E-workshop: Geopolitics of Degrowth in a Conflicted Europe - the Global South’s Perspective

Post-growth ideas attract many green thinkers, activists and politicians in Bulgaria and Europe. But what would a farewell to economic growth in the European Union mean for its standing in the world and its relations with the Global South? What is the Global South’s perspective to green visions on European geopolitics, and what role for information technology in the debate? Join us online for a e-workshop targeted at activists, experts and opinion leaders, in partnership with the Association for Progressive Communications and its members.   

BlueLink is supporting the Green Eiuropean Foundation (GEF) by holding this online event entitled Geopolitics of Degrowth in a Conflicted Europe - the Global South’s Perspective. It will take place on December 11, 2023, Monday, from 2 pm UTC/3 pm CET/ 4 pm EET.

Join the conversation

• This GEF e-workshop will be held in Zoom by BlueLInk.
• Date and time: December 11, 2023 (14:00 UTC / 15:00 CET / 16:00 EET)
• Language: English
• Registration: Open to all interested participants, but please register in advance by completing this form . Please use the ‘Questions and Comments’ field to specify your scope of interest or proposed intervention. You will receive a confirmation email after registration.

Asynchronous participation

If for one or another reason you are unable to join the discussion at the date and time set, your thoughts and reflections on the subject will still be valuable and very welcome. Please, share them as text or as a recorded voice/video message via email to pavelan [at] bluelink [dot] net (subject: Geopolitics%20of%20a%20post-growth%20Europe) (pavelan <at> bluelink.net) or through one of the following platforms upon your convenience:

ID +359888704661 Pavel Antonov by

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ID pavelan on

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Discussion points

Green policies that respect planetary boundaries and allow the Global South to develop seem incompatible with unlimited economic growth within the EU. We need a realistic scenario for a future in which we consume more sparingly but live better together. A scenario that could be possible within a degrowth context.
Would a post-growth EU that considerably reduces its ecological footprint with the express purpose of freeing up natural resources find partners in the Global South? What should these partnerships entail?

To tackle this issue, the Green European Foundation with the support of BlueLink is organising a webinar focusing on the Global South. Participants will have the opportunity to review and reflect upon the outcomes from expert meetings, research and interviews, held across Europe during 2023.

We invite researchers, activists and policy makers – particularly from the Global South  – with an interest in green policies and geopolitics to present perspectives, experiences, analytical or activity reports and to engage in a discussion around the following questions:

• How would it be possible to optimize the possibilities that degrowth offers, including for democratic flourishing and a safer Europe and world?
• Could a post-growth EU considerably reduce its environmental footprint with the express purpose of freeing up natural resources for the Global South?
• Can the EU hope for strategic partnerships with (democratic) Global South countries, which are vital for greater security and legitimacy?
• Could a post-growth EU still make a larger contribution to poverty reduction, global public goods, tax justice, legal migration routes, international climate finance, and compensation for climate loss and damage?
• Could the older EU members come to terms with their colonial pasts, and on what conditions? How important is this for the Global South?
• Will exports from Global South suffer if a post-growth EU  reduces its overconsumption of global resources?
• How much EU’s partnership with the Global South depend on technology transfer?
• What role of technology beyond trade, development, and climate: is it intertwined with geopolitics?

Not every question has a definitive answer and we promote creativity, analytical thinking, and a fresh approaches to the challenge. Your contributions and thoughts will inform GEF's analysis, which will be shared to political and civic green movements across Europe. Learn more of the project's outcomes at geopoliticspostgrowth.eu.

The project The Geopolitics of a Post-Growth Europe is organised by the Green European Foundation with the support of Wetenschappelijk Bureau GroenLinks, Fondation de l’Ecologie Politique, Etopia, Transición Verde, BlueLink Foundation, Center for Green Politics, and Green House think tank, and with the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation.

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