| 1. |
- Buchs, Milena, et al.
(författare)
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Challenges for the degrowth transition: the debate about wellbeing
- 2019
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Ingår i: Futures. - : Elsevier BV. - 0016-3287. ; 105, s. 155-165
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Degrowth scholars and activists have convincingly argued that degrowth in developed nations will need to be part of a global effort to tackle climate change, and to preserve the conditions for future generations’ basic needs satisfaction. However, the barriers to building a broader degrowth movement appear to be very entrenched at present. To improve the political feasibility of degrowth it is important to better understand these structural obstacles and develop arguments and strategies to address them. To contribute to the degrowth debate we focus in this paper on current generations in the rich countries and their concerns about possible short- to medium term wellbeing outcomes of degrowth. In particular, we highlight the ‘growth lock-in’ of current societies and how a transition away from this model might therefore affect wellbeing. We also argue that taking the basic human needs framework as a new ‘measuring rod’ for wellbeing outcomes is suitable for a degrowth context, but likely to clash with current expectations of ever improving health and wellbeing outcomes. We propose that deliberative forums on future needs satisfaction can help establish a ‘dialogue’ between current and future generations which could support cultural shifts on wellbeing thinking which will be much needed for advancing the cause for degrowth.
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| 2. |
- Büchs, Milena, et al.
(författare)
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Postgrowth and Wellbeing : Challenges to Sustainable Welfare
- 2017. - 1
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Bok (refereegranskat)abstract
- This book presents a detailed and critical discussion about how human wellbeing can be maintained and improved in a postgrowth era. It highlights the close links between economic growth, market capitalism, and the welfare state demonstrating that, in many ways, wellbeing outcomes currently depend on the growth paradigm. Here the authors argue that notions of basic human needs deserve greater emphasis in debates on postgrowth because they are more compatible with limits to growth. Drawing on theories of social practices, the book explores structural barriers to transitions to a postgrowth society, and ends with suggestions for policies and institutions that could support wellbeing in the context of postgrowth. This thought-provoking work makes a valuable contribution to debates surrounding climate change, sustainability, welfare states and inequality and will appeal to students and scholars of social policy, sociology, political science, economics, political ecology and human geography.
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| 3. |
- Buchs, Milena, et al.
(författare)
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Sustainable Welfare: Decoupling Welfare from Growth and Prioritising Needs Satisfaction for All
- 2024
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Ingår i: De Gruyter Handbook of Degrowth. - Berlin; Boston : De Gruyter. - 9783110778359 - 9783110778038 ; , s. 89-104
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Welfare capitalism has developed in the context of rapidly expanding, fossil fuel-driven industrial economies. Faced with the urgent need for systematic changes of economic systems so that they stay within planetary limits, decoupling welfare from economic growth is an important task. This chapter introduces the concept of sustainable welfare, referring to welfare systems that prioritise the satisfaction of human needs within planetary boundaries. Rather than aligning with the growth imperative through income protection schemes for the socio-economically marginalised and investments in human capital equipped for globalised and competitive economies, sustainable welfare states would prioritise eco-social policies, aiming at basic needs satisfaction for all, limiting excessive consumption behaviours and restricting income and wealth inequalities that have been exacerbated in recent decades. The chapter discusses the ways in which the mutual dependency between welfare systems and economic growth can be decreased by addressing the work and welfare nexus, shifting funding sources for welfare systems, strengthening preventive functions of welfare and redefining the chief goal of welfare systems as sustainable needs satisfaction for all. The chapter further discusses how the governance of this transition process to sustainable welfare can be envisioned, where multi-level governance models and deliberative processes will play a crucial role.
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| 4. |
- Jack, Tullia, et al.
(författare)
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The Sustainability Implications of Single Occupancy Households
- 2021
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Ingår i: Buildings and Cities. - 2632-6655.
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Single occupancy households consume more resources per capita, and demographics suggest single occupancy is now widespread in many countries. Environmental policies need to adjust to include per capita consumption to account for occupancy and efficient use of resources. Diana Ivanova, Tullia Jack, Milena Büchs and Kirsten Gram-Hanssen explain how the sharing of resources at domestic, neighbourhood and urban scales can have positive environmental and social impacts.
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| 5. |
- Koch, Max, et al.
(författare)
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Postgrowth and Wellbeing
- 2017
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- An increasing number of scholars now argues that our societies will need to abandon economic growth as the prime economic goal if we are to prevent catastrophic climate change and sustainably manage non-renewable resources in the long run. While we agree that it will be necessary to end economic growth, we stress that current claims about the feasibility to maintain and improve human welfare and wellbeing under post-growth require more critical debate. We demonstrate that the relationship between happiness and economic growth is more complex than claimed by some post- and degrowth authors; propose that this debate should adopt a more comprehensive concept of wellbeing which also relates to theories of human need; and argue that further work is required to understand possible implications of rapid and radical socio-economic change towards post-growth for human welfare and wellbeing.
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| 6. |
- Koch, Max, et al.
(författare)
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Towards a New Generation of Social Policy: Commonalities between Sustainable Welfare and the IPCC
- 2023
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Ingår i: Politiche Sociali. - 2284-2098 .- 2531-6389. ; 1:27-42
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The climate crisis calls for a new generation of social policy compatible with planetary limits and economic postgrowth circumstances. This article analyses how some of the pillars of such a new generation of social policy may be conceptualized by highlighting commonalities between the most recent IPCC report and the sustainable welfare literature. Methodologically triangulating content analysis of the IPCC report, literature review and qualitative data analysis from citizen forums, we argue that this convergence is particularly evident in four areas central to policymaking: the importance of human needs in eco-social policymaking; the identification of governance structures suitable for a social-ecological transformation; the requirement to co-develop policies via a deliberative, «bottom-up» element; and the need to decouple welfare provision from economic growth.
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| 7. |
- Martin, Maria A., et al.
(författare)
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Ten new insights in climate science 2021 : a horizon scan
- 2021
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Ingår i: Global Sustainability. - : Cambridge University Press (CUP). - 2059-4798. ; 4, s. 1-20
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Non-technical summary: We summarize some of the past year's most important findings within climate change-related research. New research has improved our understanding about the remaining options to achieve the Paris Agreement goals, through overcoming political barriers to carbon pricing, taking into account non-CO2 factors, a well-designed implementation of demand-side and nature-based solutions, resilience building of ecosystems and the recognition that climate change mitigation costs can be justified by benefits to the health of humans and nature alone. We consider new insights about what to expect if we fail to include a new dimension of fire extremes and the prospect of cascading climate tipping elements.Technical summary: A synthesis is made of 10 topics within climate research, where there have been significant advances since January 2020. The insights are based on input from an international open call with broad disciplinary scope. Findings include: (1) the options to still keep global warming below 1.5 °C; (2) the impact of non-CO2 factors in global warming; (3) a new dimension of fire extremes forced by climate change; (4) the increasing pressure on interconnected climate tipping elements; (5) the dimensions of climate justice; (6) political challenges impeding the effectiveness of carbon pricing; (7) demand-side solutions as vehicles of climate mitigation; (8) the potentials and caveats of nature-based solutions; (9) how building resilience of marine ecosystems is possible; and (10) that the costs of climate change mitigation policies can be more than justified by the benefits to the health of humans and nature.Social media summary: How do we limit global warming to 1.5 °C and why is it crucial? See highlights of latest climate science.
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