More than 400 organizations demand post-growth policies in the European Union

More than 400 organizations demand post-growth policies in the European Union

• The post-growth conference organized by the European Parliament in Brussels begins on May 15.
• More than 400 organizations, including Friends of the Earth and Ecologists in Action, demand a post-growth Europe as a result of this act.
• They send a letter in which they ask for an economy that does not exceed the limits of the planet and puts people at the center of policies.

Today, May 15, a historic three-day conference titled “Beyond Growth 2023” begins in Brussels. The event, organized by the European Parliament with the support of more than 30 European organisations, aims to question the conventional policies of the European Union and redefine the objectives of society, putting into practice the idea of a post-EU. growth, adapted to a future that combines social well-being and viable economic development, with respect for planetary boundaries.

The conference will be opened by the Presidents of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, and of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola together with the President of the Greens alliance, Philippe Lamberts. In the three days that it will last, representatives of conservative, liberal, green, socialist and left-wing parliamentary groups will pass through it.

More than 400 organizations and experts from all over Europe have written a letter, ahead of the event, in which they ask to confront social, environmental and political crises by adopting a well-being economy that allows humanity and the planet to prosper, not just survive. In the Spanish State, Friends of the Earth, Ecologists in Action and Ecounion sign the letter.

The letter explains that the pursuit of endless economic growth reduces or nullifies the results of environmental policies. The current climate chaos and the breakdown of the web of life on which our society depends constitute an existential threat to peace, water and food security, and democracy. A very current topic in the Iberian Peninsula.

Likewise, the organizations point out that in high-income countries, post-growth does not mean having worse living conditions, but quite the opposite: it is about adopting in an orderly and democratic way the reduction in the use of resources and their distribution. between all people, as well as the reduction of working time in a way that increases well-being and reduces environmental pressures, thus creating the possibility of creating a sustainable future without continuous growth.

In turn, the letter calls on the European Union, its institutions and Member States to implement: European post-growth institutions and beyond-growth policies based on the principles of biocapacity, well-being for all people and equity .