Multiple Sources,

Dimensions, and Strategies of Degrowth

François Schneider Research & Degrowth ICTA, UAB www.degrowth.net

francois@degrowth.net

Second international conference on Economic Degrowth for Sustainability and EquityPlenary session, Barcelona, 27 March 2010, www.degrowth.eu

Outline

1-

What is degrowth?2-

Why degrowth? The multiple Sources.

3- Rebound Effect – Jevons Paradox4-

What grows/degrows? The multiple Dimensions

5-

How to degrow? For the process of transformation: the multiple Strategies.

What is degrowth?

A democratic collective decision, a project with the ambition of voluntarily getting closer to ecological sustainability and socio-environmental justice worldwide.

Cleaner Production 18 (2010) 511–51

It means LESS

Clarifications for SustainableDegrowth

The first degrowth: degrowth of inequityProcess of transformationLower actual and potential consumption and productionDiverse : generalisable but unique lifestylesPersonal and collective at

local and global levels

Deeper democracyNOT a universal conceptAvoiding crisesTransition to multi-dimentional mildly-fluctuating

sustainable stateTaking account of global consequencesInnovative (frugal innovation) ‏

These concepts do not deal with limits to growth

Green growthGreen new dealSustainable developmentTechnical progressCleaner productionIndustrial ecologySustainable consumptionHigher quality of lifeImprovement of well-being

Conference objectives

Get out of the schizophrenia between the green/social discourse and the growth policiesGet into concrete propositions on the political and personal level

Different Degrowth Sourcesa-

Culturalism: Challenge to profit making, development and uniformity. Latouche, Rist, Caillé etc.

b-

Meaning of life: Bringing meaning in our relation to the world. Thoreau, Gandhi, Rabhi etc.

c-

Democracy: Degrowth for democratization.

Illich, Fotopoulos, Cheynet etc

d- Bioeconomy: Degrowth of exploitation of natural ressources, Smith-Bleek, Georgescu-Roegen etc.

e-

Ecology: Defense of ecosystems.

Odum, etc... f- Egalitarism: Degrowth of inequality & exploitation of

other humans. Kempf, Sachs, Ariès etc.Source: inspired from Flipo

Innovations

We can travel further

Reduced fuel costs

More fuel efficient cars

Rebound

Efficiency gain

Savings can be reallocated to

more production or consumption

Reduced costs

Efficiency

Rebound effect

En 1760

En 1910

for 1kwh

for 1kwh

Energy efficiency reducesCoal consumption?

William Stanley JEVONS in 1865

“The very contrary is the truth”

From 1760 to 1910: production of energy from coal increase by a factor 2000.

Increase of production was made possibly by the increase of the multidimensional capacity to exploit coal

From 1760 to 1910: consumption of coal per kwh reduce by a factor 50

In 1760 energy production from coal is limited by prohibitive costs.

Source: Victor

The reduction of exploitation of natural resources and humans needs: Degrowth of the capacities to exploit them

What should degrow?

Rebound Strategies

€ € € € € €

Limits

to production and consumption are reached

€ € € € € €

€ € € € € €

Rebound Strategies

is about developing Innovations that suppress limits to production and consumption

€

€ € €

€ € €

€

€ € €

€ € €

Rebound effect: product (or service) innovation enables us to increase our production/consumption.

= Productivist

Innovation

Rebound strategies

Technological efficiencyLabor productivityExtractive efficiencyInfrastructure optimizationInformation efficiencyEfficiency in fulfilling needsDeregulation

Growth policy

Growth policy

relax collective limits to production and consumption

€ € €

€ € €

€ € €

€ € €

€ € €

€ €

€ €

€€

Limits

to consumption and production are reached € € €

€ € €

Growth policies Increase liquidities, grant rights to make money to banks, capital flow, export policies; reduce value of natural resources or person workIncrease working hours, later retirement, overwork, sunday/night work, suppress speed limits, longer opening hours...New mining areas, new resources, subsidies to extraction, ...More roads, airport, industry, internet, urbanisation...Barriers to mutualisation, less property free...DeregulationAdvertising, rebound unawareness, externalising…Fiscal paradises, bank secrets..

Capacity to exploitMoney

InfrastructuresAccess to Natural Resources

Unawareness

Unsatisfied needs

Inequality

Time

Deregulation

Dimensions of the capacity to exploit

HumanInstitutions

Resourceflows

WG 5 work-sharingReducing time to exploit

Ceiling to Ressourceuse

Leaving some resources

in the environment

WG 8-10-16-17-22

Reducing total infrastructure capacity

WG 6 InfrastructureWG 9 Waste

WG14 MetabolismWG15 Cities

�

Reducing monetary capacity to exploit

WG 1 MoneyWG 2 Finances

Against deregulation

Social rights, ecological and quality standards

WG 3 SocialEconomy

Degrowth ofNon sharing WG 4 Property

WG 11 Sharing

Advertising break WG 7

Degrowth of inequalities

WG 12 basic income; ceiling on income

How to degrow

The process of transformation

Degrowth is about collectively reducing the space we take to leave space for everybody

Sharing: - with the world (voluntary simplicity) ‏- with our peers (joint use)

Sharing

We need open localisation:- connection with the diversity in all places- reducing distance between production and consumption

Closedness noCloseness si

Open-localism

Convergence of strategies

2-

Alter-growthVoluntary

simplicity and

frugal innovations

1-

Anti-growth:

oppositiona-

Civil disobedience to banks

b-

Clown actionc-

Anti-nano action; Anti-adverts action

d-

Blocking of mining sitee-

Opposition to mega-projects

f-

Landless demonstration in India

4-

De-growthPolitical actions for the change of institutionsa-

Promotion of gift economy

b-

Engaged artistsc-

Deepening democracy: more direct and

participative d-

Leaving more resources in/on the ground

e-

Radical ecologyf-

For redistribution

5-

No-growth: actions for

steady state of institutionsa-

Political struggle to maintain non-

market relationsb-

Conservation of art tradition

c-

Defense of democratic institutionsd-

Conservation of resources

e-

Defense of ecosystemsf-

Defense of equality rights

3-

A-growth: Against “growth religion”Theorisation & VulgarisationDegrowth work in science and arts

Degrowth directionLess and different in the Global North;More and different in the Global South.

Less urbanised areas;More natural areas preserved.

Less useless products,Less waste and incineration;More reuse and composting.

Less urban space; More cohousing. Less cars, trucks, planes, roads, airports;

More bicycles and public transport.Less speed and distance; more (open) relocation

More “face to face”

meeting; less “screen to screen”

Less supermarketsLess tourism; more travel, local, long & slow. Less industrial agriculture; more organic & vegan. Less fossil and nuclear energy; more renewable

energy. Less explosives, buldozers and other “extractors”Less advertizing; more independent information(...) ‏

Degrowth direction

degrowthpedia.orgwww.decroissance.orgactu.adoc-france.org/www.objecteursdecroissance.be/www.decroissance.infowww.degrowth.euwww.apres-developpement.orgwww.ladecroissance.net/www.simplicitevolontaire.org/www.decreixement.net/www.decrescita.it/www.decrescitafelice.it/www.decroissance.chtransitionculture.org/www.simpleliving.org/www.downshiftingweek.com/www.entropia-la-revue.orgwww.r-m-o-c.net/www.Europe-Decroissance.euwww.degrowth.ch/bretagnedecroissance.fr/wachstumsruecknahme.qsdf.org/www.deshazkundea.org/

www.degrowth.net

francois@degrowth.net

Degrowth innovation and policies

Let us allow ourselves to seek solutions to

economic/social/ecological crises in the context of reduction of

capacity to exploit natural resources and humans