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Jan 12 2024
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Geopolitics of a Post-Growth Europe

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Context

As it stands, degrowth fails to resonate with experts in foreign and security policy. It is easy to see why. In geopolitics, many determinants of power – trade, aid, tech nology, defence – are closely linked to GDP. If they do not ignore planetary boundaries altogether, geopolitical pundits trumpet the ‘green growth’ narrative so as to reconcile ecological and geopolitical security. It is this very narrative that degrowthers aim to refute.

It is better to manage the end of growth through democratic deliberation than to have it imposed on us by ecological breakdown.

 

Objectives

It is unlikely that we will be able to defuse the climate time bomb, let alone other ecological threats, as long as our economy continues to grow. But what would the end of economic growth mean for geopolitics? Could a European Union that is the first to embrace post-growth still be a global actor? Would it be able to defend itself, its allies, democracy, human rights, and the international rule of law at a time when aggressive autocracies are invading or threatening their democratic neighbours? This report addresses uneasy questions that few have dared to ask.

 

Project Background

This report is produced by the Green European Foundation. It is part of the project Geopolitics of a Post-Growth Europe. The project is led by Wetenschappelijk Bureau GroenLinks (NL) and supported by BlueLink (BG), Center for Green Politics (RS), Etopia (BE), Fondation de l’Écologie Politique (FR), Green House Think Tank (UK), and Transición Verde (ES). Check out www.geopoliticspostgrowth.eu for more interviews, videos, and other project outputs.

 

Available Translations

Dutch

Spanish

Serbian

French

Bulgarian

Czech

Portuguese

This report has been realised by the Green European Foundation with the support of  Wetenschappelijk Bureau GroenLinks and the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation. The European Parliament is not responsible for the content of this publication.

Apr 03 2023
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Fair and Carbon Free Tourism – Serbian Research Reports

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Context

The research for these papers was conducted in 2021 by the Organisation for Political Ecology – PolEkol as part of the GEF transnational project named “Fair and Carbon Free Tourism”. The aim of the project was to identify and create conditions for

collective action against the detrimental social and environmental impacts of tourism, which are often underestimated while pursuing different economic activities. Throughout 2020, this project entailed events, desk research, several local site visits as well as public debates to increase visibility and build a community around this topic. In 2021 and 2022, it followed up with larger study trips and further research to expand this knowledge and connect further with stakeholders, affected audiences and policymakers on the local but also the European level.

Sustainable Spa Tourism in Serbia

The tourism sector is a highly lucrative branch of the economy, and one that the Republic of Serbia has identified explicitly as a priority area for growth. With a history of spas that dates back to Roman times, wellness tourism is particularly interesting for international visitors and foreign investment. This research report considers the current situation, some of the challenges and risks that come with tourism development, and lays out a series of recommendations to ensure that this happens in a fair and sustainable way. Particular attention is paid to the idea of water as a public good, and the importance of protecting water access and quality for local communities and the natural world.

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Sustainable Tourism on the Balkan Mountains

The tourism sector is a highly lucrative branch of the economy, and one that the Republic of Serbia has identified explicitly as a priority area for growth. At the same time, tourism is a significant driver of climate change and environmental harm, and the Covid-19 crisis highlighted the precarity of jobs and communities that depend on it. This research report explored local tourism in the Balkan Mountains as a potential model to do things differently. It looks at how community-led, small-scale tourism can not just avoid harm but actively enhance environmental protection, and offers rural populations a way to maintain their village lives with diversified sources of income. However, this requires careful investment in infrastructure and social and communal services, not just opening up the area to be a playground for private investors.

OPEN PDF VERSION

 

These reports have been realised by the Green European Foundation with the support of Polekol foundation (Serbia), and the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation. The European Parliament is not responsible for the content of this publication.

Sep 27 2021
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Metals for a Green and Digital Europe- An Agenda for Action

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Context

The climate crisis leaves us no choice but to make a swift transition from fossil fuels to renewable energies. However, while energy from renewable sources such as solar and wind is nearly infinite, the resources we need to capture it are not. Solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, and power cables all contain metals. Their various properties, including toughness and conductivity, make metals uniquely suitable for renewable energy technologies. But first they must be extracted from ores that are dug up from the ground. Because of its decentralised nature, a renewable energy system requires far larger quantities of metals than a fossil energy system.

 

The more energy we harvest from the skies above our heads, the deeper we will have to dig for the metals beneath our feet.

 

Objectives

Both the energy transition and the digital transition require large quantities of metals, such as lithium, cobalt, and rare earth. As a result, Europe must face up to various types of scarcity. This Agenda for Action sets out how we can achieve the sparing, circular use of metals and the responsible sourcing of the virgin metals that we really need.

 

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Available in Dutch

Available in Spanish

Available in Czech 

Available in French

Available in Polish

Available in Swedish

Available in Serbian

Available in Portuguese

 

This publication is part of the Metals for a Green and Digital Europe project. The project is led by Wetenschappelijk Bureau GroenLinks and supported by Fundacja Strefa Zieleni, Institut Aktivního Občanství, the Green Economics Institute, Etopia, Visio, and Transición Verde, with Cogito from Sweden providing additional expertise.

Apr 12 2021
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The Transformative Doughnut Economics Model

By Uncategorized

The doughnut economics model is increasingly presented as an alternative human development measure, meeting needs and crossing the boundaries of environmental degradation. In the last ten years, the model has been further developed, and more and more, cities are giving up measuring their development through GDP and deciding to switch to the doughnut model, which should ensure that human needs are met in accordance with natural boundaries.

Read more about it and how cities can be a fertile testing ground for the model in English, Serbian and Greek.

Jan 11 2021
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Just Transition Framing Paper

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This paper is part of the Green European Foundation’s Just Transition transnational project. The project looks into the question of transforming from an extractive to a regenerative economy in a just and equitable way to find the necessary support among the population. The project is focused on collecting and sharing insights on the development of future-proof politics and policies, developed in a sensitive way that keeps in mind local specificities. The project is on behalves of GEF coordinated by OIKOS (Belgium), with as project partners Green House Think Tank (UK), Institute for Political Ecology (Croatia); Sunrise (North-Macedonia), Transicion Verde (Spain), Networked and Federation of Young European Greens (FYEG) and Networked (Serbia). In the course of the project, the partners will implement activities in their countries to increase awareness of the importance of a Just Transition all over Europe. Eventually, the partners will compile a book on the subject to be published September 2021.

 

You can also read this publication in:

 

 

Jun 18 2019
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Fair and Healthy Food

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This discussion paper, written by Kati Van de Velde & Dirk Holemans from GEF partner Oikos, has been published as part of the GEF transnational project Fair and Healthy Food.

The paper explores the failings of the current agricultural and food system, and the possibilities for a transition to a sustainable and fair system, one which revaluates food as a human right, a public good and a commons.

Download the publication in Turkish and Serbian.

Feb 08 2019
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Real Democracy in Your Town: Public-Civic Partnerships in Action

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Real Democracy in Your Town: Public-Civic Partnerships in Action explores the potential of public-civil partnerships (as opposed to the conventional public-private partnerships), as an opportunity to provide basic public services within societies without the privitisation of public goods and making them subjects of the free market.

It particularly focuses on the power of municipalist and local citizens’ movements and highlights successful case studies in Europe from which to draw inspiration from.

Download your copy here. 

This publication is also available in Serbian, Hungarian & Spanish.

 

Jan 24 2019
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Citizens Energy: Making Energy Democracy Happen

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This publication has been produced as part of the GEF transnational project Energy Democracy: Changing the Energy System.  

In this project, Green foundations from the United Kingdom, Greece, Macedonia and Belgium share their experiences and ideas and develop policy proposals to enable a transition to a renewable and democratic energy system.

The publication, written by Dirk Holemans and Kati Van de Velde from Flemish think tank Oikos explores the concepts of a democratic energy regime, drawing from examples in Germany and Denmark, and cooperation between citizens and local governments, focusing on case studies in the UK and Belgium.

Download your copy here. 

This publication is also available in Serbian, Portuguese, Spanish, Macedonian & Turkish.

 

Feb 08 2018
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Revision of the Economy in the Balkans: CHANGE POLICY NOT CLIMATE!

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This project had the aim to to raise awareness among stakeholders, politicians and the general public for the economic potential of a Green Economy, to stimulate changes in consumption and production patterns, and promote a participatory approach to policy making. The report and other project activities respond and contribute to one of the priorities for Bulgaria’s presidency of the EU in 2018: eco-innovation as a driver for economic progress.

Research goals

The purpose of the research was to accomplish the following goals set by the project:

  1. To gather best practices from the three participating countries – Serbia, Macedonia and Bulgaria – for a green economy;
  2. To showcase and promote the transformation of the economy towards environmental, low-carbon and energy-efficient production along with increasing prosperity and equity in society;
  3. To provide useful facts and arguments for Green politicians and activists to raise awareness among stakeholders, politicians and the general public about the economic potential of the green economy, to stimulate changes in consumption and production patterns, and to promote a participatory approach to policy-making.

A Democratic and Inclusive Green Economy

The research report highlights which political conditions have to be fulfilled to move towards a green economy in those three countries and compares the prospects of Serbia, Bulgaria and Macedonia in terms of social factors, legal framework and the policy framework.

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Digital version in English is available here

Digitial version in Bulgarian is available here

Digital version in Macedonian is available here

Digital version in Serbian is available here