Technology

In this interview, commons scholar Silke Helfrich discusses the connection between degrowth and the commons, and how these two concepts can help us build a sustainable economy.

We find ourselves living in a society where increasingly our actions and our right to freedom of cross-border movements – or lack thereof – are being constantly monitored, both physically and digitally. But as we enter the surveillance age, forms of digital civil disobedience are fighting to go beyond these new borders and to protect our scrutinised values and movements, and our right to privacy.

Bigger cities, more wealth and increasingly complex products demand more metallic ores. This is also true for the transition towards sustainable energy.

The ecological production project of the Green European Foundation (ECOPRO) centralises its focus on the development of sustainable green technologies in a post-growth society.

Traditional theoretical approaches to conflicts are inoperative.

In order for green ideas on energy to resonate in the mainstream, questions need to be answered about how the transition will be financed, and how it will benefit those are already marginalised and struggling economically. A positive initiative targeting the Roma minority in Hungary shows one way in which this can be achieved.

A big risk for Europe stems from its dependency on Russian natural gas and oil.

In the Polish context, where environmental awareness and resistance to an energy transition is strong, a broad alliance among diverse actors in society is needed to tackle climate change, such as trade unions and other potential partners.

An interview with Amy Dahan, conducted by Rémi Beau.

The Green Industrial Revolution is clearly a positive and inspiring story, but there is room for doubting the ability of green technologies to stimulate a new wave of growth comparable to the industrial revolutions of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.