Climate Moment August 2024 – Degrowth

For the Climate Moment talk in August, I introduced the concept of “Degrowth” as and organizing principle for human society and shared a link to a recent article in the Harvard Business Review: https://hbr.org/2024/06/in-defense-of-degrowth

Here is a link to previous Climate Moment editions: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCt7LPRITZv7rF_1vMzOCDGZbqTE6g-I5

#climatechange #climate #climatemoment #degrowth

[Transcript]

For our climate moment. This month, I am going to introduce the concept of Degrowth. Now you’re all familiar with the growth economic model. So what is a Degrowth economic model? Well, let’s first look at the metrics. The main metric for growth is GDP–how fast the economy is growing.  For Degrowth, the main metrics are human well-being and living within planetary boundaries, so we balance human well-being with those how we’re doing on living within planetary boundaries.

Well, how are we doing right now living within planetary boundaries with our growth model? The Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research has developed a dashboard and identified nine distinct planetary boundaries and measures and reports them.  Right now, of those nine, we are exceeding planetary boundaries on six of them.

The “growth” model has us exceeding the carrying capacity of the earth. And the Degrowth economic model would have us start to live within the carrying capacity of the Earth and not exceed those boundaries.

Recently, I was at a sustainability and climate conference, and there was a VC speaking, and I asked him what he thought of that Degrowth economic model. He looked at me and said, “Good luck with that.” So, some people are quite dismissive of that, especially in Silicon Valley, which is grow, grow, grow. But meanwhile, in other places, like, say, that tree-hugging institute, Harvard, there is a recognition that we do need to start to live within the planetary boundaries.  Just last June There was an article in Harvard Business Review called In Defense of Degrowth. I will put this link into the chat for you and you can review that and learn more about Degrowth.

That’s the Climate Moment for the month. Thanks.