#Degrowth can work — here’s how science can help

Wealthy countries can create prosperity while using less materials and energy if they abandon #EconomicGrowth as an objective.

By Jason Hickel, Giorgos Kallis, Tim Jackson, Daniel W. O’Neill, Juliet B. Schor, Julia K. Steinberger, Peter A. Victor & Diana Ürge-Vorsatz, 12 December 2022

Excerpt: "The global economy is structured around growth — the idea that firms, industries and nations must increase production every year, regardless of whether it is needed. This dynamic is driving climate change and ecological breakdown. High-income economies, and the corporations and wealthy classes that dominate them, are mainly responsible for this problem and consume energy and materials at unsustainable rates.

"Yet many industrialized countries are now struggling to grow their economies, given economic convulsions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, resource scarcities and stagnating productivity improvements. Governments face a difficult situation. Their attempts to stimulate growth clash with objectives to improve human well-being and reduce environmental damage.

"GDP is getting a makeover — what it means for economies, health and the planet

"Researchers in ecological economics call for a different approach — degrowth. Wealthy economies should abandon growth of gross domestic product (#GDP) as a goal, scale down destructive and unnecessary forms of #production to reduce energy and material use, and focus economic activity around securing human needs and well-being. This approach, which has gained traction in recent years, can enable rapid #decarbonization and stop ecological breakdown while improving social outcomes. It frees up energy and materials for low- and middle-income countries in which growth might still be needed for development. Degrowth is a purposeful strategy to stabilize economies and achieve social and ecological goals, unlike recession, which is chaotic and socially destabilizing and occurs when growth-dependent economies fail to grow.

"Reports this year by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (#IPCC) and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on #Biodiversity and #Ecosystem Services (#IPBES) suggest that degrowth policies should be considered in the fight against #ClimateBreakdown and #biodiversity loss, respectively. Policies to support such a strategy include the following.

"Reduce less-necessary production. This means scaling down destructive sectors such as #FossilFuels, mass-produced meat and dairy, #FastFashion, #advertising, #cars and aviation, including #PrivateJets. At the same time, there is a need to end the #PlannedObsolescence of products, lengthen their lifespans and reduce the purchasing power of the #rich.

"Improve #PublicServices. It is necessary to ensure universal access to high-quality #HealthCare, #Education, #Housing, transportation, Internet, #RenewableEnergy and nutritious food. #UniversalPublicServices can deliver strong social outcomes without high levels of resource use.

"Introduce a green jobs guarantee. This would train and mobilize labour around urgent social and ecological objectives, such as installing renewables, insulating buildings, regenerating #ecosystems and improving social care. A programme of this type would end unemployment and ensure a just transition out of jobs for workers in declining industries or 'sunset sectors', such as those contingent on fossil fuels. It could be paired with a #UniversalIncome policy.

"Reduce working time. This could be achieved by lowering the retirement age, encouraging part-time working or adopting a four-day working week [and hybrid or remote work]. These measures would lower #CarbonEmissions and free people to engage in care and other welfare-improving activities. They would also stabilize employment as less-necessary production declines.

"Enable #sustainable development. This requires cancelling unfair and unpayable debts of low- and middle-income countries, curbing unequal exchange in international trade and creating conditions for productive capacity to be reoriented towards achieving social objectives.

"Some countries, regions and cities have already introduced elements of these policies. Many European nations guarantee free health care and education; Vienna and Singapore are renowned for high-quality public housing; and nearly 100 cities worldwide offer free public transport. Job guarantee schemes have been used by many nations in the past, and experiments with basic incomes and shorter working hours are under way in Finland, Sweden and New Zealand.

"But implementing a more comprehensive strategy of degrowth — in a safe and just way — faces five key research challenges, as we outline here."

Read more:
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-04412-x

Archived version:
https://archive.ph/AtJ87
#FourDayWorkweek #RemoteWork #HybridWork #CircularEconomy #CapitalismKills #RightToRepair #ProtectMotherEarth #CorporateColonialism #BuyLess #BuyNothing #LibraryOfThings #SolarPunkSunday

#Florida: Donations wanted for #OrlandoFL and #JacksonvilleFL #LibraryOfThings!

"The #CenterForBiologicalDiversity fights not only to protect wildlife and wild lands in Florida but also to address the underlying causes of the extinction crisis, including the excessive production and consumption of new products.

"That’s why we’re excited to announce that we’re working with #Shareable and other partners to establish Library of Things pilot projects in Orlando and Jacksonville.

"A Library of Things is a shared community resource where useful items can be borrowed just like books that are in circulation for years, reducing the demand to produce new goods that destroy habitat, generate greenhouse gases, create pollution, and harm wildlife.

"Sharing also disrupts the current U.S. economic model that demands endless growth through the constant purchasing of new things. It challenges the traditional consumerist mindset that drives overproduction and leads to items getting thrown away after only a few uses.

"You can support this effort by donating items from the library’s wish lists. Whether it's a bicycle repair kit for someone who bikes for transportation, kitchen items for a new university student, or a generator for emergency preparedness, every item counts. By donating, you’ll help neighbors save money and push back against the culture of consumerism.

Here's how it works

"The Jacksonville Library of Things pilot, located at University of North Florida dormitories, is looking for donations of board games, kitchen items, phone chargers and tools to be used by students living in the dorms, based on a needs assessment conducted with students in partnership with the University.

"The Central Florida Tool Library (serving Orange, Osceola, and Seminole counties) is seeking donations related to disaster preparation and response, as well as home repair and maintenance. These items were identified based on conversations between community members and our partner, #CentralFloridaMutualAid.

"Each wish list notes whether the item can be gently used or refurbished or must be new. (Certain products must be new for the libraries to ensure they meet safety and fire code standards. But purchasing these items once to be shared among the community prevents each future borrower from buying more.)

"Links to secondhand and refurbished sites are included where possible. The wish lists also provide a desired quantity of each item. Once the maximum number of items is claimed, you’ll see the request has been fulfilled. The mailing address to send the products for inclusion in the Library of Things can be found in the wish list."

Original article:
https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/population_and_sustainability/sustainability/library_of_things

#CentralFlorida #ToolLibrary Wishlist:
https://sokindregistry.org/registry/CFLToolLibrary

Jacksonville Library of Things Wishlist:
https://sokindregistry.org/registry/JaxFLLOT
#LibrariesRule #Libraries #LibrariesOfThings #SharingEconomy #SolarPunkSunday #BorrowDontBuy #Degrowth #CircularEconomy #LibraryOfThings