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11 years ago, nations gathered in Paris to mark one of the most monumental climate treaties ever penned on paper. An agreement that marked 1.5C of planetary warming as a point of no return, and charted the course for 198 countries to begin the work of tackling climate change. Today, it seems little has changed. [Fire ravaged LA., scenes of apocalyptic destruction] [In Libya at least six thousand are fear dead thousands more remain missing after a catastrophic flood] Climate chaos is upon us, and with it, death and destruction. Yet, the political leaders and wielders of capital still cling desperately to the ideologies and economic systems that have dug us deep down in the pit of climate crisis.
The long and destructive legacy of capitalist growth has pushed us to the precipice of planetary disaster, and yet, growth is still championed as the panacea to our social, economic, and ecological problems. [growth, growth, growth] Here is where we must intervene. The path forward cannot, and should not be growth, for that road only leads to the continued immiseration of billions of people, heightened inequality, and the razing of the natural world. Today, and tomorrow, and the next day, we must champion degrowth. A politics of less, that ultimately brings us more. Today, we'll explore the world of degrowth. What it is, how we can implement it,
and why degrowth is crucial for a more just and abundant ecological future. On the topic of degrowth, I need your help. Over this past year, I've transitioned Our Changing Climate to become a viewer-supported endeavour. But right now I'm making the bare minimum to keep this channel afloat. To put it bluntly the channel is on a financial downtrend. My monthly income from YouTube is well below what it used to be as I dive into more controversial and leftist topics like this one, and the threat of demonetization only makes things worse. This is where you come
in. Patreon supporters are literally the sole reason I'm able to spend weeks researching and editing videos like this one. I just want to put out high-quality and engaging stories that examine the climate crisis, capitalist destruction, and what we can do about it. And I want the videos that I make to be free and accessible to everyone. Unfortunately, though, I have to pay my housing costs and medical bills. So, if you have the means to keep this channel afloat, literally just a quarter of the cost of one movie ticket, I humbly ask that you support OCC on Patreon using the link
in the description to keep the channel alive and to keep my videos free for everyone. And when you become a member on Patreon, you get access to all of my videos one month early and ad-free. We also have lovely little Discord community for talking climate and leftist politics, and there's also a trove of over 30 bonus videos and extended content as well. If something else might entice you to become a supporter of Our Changing Climate, please do let me know. Anyways back to the video Against Growth: In 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a report that shook the world.
It laid out the consequences of surpassing 1.5C of warming, and they were dire. Now, we are well on our way to busting down the door of 1.5C and hurtling towards 2.8C to 3.2C of planetary warming by the end of the century. Although those numbers may sound small and inconsequential, the effects of 3C of warming are not. Roughly 30% of endemic species on land and around half of those in the sea could go extinct. Billions of people are predicted to be displaced from their homes by the end of the century if we continue on this path. Climate damages could potentially wipe out 40% of the global
economy. Economic chaos is an inevitability as we plunge deeper into the climate crisis. The climate crisis is upon us, and it's driven by reckless capital accumulation under the ideology of growth. An ideology that has pervaded the modeling and solutions pathways to mitigate climate change, crafted by the IPCC. One that claims that we can continue growing our economy, and letting emissions accumulate, overshooting 1.5C or even 2C of warming, in the hope that growth will someday, somehow spur the massive construction of carbon negative technologies to scrape us back down below 1.5C.
According to Andreas Malm and Wim Carton in their book Overshoot, out of the 578 scenarios included in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's special report on 1.5°C of warming, 568 included some amount of overshoot. So, just 10 scenarios did not rely on some future scaling up of carbon removal to save us from disaster. So, almost every scenario relies on recklessly overshooting 1.5C or even 2C of warming and then some day in the future, hoping that economic growth will help develop and scale currently non-existent carbon negative technologies to bring us back
under 1.5C. Of course, these scenarios rarely mention the various tipping points that could cascade while we march our way to a hotter and hotter planet. The desertification of the Amazon, the collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Ocean Current, the melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet. All of which could trigger feedback loops that then warm the planet even further. We are hurtling towards an overshoot scenario because we are trapped within the dominance of the growth ideology. ["You keep using that word"] I know, I know, I keep saying growth. So what exactly does that mean? Growth,
in its very simplest form, can be understood as the material and ideological manifestation of capital accumulation. As the authors of The Future of Degrowth explain, "Economic growth… appears as the ideological, social, and biophysical materialization of capitalist accumulation." Capitalism, at its core, requires corporations and the economy to grow or die. If H&M isn't churning out a new line of clothes faster than its competitors, it might hemorrhage profit, causing capitalist investors to panic. Because profit is all. Capitalist growth is borne out of the foundation cycle of capitalism which invests profit (or money) into
commodities to create more money. A cycle that expands outward into infinity until it crashes headfirst into the walls of a planet with finite resources. Within the last 70 years since World War 2, growth has become an ideology. Tying the idea of a growing economy tightly to concepts of prosperity and innovation. [Bill Gates clip] And the crowning metric for understanding and tracking growth is GDP, or Gross Domestic Product. A simple figure that reveals the total monetary value of all goods and services produced,
be it a country or the world. Received economic wisdom tells us that if that number grows, things are going well and we're innovating and marching towards progress, and if it shrinks, things aren't. But GDP is blind to the ramifications of what is produced. As John Bellamy Foster writes, "anything that provides 'value added,' in accordance with the capitalist valorization process, represents 'growth.'" So, GDP goes up when we spend money on war, on fossil fuels, when we level old growth forest and burn the Amazon. As Jason Hickel, author of Less is More, explains,
["according to this metric 1 billion pounds worth of tear gas is worth is valued exactly the same as 1 billion pounds worth of healthcare or affordable housing or something like that. And when it comes to human welfare, clearly one of these is more important than the other, right?"] In essence, our main metric for progress, for growth, values tanks and bullets. And it fails to even account for things that don't directly bring profit or value to the economy, like domestic labor, care work, ecological conservation, and emissions reductions. So in this case growth,
and capitalism for that matter, does not equate to innovation or prosperity- it instead devalues what actually enriches our lives. But, of course, this is just one metric. A metric that hints at the insidious nature of growth. Because the truth of the matter is that capitalist growth does not bring the progress and innovation that the likes keir starmer ["Growth is the number one priority of this government"] or Joe Biden ["generating economic grow"] like to think it does. If we understand growth to be a manifestation of capitalism, and more
particularly the accumulation of capital through the cycle of money invested into commodities, then we can understand that this capitalist growth, when left unchecked, has led to massive inequality and environmental destruction as value and profit are created from ripping the land apart for fuel and burning it into the atmosphere to power our SUVs and private jets. Even so-called green growth has failed. Despite the fact that we are building renewables at unprecedented rates, thanks in large part to China, we are still churning out emissions at unprecedented
rates. Not to mention, green growth retains the capitalist model of imperial plunder in order to build out a massive energy infrastructure to compensate for the imperial mode of living. Ultimately we must keep in might that growth is a symptom, a manifestation of capitalism… capitalism is highly undemocratic, and as a result, those that control capital, control the course of the economy. Something's got to give, we either continue marching down the path of capitalism, of climate change, and reckless resource consumption and smash into the very real material limits of this world, or we choose a different world. One that's planned.
One that chooses a good life for all and a livable planet over the enrichment of the few. What is degrowth? Instead of just blindly championing the growth of the economy regardless of what it produces, we need to set social and ecological targets and then work towards achieving those by planning production. ["18:11 the correct way to think about it is what are the social and ecological targets we want to hit. We want to you know we want to improve housing and education and health outcomes etc. Uh we want to improve soil quality and reduce emissions. These are the objectives we
should set for the economy and we should plan production around achieving those things"] If scientific report after scientific report urges us to stay well below 1.5C of warming, the most effective and best way to do that is not just to completely dismantle the fossil fuel industry and zero out emissions, but also shrink the material consumption of our global economy, so that the hole we are trying to dig ourselves out of is a just a little bit smaller. Currently, we are doing the opposite. Energy efficiency gains are being blotted out by increased overall consumption, led by the likes of AI data centers and the spread
of the imperial mode of living across the world. A lifestyle that venerates the gas guzzling SUV, the second A/C blasting summer home, the private jet, the yacht. Degrowth rebels against this capitalist dream of individual reckless luxury for the few at the cost of the many. So what exactly is Degrowth? To be clear it is not an unplanned recession or a market crash. Nor is it a march back to the stone age. [Princess Bride: "anyone who says different is selling you something"] The exact definition of degrowth, however, can be hard to pin down. Jason Hickel describes it as: ["as a kind of planned and democratic uh reduction of less necessary forms
of production in rich countries to bring economies back into balance with the living world in a safe just and equitable way."], while Roland Ngam describes explains that degrowth is as much about contraction as it is about flourishing ["we need to degrow from large monocrop productions and we need to grow regenerative agriculture we need to de-grow excessive amounts of time spent in offices making other people Rich we need to grow valuable quality time with our families uh we need to de-grow concrete jungles we need to grow greener smaller communities], personally I like Timothee Parriques description of degrowth
[Degrowth is a reduction of production and consumption to lighten ecological footprints…planned democratically in a spirit of social justice and out of concern for well-being"] All of these definitions contain three foundational pillars [She gave me three]: Reduction, Redistribution, and Reconnection. First is reduction. A glut of scientific papers, the IPCC, and climate models have made it clear that any rapid and successful attempt to pull us back from hurtling past 1.5, 2 or even 3 degrees celsius of warming will require the electrification of everything, the complete abolition of fossil fuel use, and a massive build out of renewable energy
to replace it. But the problem is, that in our economy obsessed with growth, this transition continues to get harder and harder. We are trying to climb our way out of a massive hole, while hundreds of fossil capitalists use excavators to make that hole even deeper. So yes, renewable energy capacity is at an all-time high, but so to are cabon emissions. Reduction of production and consumption of energy and material resources, then, is crucial to lighten the load of our transition to a zero-carbon world. We must spiral our economic
production down in a controlled manner into a circular one built on ecosocialist principles. This is the core of degrowth. Building a world where we can live well with less. Whether that be a city with copious amounts of bike lanes and electrified buses and trains in lieu of gas-guzzling cars, communal farms instead of asphalt streets, libraries of everything so that we all don't have to own that one tool or ladder that we only occasionally use. Degrowth doesn't mean austerity. Nor is it the chaotic contraction of the pandemic or a financial crash. It is a planned contraction of production
and consumption downwards towards a more intentional ecological economy. This is the "reduction of production and consumption to lighten ecological footprints." But the key is that this reduction should not and cannot be equally felt. Which is where the second pillar of degrowth lies: redistribution. Degrowth envisions the contraction of violent and unnecessary industries and the flourishing of production for use, like healthcare, childcare, mental health, electrified public transit, and agroecology. The goal is to lighten our ecological footprints while also healing our communities. This means a global redistribution of wealth
on a scale the likes of which we have never seen. It means re-envisioning what life in the imperial core looks like, so that everyone, everywhere, especially in imperial peripheral countries that have been plundered for centuries, can not just live, but live well. So, yes, we in the United States will probably be driving a lot fewer SUVs or even cars for that matter, but we would be embracing better alternatives and be doing so that ruthless cobalt mining operations in the Democractic Republic of Congo need never exist. But because
degrowth means we'll need to produce far less and ultimately work less, it also means a whole lot more free time and leisure to lounge in the park or stroll through the woods. A good life will not and should not mean having lots of stuff, but instead having a fulfilling live. Ultimately, the goal of degrowth is to flatten inequality to a level where the majority of the world is enjoying more, and just a small sliver of the world is using less. Because according to OxFam, a person in the richest 0.1% of world emits "more carbon pollution in a day than
someone in the bottom 50% produces all year" or as David Wallace-Welles explains [15:21 The average American refrigerator uses more carbon than the average resident of Nigeria. The average resident of Mali uses almost only as much carbon as the average British tea kettle.]. Perhaps this means energy quotas using smart thermostats, like some utilities already use during heatwaves to spread out grid load, or it could mean expansive public transit, green, dense free housing, or it could even mean a proliferation of plant-based diets. In practice, the degrowth of the energy use and
consumption of the whole world would looks like one of leisure, less work, less waste more free time, and ultimately less stress. Yes, you won't have your massive hummer and your guns, but think about all the yummy tomatoes you could pick from the communal garden right in front of your house, the mushrooms you could forage on your way to work ["mushrooms!"] or all the friends that you can hang out with now that you only work 20 hours a week at the local communal kitchen. And it's here where we arrive at the third pillar of degrowth found in many definitions.
A concept of reconnection. Degrowth, if it is at all to be successful, cannot function within a capitalist system. As we've already seen, capitalism is antithetical to degrowth, it shatters our connection with the stuff we produce, alienates us from the natural world, and silos us from our friends and communities. Not to mention, no amount of technology will overcome the chaos and destruction of the market and of capital accumulation- we need a revolutionary transformation of the very way we produce and distribute goods and services. The very way we interact with the world and people around
us. As ecosocialist scholar John Bellamy Foster argues: "no existing technologies by themselves can come anywhere near to solving the climate problem in the required timeline, not to mention addressing the planetary emergency in its entirety, while allowing for the continued unlimited exponential accumulation and maldistribution required by capitalism. What is objectively necessary at this point in human history is therefore a revolutionary transformation in social relations governing production, consumption, and distribution.
This means a dramatic shift away from the system of monopoly capital, exploitation, expropriation, waste, and the endless drive to accumulation." Degrowth asks us to do just that. It asks the world contract production and consumption to lighten our ecological footprint in such a way that revolutionize our relationships with the natural world and each other. Degrowth at its best should push towards each other and the natural world. Whether that's fewer days a week of work leading to less emissions and more free time to spend with family and friends,
or rewilding half of the planet, encouraging us to break the false binary between humanity and our environments. At its core a politics of degrowth is asking us to decide what is actually valuable in life. Is it an AI algorithm, or is it spending quality time with your loved ones? Is it grinding away at job you hate that builds bombs that kill racialized people thousands of miles away or is stewarding the land through agroecological methods and sharing your learnings across borders and languages? Is it producing stuff just to make money or
should making stuff that we actually need? Degrowth asks us to reconnect with our true wants and needs and not those manufactured by marketing and fake capitalist scarcity. Still, critiques of degrowth have proliferated along the political spectrum. One of the more prevalent is that degrowth means living in caves. That it is a politics of oppression forcing everyone back to the stone age. This is often just a bad-faith argument and misses the crux of the degrowth messaging. Yes, degrowth means a drastic reduction in energy and material consumption and
production for some like United States, but for many it means a politics of abundance. This paper reveals that countries with the highest per-capita consumers could cut their energy consumption rate by 95% and still live well with a combination of efficiency technologies and alternative lifestyle choices. In addition, they found that a global reduction of energy consumption by 60% is not only feasible, but also could be done in a way that brings a comfortable lifestyle to every single person on this planet. But crucially, the authors explain, a 60% reduction and even
a 95% reduction doesn't mean back to the stone age, but instead a contraction back to 1960s global consumption levels, not just for the U.S. but for everyone, everywhere. But what about innovation? That sweet, sweet siren song of growth. No growth in the economy surely means that we won't be able expand our horizons like capitalism supposedly does. But is capitalism really spurring the most innovation? And more importantly, what is capitalist innovation currently created for and for whom? Because right now the sharpest minds in the world aren't working on solving housing problems or figuring out how we can
all live well in a zero carbon world, instead they are honing social media algorithms and A.I. war technology. In short, innovation under capitalism is not wielded to enrich our lives, that only comes as an occasional symptom. Instead, it is leveraged to extract maximum profit from production. from a lack of a political agenda. Contracting production and consumption, when we're already suffering under the oppressive forces of capitalism, is hard to wrap our heads around. Degrowth, if not carefully explained, can quickly be characterized as austerity, which is no foundation to build a mass movement around. In addition, degrowth does not show
us what conditions and tactics we might use to dismantle capitalism. This is why degrowth must work hand in hand with revolutionary ecosocialism to chart a path forward out of capitalism. If this seems radical, consider that fact that we literally shut down our entire economy in lockdown in the face of a massive crisis. And also consider the fact that we are currently on track to surpass 3C of warming by the end of the century, which would displace billions of people and trigger countless tipping points. We have no choice but to take drastic action. And while degrowth does a great job of recognizing and critiquing the
destruction of capitalism and capitalist growth, it needs a political system to work within. One that prioritizes the full democratic control of the means of production and an emphasis on the production of goods for use not for profit and exchange. It needs ecosocialism. Degrowth cannot function without ecosocialism, and ecosocialism cannot work without degrowth. A synthesis of the two creates a steadier path away from capitalism and away from climate chaos. Degrowth under capitalism only leads to tyranny and austerity. Degrowth must come from the bottom up. Which is
why ecosocialism is essential, it champions a full-scale reconstruction of the economy, not based on profit and ultimately endless growth, but one based on needs. Notably, it argues that the only way out of climate chaos is through full worker and community control of the means of production and reproduction. Of the factories, the farms, the land, the roads. We need to plan our way down to a zero-carbon economy, so that in the words of Karl Marx, without a constant need for work in order to live or to "have", we can actually start "being." As I explained in the beginning of the video, the channel is in a
financial downturn. So, becoming a OCC Patreon supporter means you'll help keep high-quality, non-AI slop videos like this one free and accessible everyone. So, please consider supporting Our Changing Climate on Patreon if you have the means. And if you can't spare the $3 or 6 a month right now, no worries, just liking, commenting below, or even sharing this video with a friend below is more than enough to bring this video to new audiences. Thank so much for watching all the way to the end and for your endless support, and I'll see you next month
