Climate Change

The vital connection between economics and a healthy ecosystem is still not understood by mainstream economists and financial theorists – what will it take?

The Green movement needs to move away from alarmist arguments and moralising and towards a more inclusive way of discussing climate change, which leaves room political dispute as to the solutions needed.

The German Bundestag committee which is examining the future of growth has, in advance of its full report, issued an interim report on the use of material resources. The final report will be available in May 2013.

The green political movement and the transition movement could be said to share broadly the same objectives, but could the transition movement stand a better chance of changing people’s mindsets? Two transition activists from North London discuss their work.

What does the growth/degrowth debate mean for a country like Croatia? Two decades after gaining independence following the collapse of the Yugoslav Republic, Croatia remains a country with economic and political problems. Is it possible for it to transition to a degrowth economy, and how would such a transition take place?

Austerity or growth, austerity for growth, and maybe for a different kind of growth? In 2012, this debate is on the top of the European agenda. But what should we do if growth is no longer possible?

How can a Green political party influence a long term discussion on the topic of post-growth politics? How can it centre this discussion on short term political action? Is it possible to develop the Green New Deal in order to obtain a short term exit from the crisis and an economy without growth in the long term? All of these questions were debated at the Green Summer Academy, organised by the Grüne Bildungswerkgstatt.

In Finland, Sairanen & Stenhäll’s book has been presented as an important stand to the discussion on how the economic sphere should be developed. It takes the position that no new green economic system is needed, rather we need to make hard decisions based on the current market economy.

The economic crisis that most of the western economies are facing is digging a breach in our consumer’s narratives. Signs of transition to a new kind of society are numerous in the USA as in Europe and Japan. Despite the claims of prominent development economists, a high mass-consumption society is not the endpoint of history. Could it be that a postconsumerist era is already creeping on us?