Between 15-17 May 2023 over 5,000 people came together to discuss the actualisation of a sustainable postgrowth future at a conference hosted by the European Parliament. A cross-party initiative by MEPs from five different political groups, the #BeyondGrowth event was organised in conjunction with over 60 partner organisations to challenge legacy policymaking, and revisit growth models that are no longer fit for purpose.
The three-day event in Brussels was designed to find ways of co-creating evidence-based policies for a workable, sustainable prosperity across Europe. Trade unions, businesses, civil society organisations and academics were represented.
“We call for more pluralism in economic thinking within EU institutions and for its alignment with the scientific evidence of climate, ecological and social sciences. We call for decision-making processes to be aligned with our common policy objectives rather than on the basis of the variation of GDP figures,” the MEPs wrote in an open letter, setting the stage.
At the opening plenary, Ursula von Leyen, President of the European Commission, told a packed auditorium that a growth model centred on fossil fuels is obsolete, and that the recent IPCC report is the latest reminder of how fast we need to act to decarbonise our economies.
“Today, we are leaving the fossil-fuel growth model behind us. The new lands are still blurred, but they are visible, we can reach them,” said von Leyen, who took the opportunity to stress the ambition of the European Green Deal.
The conference came a few weeks after Irish President Michael D Higgins called for parliamentarians and economists to look beyond the current obsession with economic growth and find socially just ways of rebalancing our economy, ecology and ethics. In a landmark speech, President Higgins said an ecologically responsible social economy was already within reach, and must find its way into government ministries to be implemented.
In light of these two events, the Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Limits to Growth, Caroline Lucas MP, tabled an Early Day Motion (EDM), calling on the UK Government to support the transition to a Wellbeing Economy.
Links
- For video recordings of the conference, please see www.beyond-growth-2023.eu.
- For the EDM on the Wellbeing Economy, please see the UK Parliament website.