle for an ecosocialist future. Below is the transcript lightly edited for clarity.

MR Online

Degrowth and ecosocialist revolution

Should you locate your private underground bunkers in Alaska or New Zealand? Which threat is more likely, climate change or biological warfare? What is the best method to keep the security guards at their shelters from turning on them?

Morning Express

Douglas Rushkoff, writer: “The technological elite prepares for the apocalypse, sees the end of civilization near”

Despite the overwhelming evidence that climate catastrophe is not just a looming threat, it is here; despite the desperate pleading for help from climate scientists; and despite the surreal silence and indifference of Western political leaders, a stubborn rump of opinion continues to insist that the climate crisis is a cynical scam promoted by vested interests

Pearls and Irritations

Climate collapse – The grim silence of our leaders

Burnout when you work in sustainability can feel more intense, more urgent and harder to overcome

Degrowth

Latest on Degrowth