Degrowth in the Time of COVID-19

Degrowth is an idea that critiques the global capitalist system which pursues growth at all costs, causing human exploitation and environmental destruction. The degrowth movement of activists and researchers advocates for societies that prioritize social and ecological well-being instead of corporate profits, over-production and excess consumption. This requires radical redistribution, reduction in the material size of the global economy, and a shift in common values towards care, solidarity and autonomy. Degrowth means transforming societies to ensure environmental justice and a good life for all within planetary boundaries.

In this talk, two members of the website Degrowth.info will present degrowth as a critique of the current system, as a way of rethinking the foundations of our economies, and as a three-fold strategy for the post-covid19 world: produce less, share more, and decide together.

Joëlle Saey-Volckrick is a Lecturer of Ecological Economics and of Ecology and Environmental Justice in Berlin and Ottawa, the coordinator of the international webportal Degrowth.info, as well as a community builder for NousRire, a food buying group in Quebec. Her research is grounded in the fields of ecological economics, political ecology, environmental justice and degrowth.

Nick von Andrian is a scholar and activist in the fields of socio-ecological transformation, climate justice and degrowth. His academic background combines heterodox economics, political ecology and philosophy of science. At degrowth.info he is part of the editorial team.

Sustainability Council Lecture Series

The Sustainability Council’s ongoing lecture series explores local and global perspectives on sustainability, equity and climate action. Hear researchers and practitioners from the University of Alberta and beyond in fields ranging from engineering to ecology, public health to poetry, native studies to nanotechnology.