Food systems play a pivotal role in addressing the socio-ecological crises of our era. This article aims to advance understandings of food systems functioning at a national scale as well as to identify the levers of change beyond their transformation. Building on food regime analysis and further combining it with the approaches of social metabolism from ecological economics and surplus/reproduction from feminist economics, we develop a research framework to investigate national food systems, and particularly their role in the reproduction mechanisms of the capitalist system in which they are embedded. We take a national scale as the unit of analysis due to the important roles and obligations of states. The research framework proposal consists of six dimensions (food governance, agrifood chain, social metabolism, surplus/reproduction, socioecological impacts, and conflicts & levers of change) encompassing 36 elements in total. It also includes six cross-cutting connections within and between dimensions. This work contributes to expanding the food regimes approach by addressing two of the problems that have been raised among food regimes scholars so far: its scale and level of abstraction. Additionally, we link it to food systems approach and bring the political economy and political ecology of food systems closer.

Weather extremes and disasters, coupled with underwhelming conferences of parties, mark the dismal status quo of global climate reality. Climate movements, steadfast beacons for change in this reality, carry climate consciousness into several spheres of society, including our current and future economic landscape. Despite the abundance of research on climate movements, the field maintains a Westernized lens, primarily examining Western European and North American movements. As climate movements operate on a global scale, this status has naturally garnered critique, leading to a call for more Global South and alternative Global North nations' perspectives. This paper addresses the latter by examining the protest experiences of German and Japanese activists. In the past, German activist groups have received a high level of attention from the academic community. This status has not been met in Japan, where research on social movements remains an underdeveloped field. To explore these circumstances, twenty in-depth interviews were conducted, involving ten Japanese and ten German activists, spanning from autumn 2022 to spring 2023. The collected data then underwent analysis employing grounded theory methodology with the assistance of the text analysis software MAXQDA. The study confirms a profoundly deviating protest experience between the nations, characterized by constraining conditions for Japanese activists in comparison to enabling ones for German activists. Though branded by this diverging contextual experience, common themes, including meaning and motivation towards their activism, emerge, providing insight into the existence of commonalities amongst activists on a multi-national scale. The results provide insights into a contextual setting's capability to act as enabling or constraining on the activist experience but show that common biographical consequences can emerge nonetheless. These findings contribute to our understanding of deviating protest experiences among countries in the Global North while simultaneously reinforcing homogeneous observations on the consequences of activism provided by past academic publications. Lastly, this study, in general, explores the realm of alternative activist experiences in the Global North, departing from historical Western emphases to meet the current literature demand for such perspectives and to demonstrate the importance of such comparative assessments.

As the challenges posed by climate change, limited resources, and social inequality continue to intensify across the globe, with a renewed emphasis on mental health, democracy, and improving life quality, the idea of "degrowth" has emerged as a feasible solution to the conventional pursuit of endlessly increasing economic growth. Degrowth advocates for decreasing economic activities and consumption to reduce the ecological footprint of humans, whilst concurrently promoting social justice, democratization, and improved well-being through various proposals. We highlight the need to revolutionize child education to enable an effective transition towards a degrowth society. Empowering individuals with the practices, mentality, and principles necessary to disengage from the growth society, tightly linked to the work and consume society, and encouraging alternative values and customs that can facilitate healthier human and planetary existences. We examine the potential and challenges of degrowth education, addressing some of the major obstacles to viable solutions to the current multidimensional crisis.

Degrowth pedagogy (Prádanos, 2015) focuses on deconstructing the neoliberal subject (Díez-Gutiérrez et al., 2019). To achieve a feasible degrowth transition, implementing an ethic of limits (Jones, 2021; Kallis, 2019) must promote self-regulation, cooperation, and care as opposed to individualism, competition, and materialism. Encouraging frugality and promoting performative democratic education are crucial. Our objectives are to explore methods for decolonising the imaginary (Latouche, 2008) and to evaluate the significance of childhood education in the reproduction of the socioeconomic system. We will approach this issue through three dimensions which connect education with degrowth criticism and prescriptions: planetary boundaries and the call for frugality; the deepening of democracy with the call for critical thinking and participation; and the substitution of competence for cooperation and care in the quest for equality. This approach is debated at the crossroads of anthropology, philosophy, psychology, sociology and political science.

The school was established in 1973 in Caldelas de Tui, adopting a unique experimental, innovative and inclusive approach to education. It seems to meet the requirements we are looking for, such as a democratic, caring and emotional approach, as well as the absence of quantifiable assessment, age and subject divisions or conventional timekeeping. We intend to explore the aims of the founder/principal and other school staff, and to examine the outcomes of different cohorts of pupils and families who have attended the school over the last 50 years, to see if it can serve as a model for implementing some of the above ideas.

Climate change, water and food supply, epidemics and extreme events represent growing concerns for our society. While one approach is to rely solely on technological strategies, an alternative is to rethink the socioeconomic system holistically. Our research pursues this latter approach by looking for environmental policy packages that act as negative regulating feedback in societies. We aim to derive management solutions for natural resources within planetary boundaries, using a hybrid approach (denominated "Ecomirroring") that combines nature-based solutions and biomimicry-based problem-solving. By implementing ecosystems' adaptation and resilience strategies, we seek to reimagine a future society that shifts away from economic growth and embraces the complex interdependence between human well-being and ecosystem health.

World capture fisheries and aquaculture production have been growing for decades and play a crucial role in global food supply. In the past years, global production of aquatic animals hit almost 180 million tons annually, nearly 90% of which are used for direct human consumption. Since the 1990s, the expansion of aquatic production has been propelled by the massive upscaling of aquaculture production (which amounts to almost half of global supply by now), however, the share of overfished fishery stocks increased from around 10 percent in 1974 to over 35 percent in 2019 as well.

Despite the significance of aquatic ecosystem integrity and the magnitude of the corresponding sectors, a comprehensive global model tracing capture, production, trade and consumption of aquatic species and products is missing. In this work in progress, we address this gap by constructing a physical multiregional input-output model for aquatic products depicting international supply chains and hence linking capture and aquaculture production with the final consumer. We work on representing the global supply and use for aquatic commodities in physical units, and in a consistent, and spatially explicit way. The model builds on FishStat data (publicly available statistics on fisheries and aquaculture production, trade and consumption, provided by FAO on a national level), as well as reports from other organizations such as IFFO and EUMOFA.

The challenges we encounter include the estimation of conversion factors such as feed conversion ratios in aquaculture, live weight to landed weight in capture fisheries, and production and processing efficiencies for aquatic commodities; issues such as vessel flag affiliation, where flags of convenience may not accurately represent the true involvement of foreign companies; and illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, estimated to account for up to 20% of global capture.

By tracing the entire life cycle on a national level – from capture/feed via trade to consumption – as thoroughly as data availabilities allow, we aim at uncovering critical insights about global aquatic resource flows and their environmental impacts, as well as international “winners” and “losers” of a globalized aquatic production system. We therefore envision that our model will serve as a valuable tool for policymakers, researchers, and stakeholders alike, contributing to the broader discourse on sustainable resource management, global food security and food waste.

In Germany and many other European countries, debates on sustainability and climate protection tend to be dominated by well-off and well-educated actors. This gives the impression that a small group of ‘green’ privileged experts see themselves as role models for the development of the masses. As a result, these actors primarily appeal to progressive and satisfied sections of society but fail to establish a relationship with other life-worlds and realities. As a socio-ecological transformation can only succeed with broad social consent, the aim must be to inspire and win over people regardless of their educational and socio-economic background. For this reason, it is essential that socially disadvantaged people are able to articulate their concerns, hopes and ideas about such a transformation and that their voices are taken into account in academic discourses. Specifically in debates about the ‘good life’ such voices tend to be missing. The I.L.A Collective from Germany, for example, developed concrete proposals on how the goal of a sustainable and solidarity-based way of life and thus a ‘good life for all’ could be achieved. At the same time, the authors are aware that they cannot speak for all people, as they have the privilege of being "white, academic, urban and young" and therefore have an inherently subjective perspective. In particular, aspects such as class, rural development, flight and migration, disability and queer feminism are hardly included in the consideration of a solidary way of life. To close this gap is the aim of the present research project which involves qualitative interviews with socially disadvantaged people to talk about their fears, wishes and ideas in relation to a socio-ecological transformation. One part of the project is to explore the diverse visions of the ‘good life’ at the intersection of a sustainable future. The aim is to show what socially disadvantaged people imagine a good and sustainable life to be and how their ideas fit into the existing discourse around different conceptualisations of the ‘good life’. The preliminary findings suggest that there are important overlaps between existing understandings of the 'good life' held by academics, activists and socially disadvantaged people on which could be built but that there are also pertaining misconceptions and divergences.

The anthropogenically -induced biodiversity and climate crisis threatens both our ecological and social systems globally, whereby, at our current state, we have breached six out of nine planetary boundaries. Such an unprecedented state of emergency calls for an organic, non- greenwash global response in the exploration and exploitation of synergies between biodiversity and climate intervention within different geographical conditions that consider the influence of cultural, economic, socio-political contexts. Here, we are referring to Nature-based Solutions that are derived organically, from the grassroots. Crucially, whilst it must be acknowledged that the holism of multi species assemblages must be considered, there is no doubt that the ‘social dimension’ of biodiversity-climate restorative actions plays a fundamental role in the interplay of what produces sound NbS practice.

This project has been inspired by the outcomes of the BfN International Expert Workshop (hereinafter, “scoping workshop”) on June 8-9, 2022 and by its main output – the publication Fostering applied research on the synergies between biodiversity and climate.

Augmenting upon the results of the scoping workshop, BfN has commissioned ZEF-Bonn to conduct a project in order to foster international application-oriented and transdisciplinary research on the social synergies that influence NbS decision-making and implementation that benefit biodiversity and climate, in the context of both mitigation and adaptation measures.

In terms of output, the project includes the aim of producing a NbS Guideline for academics and stakeholders, where the focus will be on the social dimension -which features across the full arc of the transdisciplinary process of applying NbS. The social dimension is defined as encompassing those views, needs and experiences of a diversity of actors/stakeholders across civil society, industry and academia, as well as relationships between these actors/stakeholders (i.e. power dynamics, institutional arrangements, governance systems).

Significantly, the research study cases involved advocate transdisciplinary processes and furthermore, will predominantly constitute those NbS stakeholders from the Global South, including indigenous communities whose cultural, environmental and economics practices and local knowledge of authentic sustainability will arguably be voiced. There is the assumption that the subject of climate and ecological justice will constitute much of the NbS deliberation, decision-making and evaluation.

The project also aims to present "good practice" examples of transdisciplinary and participatory research at the biodiversity-climate interface and to derive findings and recommendations from it that are primarily addressed to researchers, but also to funding agencies, civil society organisations, communities and other relevant stakeholders.

https://www.stockholmresilience.org/research/research-news/2023-09-13-all-planetary-boundaries-mapped-out-for-the-first-time-six-of-nine-crossed.html

To limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, urgent and radical reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are needed. Recent years have seen an increased interest in demand-side mitigation approaches as a means to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions and to meet national and international climate targets. Research shows the need for population-targeted policy, to ensure effectiveness and to avoid further increasing social inequalities. Moreover, existing research showcases gender and age differences in environmental impacts and attitudes. Despite such differences, consumption-based emissions have not been studied below the household level. To address this gap in the literature, this study aims to quantify and analyse the impact of individuals household members, by age and gender, on total household consumption-based greenhouse gas emissions. Such an analysis can aid an understanding of how household composition contributes to emissions.

We aim to assess differences in emission patterns by gender both in terms of total and product-level emissions. This research is the first to quantify the marginal effect of gender on emissions in multi-occupant households. The UK provides a good case study for this research, as data needed to estimate emissions provide details of gender of all household occupants. Moreover, as local governments in the UK increasingly include consumption-based emission inventories in their climate change mitigation strategies, this type of research can be particularly useful for local policy makers in designing effective emission reduction policies.

To estimate subnational consumption-based greenhouse gas emissions we use data from the UK’s multi-regional input-output model, as well as from the Living Costs and Food Survey, an annual household expenditure survey conducted by the UK’s Office for National Statistics. The Living Costs and Food Survey surveys 4,000 to 6,000 UK households each year. In addition to full, product-level expenditure profiles, this survey contains information on the age and gender of each household member. National-level consumption-based emissions from households are calculated using the UK’s multi-regional input-output model, and then disaggregated using the household expenditure survey data. We use a multi-variable linear regression model to analyse gender differences in emission patterns, as well as marginal effects of gender on emissions, while controlling for various socio-demographic variables, including age, income, and geography.

Ante la situación actual de escasez hídrica y el periodo inflacionista en general y energético en particular, los costes del servicio de distribución y saneamiento de agua han aumentado considerablemente. Este es un buen momento para replantearse el modelo clásico de gestión y retribución de los recursos hídricos. Los avances tecnológicos y la digitalización de los sistemas de lectura de consumos permiten implementar ideas innovadoras en la tarificación que supongan una gestión de este bien público más justa y sostenible.

· Ante la situación actual de escasez hídrica y el periodo inflacionista en general y energético en particular, los costes del servicio de distribución y saneamiento de agua han aumentado considerablemente. Este es un buen momento para replantearse el modelo clásico de gestión y retribución de los recursos hídricos. Los avances tecnológicos y la digitalización de los sistemas de lectura de consumos permiten implementar ideas innovadoras en la tarificación que supongan una gestión de este bien público más justa y sostenible.

This poster presents my ongoing doctoral research on economics imperialism – the taking over of non-economic subject matter by economists – in the economics of the environment. Within this, my focus is on the natural capital concept, which views nature as an economic asset that provides flows to the economy and society in the form of ecosystem services. It has been playing an important role both in orthodox (neoclassical) economics of biodiversity, as well as in ecological economics.

Proponents of natural capital argue that accounting for the environment in this way will help create better environmental outcomes by including the state of nature in decision-making, hence overcoming the ‘externality problem’ of environmental degradation. Critics see in it at best as a lost effort of adding apples to oranges, and at worst a slippery slope to the complete neoliberalisation of nature. Use of natural capital (accounts) in practice is often without recognition of the contradictions arising from its conceptualisation based on capital in a neoclassical production function.

My research sits firmly within these debates, tracing the history and application of natural capital in environmental and ecological economics, as well as in non-economic discourses. It concerns questions such as

• To what extent is natural capital characterised by economic imperialism?

• How has natural capital been applied ‘in practice’, such as through natural capital accounts? What is the discourse around these applications?

• How does natural capital relate to global financial markets and to a financialisation of environmental governance?

I address these interrelated questions through qualitative methods including systematic literature review and semi-structured interviews, and a case study of the World Bank’s flagship ‘WAVES’ natural capital programme, concluded in 2019. Based on this research, I argue that natural capital is evidence of the continued existence of economics imperialism. It deminstrates the longevity of neoclassical thought in economics, outside of economics, and outside of academia, even where interdisciplinary elements make it seem as if the orthodoxy has been tempered if not overcome. Due to its poor representation of the systemic exploitation of nature under capitalism, natural capital and solutions derived from natural capital are liable to be inadequate in strength and direction in addressing the ongoing environmental crises.

Growing concerns over environmental impacts and the pressing limits of ecosystems evidence the urgent need to rethink existing economic frameworks. The Circular Economy (CE) presents itself as a viable alternative to the traditional, unsustainable linear model, but has diverse implementation, varying from reductionist approaches focused on eco-innovations to more transformative perspectives addressing social and institutional aspects. This research focuses on the expansion and implications of manmade cellulosic fibres (MMCF) within the textile industry, a sector notorious for its environmental footprint, assessing whether this CE strategy could indeed foster a meaningful shift towards sustainable production and consumption or merely contribute to nominal "green" economic growth.

The European Union's CE strategy emphasizes recycling and the bioeconomy, with MMCF highlighted and promoted as a key innovation in mitigating the textile sector's environmental challenges. These fibres, produced from dissolving pulp from trees or recycled textile, have experienced a significant increase in production, outpacing both cotton and synthetic fibres. The adoption of MMCF is primarily advocated by its potential replacing petroleum synthetics and encouraging forest growth within the bioeconomy framework. This trend has been also explained by corporate environmental strategies, regulatory pressures, endorsements from major industry players like Inditex and H&M, offering solutions to demographic challenges and cotton production constraints. Nevertheless, obstacles including the application of green chemistry, sectoral connections, production location differences and the environmental effects of new chemical plants emerge, compounded by issues in recycling and the rapid turnover of fashion items. Through a comprehensive literature review and an econometric model evaluation, the study critically examines the among of these driving and limitation forces behind the adoption of MMCF.

The research suggests that, despite their environmental benefits, the expansion of MMCF alone is insufficient for a meaningful transition towards sustainability in the textile sector. Challenges such as technological dependency, the need for drastic changes in consumption and production patterns, and the overall effectiveness of CE strategies in addressing systemic economic and social issues are identified. In conclusion, while MMCF offer a promising solution to the textile industry's environmental challenges, their potential is limited by various factors. The study underscores the importance of a transformative approach to CE that encompasses all aspects of the economic and social system, beyond mere material substitution and recycling initiatives. It calls for a more committed institutional discourse on circular strategies, emphasizing the necessity for profound changes in current production and consumption models to achieve true sustainability.

This contribution pinpoints the necessity of a closer engagement with the extractivism-security nexus by the degrowth/ ecological economics movement.

Critical raw materials (CRMs) are increasingly considered a “security” issue by the European Union (EU). These materials (e.g. lithium, cobalt, graphite, copper, nickel) are regarded as essential for several sectors such as renewable energy, the digital industry, and the space and defence sectors. Underlying the EU critical raw materials strategy is a complex security culture, which main objective is resource security in order to ensure 1) the functioning of the European socio-economic system (energy and digital transitions, energy security) 2) the European geopolitical leverage (“strategic” security) and 3) the European security and defence (“comprehensive” security); all against the backdrop of the climate crisis. The dependence on critical raw material (CRM) imports and single suppliers is perceived as the main threat, which should be countered through the development of an EU CRM value chain, the diversification of supply and circularity. “Sustainability” is regarded as the central value that warrants the extraction and operation of the EU. Value-led practices such as the making of criticality, CRM onshoring, the establishment of “win-win” partnerships translate the means to achieve resource security into action. The divergence between strategy and practice, especially the tremendous socio-environmental impact of the mining industry and infrastructure on the associated geographies, points out the ambiguities of the EU’s security culture and its goal of uninterrupted access to CRMs and green growth.

Resource security is the backbone of the European extractivist mode of being and living. The switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy does not challenge extractivism at large. To be successful, an alternative narrative on CRMs needs to semantically, conceptually, and practically break with the security cultures which are upholding the extractivist mode of being and living – apart from calling for the necessity in CRM demand reduction and the equality of distribution.

Se ha aplicado el Protocolo de Capital Natural para evaluar los impactos y dependencias de los ecosistemas de dos infraestructuras verdes pertenecientes al grupo Agbar. Se ha utilizado un sistema de scoring para homogeneizar las unidades de medidas de los diferentes servicios ecosistémicos como alternativa a la monetización

The necessity of ecological and social transitions towards a more sustainable world, detached from economic growth, becomes increasingly evident. As mainstream media discourses do not take this into account, we propose an alternative discourse.

The Lady H Society (LHS) manifesto seeks to address this issue through a systemic approach and multidisciplinary contributions (art, fundamental and social sciences). The project consists in interviews, fictional videos, and workshops aimed at fostering critical mind and dialogue. The project is based on emancipation through understanding and reflexivity. In concrete terms, it popularizes scientific knowledge and provides tools to facilitate access to and verification of this knowledge. This contributes to the project's public gaining hindsight from dominant thoughts and structures, which they feel more free to challenge.

Our research evaluates the impact of LHS videos on critical mind. This work includes a review of literature in psychology on narratives (Green & Brock, 2000; Moyé-Gusé, 2008; Slater & Rouner, 2002), critical mind (Edman & al., 2004; Ennis, 2015), and intervention strategies (Fassier & al., 2016; Kok & al., 2015). This review will lead to the development of a questionnaire, allowing for a systematic and experimental analysis of the impact of the narrative and its content.

This approach is important because narrative interventions aimed at behavior change are not well-evaluated (Petraglia, 2007). Indeed, there is often more emphasis on content production rather than effectiveness evaluation, for budgeting reasons. Furthermore, when those interventions are evaluated, their multi-factorial nature complicates understanding of their effects, as it requires too many measurements and, consequently, too much material and financial resources. On the other hand, measuring each factor or group of factors in isolation, without considering their interaction with others, does not account for their effects, as it is very likely that the combination of all those factors has an effect. It is therefore difficult to understand how narrative interventions work.

The knowledge gained from this evaluation will enable a better understanding of the mechanisms of narratives, guiding future interventions and ensuring their effectiveness. This can provide grounds for funding such projects. Finally, a visual synthesis under CC license will help participants seize the presented theoretical foundations, which documents the process of narrative interventions. A discussion will provide cues on how participants can use these concepts in their future work, and where to look for more resources on the subject of narrative interventions.

Recent events that have put the European economy in check, such as the post-Covid-19 pandemic crisis, the limitation of raw materials and energy restrictions resulting from the war in Ukraine, as well as the advance of the far right in certain governments, are leading to a slowdown and even a regression of the measures agreed on in the area of climate policy. In the case of the EU, this regression is plausible in the proposed reduction in emissions per vehicle, contrary to the conclusions drawn from the review of the Paris Agreement presented in September 2023, where the need for more ambitious targets and more action to cut emissions is pointed out. Precisely at a time when extreme weather events are occurring with greater virulence and, in many cases, with serious consequences for the population, knowing how the media are addressing these new political decisions regarding climate and what information they are transmitting is decisive in terms of promoting climate action, given the capacity of media discourse to influence society. Although climate denialism seemed to have been overcome, appearing in a residual way in some media, it is making a comeback, with growing coverage in certain media showing greater support for this trend. With the aim of identifying the effect that news framing can have on the social perception of climate change, this study analyses the news and headlines published on climate change in four Spanish digital media of different ideologies, from the Paris summit to the UN review of the implementation of the Paris Agreement. Preliminary results show significant data regarding the importance of the protagonists of these news items, most of which have a political profile, to determine the negativity or positivity of the message, and the influence that the ideological connotations of each media outlet may have on the content and quantity of information published on this issue. Likewise, the terminology used to deal with extreme weather phenomena is evolving and becoming more striking, highlighting the critical points that these phenomena are reaching. Given the growing social and scientific pressure regarding the urgency of taking measures to curb the impacts of climate change, this analysis aims to provide some keys to implement media discourses that help to promote climate action.

The doughnut economy framework has been increasingly advocated by academics, governance institutions and policy-makers as a tool for delivering economies that provide a social foundation for all people, are safe and socially just, and respect planetary boundaries. Thus far, the role of ecosystem services (ES) in contributing to the doughnut economy’s ambitions has been underexplored. This is surprising considering the wealth of ES literature addressing the theoretical components of ‘a good life’ and relationships between social-ecological systems (SES), resource use and human well-being. Two contributions to the literature are made by this study: (1) a generalised model is outlined linking natural capital to ES to the ecological ceilings and human needs of the doughnut economy’s framework, and (2) an illustrative case study of whale ES in Disko Bay, Greenland is provided to demonstrate linkages between ES and the doughnut economy’s framework. The findings are based on 19 interviews with representative stakeholders in August 2019 and observational data gathered by the researchers. Although the case study is a simplification of the complexity of SES, it nevertheless reveals several of the key contributions made by whale ES to a mixed economy, especially reduced pressures on the ecological ceilings linked to biodiversity loss and climate change, and a positive contribution to the human needs of food, health, income and work, and social equity. The case study stimulates a discussion that reflects on the limited recognition of the role of cultural ES in the doughnut economy’s conceptualisation, evidence of social-ecological trade-offs and complexities. These include some increased pressures caused by whale ES on ecological ceilings and tensions between the human needs, and multi-level governance challenges in operationalising the doughnut economy.

Poland's energy sector stands at a crossroads, facing the challenge of transitioning from ageing coal-based infrastructure to less carbon-intensive alternatives. This poster scrutinises the debate on substituting coal with gas-fired power plants within the next decade, considering the EU's climate policies and the uncertainties surrounding the long-term viability of natural gas investments. In a context where natural gas is perceived as a 'lesser evil' compared to coal, this study explores a degrowth-compatible pathway as a solution to this conundrum.

Rising mining costs and escalating CO₂ emission fees pose financial challenges for maintaining coal power plants in Poland, especially without sustained state support, which the EU mandates to cease post-2028. Despite this, the official national energy policy envisions substantial coal-fired capacity persisting until 2040. Faced with warnings from the power system operator and energy regulatory office about a potential shortage of dispatchable power in the next decade, power utilities have initiated multiple gas-fired power plant projects.

Simultaneously, renewable energy sources (RES) in Poland have experienced rapid growth in recent years. In 2023, they accounted for 29% of the domestic electricity consumption, and a goal of 60-65% by 2030 is realistic. In view of this progress, environmental organisations and climate activists call for the abandonment of the new gas projects and advocate for a seamless transition to renewable energy sources (RES).

However, modelling studies of the Polish energy system show that a significant dispatchable power plant capacity – be it gas or coal – is still necessary if the current electricity demand trajectory is maintained. This does not contradict the 60-65% RES goal, as fossil-based plants would be used much less frequently; however, fossil investments pose risks of technological ‘lock-in’ and potential oversupply of electricity from those sources. Energy security introduces another layer to the debate, favouring electricity from domestically sourced coal over that from imported natural gas despite the former's higher costs.

Based on the results of a simple energy model PyPSA-PL-mini, I argue that postulates to simultaneously phase out coal and limit the scale of natural gas investments necessitate endorsing alternative policy frameworks grounded in degrowth principles. These would include implementing measures to reduce overall energy demand, such as incentivising energy efficiency and sufficiency, rethinking urban and transportation planning, and promoting lifestyle changes aligning with lower and more flexible energy consumption. The coal vs. gas dilemma in Poland presents an opportunity to inject degrowth arguments into a broader debate.

Recent research indicates that disruptiveness in science has decreased, triggering discussions about the reason for this. Early Thomas Kuhn discussed why revolutions in science are slow but inevitable processes. A revolution requires a new paradigm to form, which is distinct and incommensurable to the dominant paradigm. Kuhn identifies markers for the formation of a new paradigm, such as institutionalization through the foundation of new journals or research groups. To better understand transition processes within a scientific discipline, I not only draw on the work of Kuhn but also on the adaptive cycle by Gunderson and Holling. Combining these two approaches facilitates theorization of the reasons for the reduced disruptiveness at the scientific discipline (system) level. To elucidate the interplay between individuals and the scientific discipline, and thus their role in processes of scientific paradigm shifts, the new model further integrates resilience theory. Factors determining the resilience of an adaptive system explain resistance to change at individual and system levels, as well as the interplay between these two levels. The discourse between environmental and ecological economics is used to illustrate the theoretical discussion and apply the novel transition concept to a specific case. The analysis shows that institutionalization, providing better answers to anomalies, and uncovering maladaptations are key in the transition process.

Over the past decades, we witnessed a maturation of discourses on decolonizing epistemologies, research, and education, i.e. liberating academic domains such as humanities from entrenched colonial tendencies. These movements are gaining momentum, with international conferences and networks emerging and subjects of study shifting. However, much work is still left to do and discussions on decolonization especially within the physical sciences and technology have not progressed to a comparable degree.

This poster presentation aims to address this gap by spotlighting various initiatives actively engaging with science, technology, and innovation (STI) decolonization around the world. The results are based on a Global Policy Dialogue session presented by the authors at the 77th UN General Assembly Science Summit. Without a claim to exhaustiveness, the session brought together scholars, scientists, and activists from diverse contexts to share insights into their local histories and explore different facets of decolonizing science thereby illustrating the diversity of approaches and challenges encountered by scientific communities globally. Key themes addressed include recognizing indigenous knowledge, curriculum development, methodologies, land use, conceptions of modernity, citizen science, scientific education in schools, socioeconomic marginalization, mental health, access to science, historical narratives, languages, funding, and nature-based solutions.

Centering, summarizing, and comparing these varied approaches and goals can help to generate ideas for local and global educational and research policies conducive to the decolonization of science. Understanding the relationship between local histories and resulting differences in decolonizing work can help us influence cultural changes, and advocate for policy shifts in funding, open science, and curricula. By offering a broad overview of these global initiatives, this session identifies commonalities and differences and presents potential collaboration points for future coordinated actions on a global scale.

The European Green Deal contains two ambitious targets for 2030: 1) the strict protection of at least 10% of the European Union's land area and 2) the expansion of organic farming to a share of 25% of agricultural land. To address these potentially conflicting objectives competing for land use, we construct a spatially explicit mathematical programming model for the European agricultural sector. This model simulates in detail the distribution of cropland and production decisions. Using a cost-minimization approach, we analyze the expansion of strictly protected areas to achieve the 10% target while increasing the share of agricultural land under organic farming to 25%. The programming model can meet the targets lexicographically or simultaneously, leading to cost differences. We expect lower costs for meeting both targets simultaneously, underscoring the potential benefits of collaboration between institutions and targets.

Suburban sprawl emerged during the 20th century alongside the widespread ownership of cars. This type of low-density housing generates enduring car dependency due to the long lifetimes of buildings. Sustainable futures depend on the slow and investment-heavy transformations of the current building stock or on the possibility to change daily life in existent built environments that constrain daily practices. A more sustainable mobility system would require a deep transformation to densify urban forms and thus foster proximity of homes, work, and services. Here we explore the evolution of long-lived residential building stocks and the potential for breaking of this lock-in by selective demolishing of detached houses to densify urban forms. We assess impacts on land use, material demand and stocks, and greenhouse gas emissions. We build an integrated Product Flow Analysis of dwellings and car ownership & use in Sweden by municipality type (2020-2100). The model includes different municipality types and we explore three different speeds for the change in urban form. Our scenarios and model show that the up-front carbon emissions in new construction for densification are only paid off in the long-term by the savings on mobility. These emissions savings are minor in the context of urgent, short-term decarbonisation and vary more with the level of electrification of transport. The denser final built environments may have further social benefits and free half the current residential land use.

While in the past the need to produce more goods and services required more work, the goal now is to increase production almost exclusively in order to enlarge employment. This approach is not logical either from the point of view of environmental sustainability or address social welfare. In the coming years, technological advances will continue to produce a working time reduction at the level of society as a whole, what should be considered as good news, but it will foreseeably result in massive layoffs, greater social inequalities and a meaningless production increase.

The different studies reviewed indicate that the achievement of the objectives pursued by the proposal of a working time reduction (WTR) and Distribution (reduction of unemployment, more equitable distribution of productivity increases, improvement of welfare levels, reduction of environmental impacts) is possible, depending on the concrete form in which it is applied and the complementary measures that are adopted.

The revision of the Spanish labor market institutions and the interviews with some political, union and business representatives seem to explain why the WTR is not, by now, a mostly accepted proposal, although there are those who consider it desirable and keep it on their agenda.

Obstacles will be analyzed: increased costs for the company if labor costs are not simultaneously reduced, a possible worsening of international competitiveness, foreseeable difficulty in the establishment of organizational and management changes, concerns of workers about the reduction of their income and a consideration of work that harms the view of the WTR as a factor of life quality improvement as "hard work" has become a symbol of prestige.

In an attempt to overcome these obstacles, a WTR proposal will be exposed with the following key elements: Public financing, collective bargaining, a change of mentality and the consideration of an unconditional basic income as a complement to the WTR proposal and alternative to the current social protection system.

Because of its desirability, the proposal is relevant enough to make it worthwhile to try to involve society in general, and especially the most influential agents in decision-making (political parties, unions and business organizations).

As the Conference will be an appropriate forum to connect and discuss ideas, I would consider very useful the possibility of establishing collaborations with the aim of finding ways to gain more social support and implement these types of proposals through collective creativity.

In January 2024, the Gaian Way finalized a poster project that we will distribute in public elementary, middle and high schools in southern New England (Northeast U.S.) starting in Spring 2024 (see the poster at https://cyclesofgaia.com).

This poster, “Cycles of Gaia: Northeast Woodlands Ecological Calendar,” reorients the year and passage of time away from human-centered events to the natural cycles of the plants that make up the Northeastern bioregion. The calendar tracks leafing, flowering, and fruiting cycles, along with precipitation and length of daylight.

The goal of the project is to get school children, teachers, and others thinking differently about the passage of time, and better understand what a year is composed of (particularly shifting light cycles), and help them start recognizing both the specific species that they share the land with and how these species change over the year. In 2024, this will also be made into a museum exhibit for science and nature museums in New England. Erik Assadourian would introduce this poster as an effort to reconnect people to Gaia’s cycles and develop a deeper respect and understanding of the living Earth with the hope of helping shift students understanding of humans at the center of the year and the world.

This presentation serves as an opportunity to explore how art can be used to shift the imaginary of humans' role in the world and the anthropocentric paradigm that now dominates. It will include the poster as well as additional text describes its goals, intentions and efforts thus far.

This poster reflects the roughly 3 years of existence of the Czech Degrowth Movement with the aim to share our experience and exchange with others their stories of how they have built (or not) a degrowth movement in their respective countries.

After about 10 years (2010 - 2020) of slow move with only sporadic activities and publications about degrowth in very specific academic and green-left contexts, things got much more intense in CZ during the last 3 years. A “core group” of about 10+ active people has been meeting regularly and several organizations incorporated degrowth explicitly into their strategic aims and their internal functioning. Between 2021 - 2023 we managed to do more than 120 public talks and debates, published more than 40 media articles and interviews, helped with translation of several degrowth books and got published our own one. We've created a degrowth website with original graphics, we organized a national conference, a degrowth day, a degrowth academy and several other bigger public events. We managed that the word “degrowth” gets mentioned in the Czech national media several times per week (albeit still too often in rather misleading connotations). Looking back, we reassess our strategic aims and want to move the topic further. We are still very few, we work too much and dance too little, and we believe others do, too. So we want to share and discuss what worked better and what worse, where we can join and how to make things happen - to inspire and get inspired by others.

Social sustainability thresholds are critical to enabling the transition to a safe and future, as they play a crucial role in accurately measuring progress towards sustainability, improving accountability and transparency in both the public and private sector, and providing important guidance to policy makers. Without such thresholds, social sustainability indicators become meaningless. Surprisingly, there is a significant research gap when it comes to defining these thresholds. For example, ecological economic concepts such as doughnut economics, which seek to define spaces for sustainable development, often set somewhat arbitrary thresholds for social sustainability indicators.

This paper contributes to filling this research gap by systematically examining a threshold for income inequality, one of the most pressing social challenges. It aims to investigate the level of inequality that can be considered socially sustainable by analyzing the relationship between income inequality and various social indicators, namely political voice, peace and justice, life satisfaction, health, and education. Using parametric and non-parametric analytical tools, the pattern of these relationship are examined to establish a threshold level of income inequality. Based on the extensive data from the World Development Indicators database, the paper visualizes distribution effects and highlights the complex interdependence of the indicators. Thus, drawing on theories from various disciplines this ongoing work develops a new approach for setting thresholds for sustainability indicators, that are central to creating an equitable and socially sustainable space for a society.

Island territories like Reunion Island are particularly vulnerable to the effects of global changes (climate change, rising sea levels, erosion of biodiversity, extreme weather events, etc.). This situation raises questions about the sustainability of island development when global impacts are at work. Located in the Indian Ocean, Reunion has a rich biodiversity with endemic species and is also a French overseas department whose development has been linked to that of France. There are many economic and cultural exchanges with the mainland, which partly shape the lifestyles of the people of Reunion Island. Over the last few decades, the need to preserve Reunion’s unique biodiversity and cultural heritage has come up against the island's demographic and economic development. Despite reduced poverty and inequality, Reunion's poorest population remains larger and poorer compared to mainland France, while the wealthiest decile mirrors mainland wealth levels.

The aim of our contribution is to analyse the sustainability of Reunion’s development using the donut framework (Raworth, 2017). By integrating the strong dimension of sustainability, we wish to propose a model of island development under ecological and social constraints. The first step will be to articulate the planetary limits (Rockström et al., 2009) with the ecological limits specific to Reunion, using a downscaling of the control variables to identify the carrying capacity of the territory, coupled with a quantification of the environmental pressures exerted. This approach will reveal the current state of the environmental sustainability of the Reunion system (Ryberg et al., 2018; Bjørn et al., 2020). Building on this environmental analysis, we will then examine socio-economic indicators in relation to the social foundations of the donut framework will help to highlight development issues based on human needs. The second step, based on this analysis of the socio-ecological system, will propose integrated policies for preserving the environment and redistributing resources in order to ensure secure and fair development on an island-wide scale (Han et al., 2023).

Whilst we need a global movement for sustainable development and social transformation, the current working culture in Higher Education and Research is not tailored to fully support it. The growth paradigm in academia, commonly referred to as the Publish or Perish culture, poses significant challenges for those wishing to emulate such societal shift. These individuals, namely activists, are at greater risk of burnout, compassion fatigue, and work insecurity, and often compromise their mental, physical, and social health. In this poster, we aim to describe the current situation of participating in social and environmental action while being engaged in academia and its work culture. We explore the interconnections between (1) Social and Environmental Action, (2) Higher Education and Research, and (3) Sustainable Work-life Balance and Well-being. Our first objective is to bridge the gaps between these three areas through a systematic literature review and a survey. Our second objective is to explore an alternative work schedule that responds to the urgent need to incorporate social justice initiatives into academia's culture. The aim is to allow them into professional tasks rather than relegating them to extra-curricular activities.

The proposed implementation model would vary for undergraduate and postgraduate students and staff. For undergraduates, the aim would be to integrate concepts related to global challenges into all degrees, regardless of the subject. Postgraduate students and staff members would follow a schedule comprising four weekdays dedicated to research and one weekday free of work with encouragement to be allocated for applied social justice-oriented collaborative and interdisciplinary projects. This structure, including projects and tasks, would be formally integrated into contracts and job descriptions. It is acknowledged that lecturers and professors constitute the demographic most affected by the current work culture demands, thus an adaptation period is considered during the initial stages of the implementation. Having additional free time would cultivate community building, enhance the sense of purpose and empowerment, allow time for reflection, and have positive effects on well-being, thereby enhancing the overall academic environment.

Moreover, we address academia-specific topics arising from this suggestion, including the impacts on productivity, excellence and prestige, and research funding. Overall, our goal is to stimulate discussions and offer suggestions concerning the current academic work culture, aiming to integrate social and environmental action while alleviating emotional labour and sacrifices. This proposal will motivate academic institutions to allocate resources and support initiatives beyond academic norms.

Energy transition plans, exemplified by Spain's National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan 2023-2030 (PNIEC), present complex challenges regarding environmental impact displacement and international economic interdependence. While the plan prioritizes cost minimization and greenhouse gas emissions reduction, it sets aside other impacts from renewable technology, such as those associated with critical raw materials (CRM). The energy transition towards renewable energy sources represents a fundamental change in climate change mitigation by reducing dependence on fossil fuels. However, it will induce the replacement of imports of fossil fuels with imports of equipment and materials for renewable technologies. This will generate a geographic shift of the economic effects and environmental impacts from the locations of fossil fuels extraction and use to those of the exporters of strategic minerals used in renewable energy technology equipment. The PNIEC does not explicitly address the implications of these displacements.

Our research integrates consumption-based accounting of displaced environmental impacts abroad and the economic interdependence on fossil fuels and strategic minerals used for renewable energy technologies into Material Criticality Assessment (MCA). We use a hybrid Input-output & life cycle assessment methodology and international trade flow analysis of fossil fuel exporting countries to Spain and its relative weight on their national income. Our results show diversified levels of “criticality” between trading partners, based on the level of displaced environmental impacts, and possible degree of economic effects on the fossil fuel exporting party, based on the interdependence between them and Spain. The findings suggest increased environmental impact displacement to strategic mineral-producing countries like China and India, raising sustainability concerns. Additionally, the intensive use of minerals to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels economically impacts Spain's main trading partners, such as Nigeria and Mexico. The analyses expose the implications of the unequal economic and ecological exchanges generated in the energy transition.

In this study, I enquired the scope of cooperation in water resource governance that has potential to enhance net farm income by reducing the cost of water. Water user association (WUA) on groundwater is a government-subsidised cooperative model where farmers make collective decisions regarding water distribution. Many times, due to improper management of the groundwater resource system and its physical structure, cooperation collapsed. Moreover, subsidized irrigation water exaggerated water extraction, and as a result, the water table declined beyond the bottom of the well, threatening the sustainability of the WUA.

In this study, I described diversity of agricultural production systems (APS) under similar community irrigation distribution systems. From diverse APS, I developed distinct farm types and substantiated them with theoretical viewpoints and empirical data. I further maximized net return of a farm by adopting cost effective cropping patterns. To maximize water conservation in a community irrigation distribution system, an incentive scheme in a principal-agent ( P-A) mode is devised that features a cooperative model. The P-A model results indicated that economic incentives offered for water saving from the WUA motivated farmers to adopt water saving activities at the farm level. In addition, WUA achieved maximum total water savings by reducing pumping operation. However, the impact of economic incentives for water saving differs by farm type. Therefore, the study recommends that a WUA should amend its water distribution institutions to encourage adoption of water-saving cropping patterns by member farmers by advancing multiple fixed and variable incentives.

My research focuses on identifying the axioms underpinning the evolution of our current economic system through tracing their origins, and envisioning alternative axioms that could undergird the development of a more sustainable economic system. The method used for analysis is Causal Layered Analysis, developed in the post-structuralist (Foucauldian) futures studies that enables scrutinizing a phenomenon from several historical and philosophical perspectives. It traces the phenomenon through four layers of analysis, named as Litany, Social Causes, Worldview and Myth/Metaphor by its designer Sohail Inayatullah.

The findings and method are described in a table format in the uploaded file, here only the axioms are outlined as text.

Old axioms:

1) Hierarchy between human and between humans and others is natural

2) There are natural law like tendencies in societal action, which means that social systems can be manipulated in similar fashion, but not changed

3) Humans are predominantly competitive and self-interest seeking

4) Progress is inevitable as linear time moves forwards

5) Analytic over synthetic thinking: solving a problem requires breaking it down into its constitutive elements

6) Utilitarianism: the valence of an action can only be deduced by its outcome, not the action itself

Alternative axioms

1) Humans are not only equal to one another but also mere parts in the wider planetary system

2) What humans have created, they can recreate; no economic system is given but a construct - it's not only a choice between e.g. capitalism and communism, but a question of what else can we construct?

3) Humans survived as species through collaboration which is also the foundation of work specialization and any commerce - without it, all would still just farm their own small patches

4) Socio-cultural trajectories are not predetermined, moving forwards is just one way of thinking about time. Progress is not inevitable and we do tend to repeat ourselves as societies the ignorance of which hinders learning from past mistakes.

5) While breaking things apart is the foundation of technology, being able to view things within the systems in which they are embedded is equally important and essential for understanding the systemic nature of planetary processes and our impacts on them

6) What would a virtue ethics based economic system look like? Or one based on ecological deontology? If we hold on to consequentialism, which consequences should we assess?

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is the largest investment in climate policy ever and is projected to significantly reduce emissions. However, due to its newness, the IRA has not received much attention from degrowth scholars. This essay follows recent decoupling scholarship that undertakes empirical analysis casting doubt on the possibility of achieving infinite economic growth and sufficient climate change abatement. This essay considers the question: to what extent are the renewable energy (RE) provisions of the IRA projected to decouple domestic GDP growth from greenhouse gas emissions and material throughputs? It finds that the IRA will likely contribute to the relative and absolute decoupling of energy generation emissions in the US, but insufficiently to align with a 1.5°C trajectory. Potential land use and materials impacts are likely lower than coal but remain uncertain. The spatial and socio-economic impacts of the IRA are suggested as fruitful avenues for future research.

This poster is the result of a collaborative effort bringing together activists, NGO staff and academic researchers to create a «map illustration» of the impacts that Barcelona’s green and digital transition will have in territories of the Global South.

The EU has presented a twin transition – green and digital – to be led by big corporations. A transition, hence, based on the economic growth model, that does not contemplate planetary boundaries and social justice. The transition requires large amounts of raw materials to produce renewable energy technologies and digitalisation. Consequently, the interest for the business of the green transition has soared, to capture the supply chain of «green» technologies, and a global race for critical raw materials has begun.

The case for this illustration is the city of Barcelona. The City Council's proposals for a transition away from fossil fuels and for digitalisation will also require raw materials. For example, the implementation of policies to promote electric vehicles (such as the Low Emission Zone) require a large amount of lithium and other minerals to manufacture the batteries. This rapid increase in demand of raw materials will have severe impacts on the commodity frontiers.

The illustration is not an academic contribution. It is also not an exhaustive effort of all impacts that the transition will have. Rather, it is a visualitation effort of some of the main issues, identified as important by the organisatiosn and individuals that participated in the collaborative research process, meant to serve as a tool for awareness raising and communication: to question the growth-based transition presented by governmental institutions. It is aimed at opening up discussions on the city’s metabolism, the impacts and conflicts derived from the institutional green and digital transition in cities in the Global North, and on how the alternatives including degrowth could look like. Hence, it is to be used for story-telling, taking Barcelona as example but that could inspire other illustrative efforts in other places.
(To see the map in Catalan, click here (English will be available for the conference)): https://odg.cat/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Mapa-VF-imatge-scaled.jpg

Cleaning and restoring freshwater ecosystems constitute an important pilar of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030). More than 1000 rivers account for 80% of global riverine plastics emissions into the ocean, with small urban rivers among the most polluting (Meyer et al., 2021). Consequently, tackling plastic waste in rivers is more efficient and effective than tackling it in the ocean. Progress, however, is hindered by the strong path-dependencies and lock-ins of the involved sectors, (Markard et al., 2012). Given the broad set of involved stakeholders, with different agendas and velocities of action, the issue of how to promote and govern sustainability driven initiatives is vital and has received increasing attention both in the policy arena and in social-science research (Kania and Kramer, 2013). Nonetheless, practical initiatives and positive impacts are still scant.

This poster presents an initiative of river cleaning and restoration in Spain (Rio Francolí, Tarragona). Key phases are 1) diagnosis - capturing the presence of plastic waste and tracing its origins; 2) solutions - definition of (a combination of) available technologies that is suited to address the diagnosis; 3) maintenance - creating the local ecosystem of actors that prevents new waste generation, that maintains the river water clean and that regenerates the aquatic ecosystem. Involved stakeholders include three levels of public administrations, companies along the plastics supply chain, grassroots movements, technology and environmental institutes, the local harbour, a university, a business school, and a consulting company.

We employ the theoretical lens of absorptive Capacity (AC), an ability developed through a sequence of knowledge or learning processes (Knoppen et al., 2022), to assess the initiative and its impacts over time. In addition, we employ an embedded level of analysis, acknowledging the organizational and network learning capabilities, and their interplay in order to achieve positive impact.

Kania, J., & Kramer, M. (2013). Embracing emergence: How collective impact addresses complexity. Stanford social innovation review.

Knoppen, D., Saris, W., & Moncagatta, P. (2022). Absorptive capacity dimensions and the measurement of cumulativeness. Journal of Business Research, 139, 312-324.

Markard, J., Raven, R., & Truffer, B. (2012). Sustainability transitions: An emerging field of research and its prospects. Research Policy, 41, 955–967.

Meijer, L. J., van Emmerik, T., van der Ent, R., Schmidt, C., & Lebreton, L. (2021). More than 1000 rivers account for 80% of global riverine plastic emissions into the ocean. Science Advances, 7(18).

Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) and water management have long been intertwined, yet a scarcity of consolidated literature persists on their integration. To address this gap, a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) was conducted to analyze the nexus between PES and water resource management. With the research question deliberately broad—"Is there integration between PES and water resource management?"—the SLR identified key concepts and examples illustrating how PES can be integrated into water resource management. International literature often treats PES merely as a tool without contextualizing its origins or underlying interests. Studies by Henkel (2016) and Sim et al. (2018) highlight the historical and political roots of PES, stressing its non-neutrality regarding political, economic, and social biases. The transition from "polluter pays" to "beneficiary receiver" logic is underscored by various authors, indicating potential ideological biases (ALMEIDA, 1998; VATN, 2005; GÓMEZ-BAGGETHUN et al., 2010; VAN HECKEN & BASTIAENSEN, 2010). Acknowledging this non-neutrality prompts critical examination of PES's effectiveness in water management and whether it inadvertently serves dominant groups' interests, contradicting its intended purpose (HENKEL, 2016; SIM et al., 2018). Implementing PES based on neoliberal principles in culturally resistant areas can lead to conflicts (MARTINEZ-ALIER, 2007; GÓMEZ-BAGGETHUN et al., 2010). PES, promoting water privatization, assigns economic value to water, a notion contested by various groups advocating water as a right, not a commodity (PAGE, 2005; MARTINEZ-ALIER, 2007; ACOSTA, 2014; BOLIVARIAN ALLIANCE FOR THE AMERICAS, 2011). Intermediaries often impose fees to reduce transaction costs, resembling true market dynamics, potentially leading to water commodification (GÓMEZ-BAGGETHUN et al., 2010). PES schemes, often driven by financial motives, may deviate from environmental goals (IORIS, 2010; HACK, 2015; CHOI et al., 2017). While PES is not a standalone solution, its integration with water resource planning is crucial, with varied outcomes observed (PEREVOCHTCHIKOVA & BELTRÁN, 2012; MATTOS et al., 2018). PES's ability to unite diverse stakeholders around common goals is highlighted, although its efficiency remains debated (HACK, 2015; RICHARDS et al., 2017; WUNDER et al., 2020). The literature underscores the complex interplay between policies, economic interests, and environmental concerns in PES and water management. While some view PES optimistically, others question its effectiveness and neutrality. Further research is warranted to ascertain PES's compatibility with water management objectives, emphasizing holistic approaches to address social, political, and environmental dimensions for efficient water resource management.

The psychological definition of “trust” is “confidence that [one] will find what is desired [from another] rather than what is feared” (Deutsch, 1973). But for us “trust” is not only a psychological concept, but a community currency.

Currently, conventional monetary systems benefit the international financial markets, but local currencies benefit the community as they are used to revitalize local communities, disrupt the status quo, function as a systematic solution to ecological and financial crises, and so on. Some examples include WIR in Switzerland, Regiogeld across Germany, Austria, and Netherlands, and Banco Palmas in Brazil among many others.

The first digital community currency in Turkey was developed at Good4Trust.org. This community currency is defined as a transformation tool called “Trust”. As Turkish legislation does not allow for the use of “Money” for tokens or other local digital currencies, but classifies them as loyalty programs. At Good4Trust, “Trust” is used to aid in the creation of a macro-level circular economic system by encouraging producers and prosumers to purchase socially and ecologically just products. This system is called a “Prosumer Economy” (Özesmi, 2019). “Trust” as a transformation tool, reinforces circularity by minimizing leakage out of the system.

“Trust” is generated at 5% every time a purchase is concluded, it can be gifted between producers and prosumers, and can be used up to 30% of every purchase. “Trusts” can’t be accumulated, if not used or gifted they will expire after 90 days. The closest trust to the expiration date will be used first in exchanges (Yakut and Özesmi 2023). These percentages and ratios are parametric and can be altered for optimal use and transformation impact.

“Trust” decreases the leakage out of the system, strengthening local producers. “Trust” is also localized, therefore provides for shorter supply chains, thereby less carbon emissions. A localized tool also improves community spirit by promoting mutual support as it improves communication in Good4Trust. Since “Trust” supports just producers, using it can be considered an ethical behavior that encourages others when shared.

As of 30th of April, the total amount of generated “Trusts” is 62,633.13 from this amount 22,103.39 “Trusts” were used. Still, 21,978.51 “Trusts” are held in the prosumer accounts and 8,913.46 “Trusts” are held in the producer accounts to be used. 31,741.16 “Trusts” are held by Good4Trust admin as a result of expirations and purchase contributions, which will be used to incentivize prosocial behavior in the system.

The degrowth literature frequently refers to growth imperatives, structures that force economies towards increasing GDP, such as interest-bearing debt, fractional reserve banking, and unemployment driven by increasing production efficiency. Yet, considerable scientific debate remains over whether these mechanisms are really imperatives, and by which means they could be overcome to enable stationary or contracting economy. This severely limits the possibilities to imagine realistic pathways to degrowth, both within and outside the current macroeconomic system and the fields of science, technology and innovation. To tackle this challenge, we aim at answering three research questions: 1) What is the current scientific understanding of existing growth imperatives? 2) What macroeconomic means have been proposed to overcome these growth imperatives? 3) Which challenges and research gaps should be tackled to develop better solutions for overcoming growth imperatives?

Our study will consist of two parts: We will start by constructing the first systematic review on growth imperative literature, to map the state of the art and create a holistic image of the current understanding of existing growth imperatives, thus answering the first research question. In the next step, we will start tacking the second and the third research questions by piloting a systematic expert consultation, using the established Delphi-protocol with an online survey. We will take an interdisciplinarity angle by considering not just the economic structures of growth imperatives, but also the behavioural responses these imperatives assume (e.g. saving rates), exploring behavioural flexibility and its possibilities in tackling the imperatives. Ultimately, our study will provide a list of research priorities for helping to overcome growth imperatives, challenging the usual research priorities aiming at stimulating growth, and thus cultivating collective creativity for a sustainable future. Furthermore, our study collates macroeconomic policy proposals that may be used to create new free economies – not free in the neoliberal sense, but free of growth imperatives, free to stagnate and degrow.

In our poster, we will present the preliminary results of the literature review, the outlines of the planned pilot for expert consultation, as well as provide the audience an opportunity to directly participate in the pilot by accessing the survey via a QR-code.

The global food system is under scrutiny and challenged to transition to a more sustainable one, leading to a circular or climate-neutral society. The meat sector has faced criticism related to biodiversity loss, GHG emissions, eutrophication, and animal welfare, among others. Moreover, it is often cited in the decolonisation narrative because it relies on feed imports from low-middle income countries (LMICs), while concurrently oversupplying LMIC markets with cheap end-products. It is equally central in the degrowth discourse in high-income countries (HICs), stipulating the need for reducing meat-based diets due to ecological and carbon footprints. In addition, numerous studies have indicated that these issues are, in part, a result of the growth ideology within the current economic system. To address this, there is expanding interest in exploring the way in which new economic paradigms such as doughnut economics, post-growth, or degrowth will impact societies across the globe.

For this transition, it is crucial to understand the state of affairs, and whether the underlying assumptions that we make are correct: 1) Economies of high-income countries (HICs) appropriate resources from low and middle-income countries (LMICs) and, 2) HICs supply local markets in LMICs with cheap food products, rendering local production uncompetitive. This report aims to address this second assumption specifically for the Netherlands (HIC) and Sub-Saharan Africa (LMICs) by asking: What is the position and the impact of the Netherlands (NL) with regards to exports of meat products to Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)? We address this question by using a case study of the export dynamics in the poultry sector between the Netherlands and Ghana. To answer this question, we conducted literature research, interviewed one expert in African livestock production, performed a stakeholder analysis, and developed maps of the system. This led us to find evidence that suggests that the Netherlands (HIC) contributes to supplying local markets in Ghana (LMIC) with cheap poultry products, rending local production uncompetitive.

Transformative Adaptation has emerged to underline how climate change adaptation measures to protect communities against (immediate or impending) climate impacts can be developed in a long-lasting, system-changing manner by addressing the root causes of climate risks and enabling radical change in intertwined ecological and social systems. It expands the practice of Climate Adaptation with the concept of transformation implying that adaptation measures can be a tool to leverage fundamental change of a (regional) system that is not fit to withstand the accelerating social and ecological risk of climate change. Human vulnerability and inequality are often exacerbated through climate change, and even poorly designed and implemented policies or initiatives to abate certain impacts from climate change. Thus, Transformative Adaptation can be understood as a distinct, deliberate change in practices to allow the system to reduce current or future climate risk, reduce vulnerability in the region by ensuring the immediate basic needs of humans are met and (socio-economic) inequality is not exacerbated (rather, is also reduced).

We argue that the recent focus on climate change adaptation (e.g. as one of the six EU-Missions) presents a window of opportunity for introducing a needs-based approach to innovation, with a focus on nature-based solutions and ecosystem services that increase human resilience. Climate adaptation has traditionally followed a technocentric approach, fueled by political will to maintain economic growth. By emphasizing human resilience and the reduction of vulnerabilities to climate change induced risks rather than economic growth, degrowth principles could support transformative adaptation and lead to more sustainable transitions of regional economic systems. We will build on experiences of conceptualizing transformative adaptation for mountain regions in the frame of the MountResilience project. Our poster will propose a framework for regional climate change adaptation, combining the concepts of transformative adaptation, social innovation and degrowth. This contribution will open the discussion about the potential for degrowth to guide transformative adaptation measures and open the dialogue between the two communities.

The study illustrates the use of the Combined IAD-SES (CIS) framework in the context of artisanal fisheries in Chilika Lagoon of Odisha, India. The study identified two major breakpoints that created change in the overall setting of the Lagoon system namely, the introduction of shrimp culture in the 1990s and the opening of a new artificial mouth on 23rd September, 2000. The CIS Framework encapsulates the major ecological, social, economic, and biological dynamics of the area effectively which will provide a blueprint for future interdisciplinary research. Further, it can serve as a tool for policymakers to integrate both fish and food resources in an agri-food system that can make it more inclusive and robust.

Prosumer Economy is a macroscale circular economy with minimum negative or positive ecological and social impact, an ecosystem of producers and prosumers, who have synergistic and circular relationships with deepened circular supply chains/networks, where leakage of wealth out of the system is minimized (Özesmi, 2019). The members of the system are called prosumers because they treat others in the way that they want to be treated themselves, creating value for society and the planet through their actions, by supporting socially and ecologically just production. Every producer also becomes a prosumer when they buy any service or material for their production or needs. Through all this economic activity an ecosystem just like a forest is formed (Satıcı and Özesmi, 2022).

For an economy to be considered as a prosumer economy, there are four requirements:

1. The economic system and the community should be established upon ethics. The system must embrace the golden rule which is “Don’t do unto all other organisms and planetary life support systems, that you don’t want to be done to yourself.”

2. All members of the ecosystem try to act in solidarity, collaboration, and cooperation, seek justice, and work towards that shared goal.

3. The sustainable supply chains/networks in the ecosystem are deepened and reinforced by the support systems built in the prosumer economy ecosystem.

4. The community is governed by a democratic local governance.

To bring the prosumer economy into action, Good4Trust.org was established in 2014 in Turkey to function as a laboratory of the prosumer economy. Good4trust includes an online bazaar where prosumers can reach socially and ecologically just producers. Exchanges in Good4Trust include retail, wholesale, services, and contractual sales.

When socially and ecologically just producers come together in Good4Trust, a full ecosystem of producers and prosumers, similar to a forest ecosystem is created. In principle, all ecosystem members are in harmony and share values such as trust, transparency, justice, and peace. In Good4Trust.org, competition is avoided between producers as they work together towards the goal of sustainable and just production. They strive for solidarity and cooperation

to achieve the common goal of a just economic ecosystem.

In Good4Trust, a community currency called “Trust” is used so the leakage outside of the system is minimized, and the resources circulate inside the prosumer economy (Yakut and Özesmi, 2023). That way, the necessary resources stay inside of the ecosystem and the prosumer economy expands into the existing conventional destructive system.

In 2019, New Zealand’s government made headlines for launching a Wellbeing Budget that focused on improving the country’s wellbeing through five priority areas. Then prime-minister Jacinda Ardern stated at the time that “Growth alone does not lead to a great country. So it’s time to focus on those things that do”. While promoting wellbeing in public policy was not novel, it was nevertheless significant for a national government to prioritise it while acknowledging the limitations of economic growth. My paper assesses the impact of New Zealand’s 2019 budget and finds that although wellbeing has continued to be promoted in subsequent budgets, many of the Treasury’s related indicators have not (yet) improved. This has generated some public criticism of the initiative, which might have been avoided if the government had clearly communicated how the wellbeing budget was expected to improve relevant metrics, and over what timeframe. In contrast, the government's Child Poverty Reduction Act 2018, which had clear targets and metrics, has met two out of three of its three-year goals and made progress on the goal it did not meet. As governments in other countries, including Australia, look to implement their own wellbeing budgets, it may be worth considering whether policy with clearer expectations, such as defined indicators, targets and timelines, could be more effective in both allaying external criticism and improving outcomes. If wellbeing becomes a more widely used policy objective, the field will hopefully benefit from further research to improve policymakers’ understanding of how to generate positive outcomes in a resource-efficient manner.

The main challenge facing the agricultural landscapes of the Mediterranean and North African regions is not only climate change, but also the degradation of ecosystem services and the loss of biodiversity. The aim of this study is to investigate the adoption of agroecology as a solution to these problems by farmers in a case study in Algeria. To begin with, we determine the farmers' position in the agricultural system and their relationship with other components of the system using Ostrom's Social-Ecological System framework (SESF) (2009). In this step, we also identify the factors that affect farmers' decision-making processes. Subsequently, we enhance an existing bio-economic model with the outcomes of the previous step. Finally, we will assess policy scenarios to accelerate of agroecological transition.

First, in order to analyze the agricultural system, we develop a conceptual model of our Algerian case study using SESF. This conceptual model comprehensively analyses the three main elements of sustainable agriculture: ecology, economy, and social dimensions. The holistic approach of SESF enables us to address the complexity of the system, encompassing ecosystems, agroecology, and sustainability. SESF provides us a systematic model development process and identifies the variables in detail. In addition to a literature review, we conduct surveys with farmers and stakeholders to identify the main factors involved in farmers' decision-making processes and their impact on the ecosystem. This is achieved by considering the relationship between the decision-making process of the farmer and ecosystem.

Furthermore, SESF adds value by guiding the structured identification of key variables and enhancing bioeconomic model transparency through explicit documentation of assumptions and choices. Bioeconomic farm models offer an approach to evaluate farmer’s adoption and the sustainability of agroecological systems from economic, ecological, and social perspectives. A new module to an existing household bio-economic model will be developed, enabling the study of farmers' adoption of agroecological practices, and thus the transition to agroecology. The model will also integrate policy scenarios to determine the extent policies proposed will be adapted and tailored to the local context.

For the next stage of the study, interdisciplinary collaboration is crucial for effectively implementing social ecological systems and agroecology policies. Following the development of various policy scenarios, a workshop will be organized in the area to gather feedback from researchers, policymakers, farmers, and community members. This collaborative effort is expected to result in policies that are not only environmentally sustainable, but also socially equitable and economically viable.

Building on the expansive realm of the inner being in degrowth literature, our inquiry can be situated at the intersection of imagination, ontology and future possibilities within the context of the ecosocial crisis, investigating paths for a degrowth transition. By recognizing the foundational role that an ontological shift towards relationality plays for embodying and enacting degrowth, a central hypothesis is that a 1st generation or resonance-based eco-social policy package can lead to a generalized ontological shift through the democratization of reliable “axes of resonance” (Rosa, 2019), creating the conditions for 2nd generation or sufficiency-based eco-social policies. This ontological shift consists of the generalization of modes of being responsive to the interdependent and impermanent nature of reality, transcending the value practices that underpin the “imperial mode of living” (Brand and Wissen, 2021).

Through an action-research approach we apply a phenomenological methodology gathering data from a series of workshops in Barcelona (Spain) in the first half of 2024. Drawing on the power of human imagination and embodied experience, the workshops explore future scenarios for the year 2030 as a means to investigate the conditions for an ontological shift that makes the journey towards a degrowth society feasible and desirable. Imagining alternative futures provides insights into present perceptions, assumptions, fears, and ways forward, thereby shaping political possibilities for deep socio-ecological transformations. We explore how different publics envision and embody the future, particularly in relation to five 1st Generation eco-social policies: Universal Basic Services, Universal Care Income, Working Time Reduction, an Agroecological Transition, and Deliberative Forums. Hence, the capacity of these policies to shift the social field and imaginaries about possible futures through the “political activation of relationality” (Escobar, 2020) is assessed in an experiential way.

Biodiversity research and policy exists at a nexus of political, economic and social debates over land and resource use and the allocation of the derived benefits. In this context, understanding different perceptions of justice around interventions to improve biodiversity has two key benefits. Firstly, to avoid creating greater injustice via biodiversity policy such as the mistakes of traditional “fortress” conservation, the strict removal of economic activities from areas of natural beauty and high or unique biodiversity, that occurred in the 1960s and 1970s in sub-Saharan Africa that led to injustices for local peoples including forced eviction and denial of rights of passage for migratory routes. And, secondly, to improve the viability of policy pathways because the perceived fairness of these policies is key to their acceptability so that justice can be used as a leverage point to increase the sustainability of interventions. This poster will introduce the justice framework, key concepts and terminology and explore how different forms and patterns of justice exist in current biodiversity research and how this framework can support the inclusion of justice in future research.

Work sharing, the repopulation of the countryside, and the urgent recovery of resilience in the face of pending ecosocial collapse are objectives that can be pursued simultaneously and synergistically. The proposed model, Community Development and Resilience Cooperatives (CDRCs), relies on three fundamental pillars to articulate its strategy: direct democracy, cooperativism, and agroecology.

The objective of the proposed plan is multi-pronged and profoundly transformative and ecosocial in nature, to be realized by a system of holistic action whose elements mutually reinforce and sustain each other: sharing work and moving towards full employment (guaranteed work); reducing dependence on wage employment; rebuilding community (local) resilience and community ties themselves; create urban-rural bridges which enhance the resilience of urban metabolism; encouraging the transfer of labour to the countryside to increase local food production and food security; increasing knowledge and skills in the population for food production; improving health through an ecological diet; transforming the food system toward an ecological agriculture with polycultures located close to the consumers; moving towards authentic democracy; promoting cooperative work as a non-capitalist way to meet basic needs; protecting biodiversity; and mitigating climate chaos.