This study explores how the growth narrative, once seen as the only measure of progress, is now being challenged by alternative viewpoints. It investigates the emergence of new societal narratives emphasizing values beyond mere economic growth. Through qualitative research rooted in the Spanish context, this publication aims to stimulate discussions on Europe’s future.
Objectives
This publication seeks to broaden the discourse surrounding the predominant socio-economic model centered on growth and encourages exploration of alternative visions, particularly through a degrowth perspective.
Project Background
Today, economic growth is still perceived as a sine qua non-condition for development. The hegemonic growth narrative leaves no room to explore alternative paths at the political level. The need to grow is so deeply rooted in this society that a political alternative seeking to limit growth is often outright rejected by the political and media establishment, as it poses a threat to the prevailing economic model. Reaching broader support inevitably involves combating the dominant narrative. This project aims to promote the questioning of faith in economic growth as the only way to prosperity. Encouraging society to reflect on the contrived growth narrative is essential to pave the way for post-crescent economic alternatives and green political thinking.
This report has been realised by the Green European Foundation with the support of Transicion Verde 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.
Perpetual economic growth on a finite planet is unsustainable, yet entrenched economic and media forces persist in upholding it as the sole truth. How did this ideology of growth become so dominant? And more importantly, how can we shift towards constructing new paradigms?
To explore these pressing questions, GEF is launching the Spanish translation of the publication, “On the Narrative of Growth: Unlearning Dogmas.” Delve into thought-provoking insights and participate in a compelling debate on reimagining our economic future. Don’t miss this opportunity to gain a firsthand impression of our publication and contribute to the dialogue shaping our collective tomorrow. Stay tuned for the forthcoming English translation.
With this event we wish to contribute to dismantle the discourse of economic growth so that other visions of the world can penetrate the social imaginary. We will review how this discourse became hegemonic, how to build new paradigms and how to involve the social majority in new imaginaries capable of breaking down the wall of dogmas that the economic model has built.
To do so, we will be joined by the economist José Manuel Naredo, the professor Julia Steinberger and the social researcher Aurora Rodríguez del Barrio.
Project background
This event is part of GEF’s project Countering the growth narrative, This project arose with the idea of encouraging the questioning of faith in economic growth as the only path to prosperity, introducing into society a reflection on the narrative of growth as a necessary step to prepare the ground for proposals that include as a basic principle protecting the livability of the planet with justice and equity.
Speakers
José Manuel Naredo. Economist and statistician, pioneer in the study and dissemination of ecological economics in Spain and beyond
Julia Steinberger. Professor of Societal Challenges of Climate Change at the University of Lausanne. Her research examines the connections between resource use and societal performance. She is Lead Author for the IPCC’s 6th Assessment Report.
Aurora Rodríguez del Barrio. Social and cultural researcher. Member of the team that produced the report “On the Narrative of Growth. Unlearning dogmas” of the Green European Foundation.
Practicalities
Date and Time: 21st March, 5:30pm – 7pm CET
Location: Zoom
Language: Spanish and English (simultaneous translation will be provided)
Registration: Prior registration is required. Sign up here.
This event is organised by the Green European Foundation with the support of Fundación Transición Verde, and with the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation.
Our current socio-economic model is leading us to a dead end, that’s widely recognised. However, concerns abound that a Europe prioritising the abandonment of GDP growth as a policy goal may face potential disadvantages on the complex geopolitical chessboard.
For the past year, GEF – with the support of its partners – has been exploring the possible geopolitical consequences of a post-growth Europe. This launch event will highlight the importance of this topic, delve into some of our main findings and recommendations, and spotlight the Spanish translation of the resulting report. With our panel of experts, we will reflect on the difficult challenge ahead for Europe, standing at the crossroads of navigating a substantial environmental and climate crisis while concurrently surviving in a progressively intricate geopolitical landscape.
Project background
This event is part of GEF’s project Geopolitics of a Post-Growth Europe, which explores the tensions between degrowth/post-growth and geopolitics. The project aims to ignite a conversation between critics of economic growth and progressive thinkers on foreign and security policy, who now often operate in separate circuits. It aims to find solutions beyond naïve anti-militarism and convenient belief in green growth. Find out more about the project and its findings at geopoliticspostgrowth.eu.
Speakers
Gaya Herrington – Research and econometrician. Author of ‘Update to Limits to Growth.’
Jesús A. Núñez – Geopolitical expert. Co-director of IECAH (Institute of Studies on Conflicts and Humanitarian Action)
Richard Wouters – Think tanker at Wetenschappelijk Bureau GroenLinks. Coordinator and co-author of Geopolitics of a Post-Growth Europe.
Moderated by Lourdes Lucía, lawyer and publisher.
Practicalities
Date and Time: Thursday, February 8th at 17:30 CEST
Language: Spanish and English (simultaneous translation will be provided)
Location: Online, via Zoom.
Registration: Please register in advance via this link in order to receive the Zoom details.
This event is organised by the Green European Foundation with the support of Fundación Transición Verde, and with the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation.
The decarbonisation of mobility is one of the great challenges of the European Union. The transformation it entails is complex and not without its difficulties, but it can be an opportunity to reactivate the economy and generate employment. The latter is a particularly relevant aspect in maintaining social stability, especially at a time when populism and the extreme right are on the rise in Europe.
In this event, we seek to analyse the challenges and opportunities of zero-emission mobility in terms of the economy and employment in Spain, paying special attention to the bicycle sector from a gender perspective.
The event is a roundtable open to all those interested in mobility, especially members of organisations and platforms working on the issue, government officials, politicians, academia, and civil society associations. Our aim is to raise awareness of the employment opportunities associated with zero-emission transport and to promote the shift towards more sustainable mobility.
The event will be held via zoom platform, requiring prior registration.
Project background
This event is part of a series of debates entitled “Europe on the Move: Shaping the Future of Sustainable Mobility in the Iberian Peninsula” organised by the Green European Foundation and Heinrich Böll Stiftung EU with the support of Transición Verde, Instituto José Tengarrinha, Fundació Nous Horitzons, EcoPolítica and the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation.
This series of debates aims to foster debate in Portugal and Spain around the future of mobility, bringing together relevant stakeholders from civil society, academia and politics to analyse and explore challenges and opportunities for the future of mobility and the Green Deal in Europe.
Speakers
Albert Vilallonga, geographer and mobility technician at ISTAS (Union Institute for Labour, Environment and Health). Author of the report on Zero-emission mobility.
Iria Vázquez, equity coordinator at ConBici, professor of sociology at the University of Vigo and expert in gender studies.
Philipp Cerny,Transport Policy Consultant. Chief Executive Editor of the EU Mobility Atlas.
Moderation: Pilar Calvo, board member of Transición Verde and expert in operational security and transportation
Practicalities
Date and Time: 11th December, 5:30pm – 7pm CET
Location: Online, via zoom.
Registration: Prior registration is required – please register here. The session will be recorded and made available on YouTube.
Language: The main languages of the event will be Spanish.
This event is organized by the Green European Foundation and Heinrich Böll Stiftung EU with the support of Fundación Transición Verde and the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation.
In the face of multiple crises – climate and energy, geopolitical, cost-of-living – the challenges and opportunities for sustainable mobility are complex and evolving. What implications do these challenges hold for the specific contexts of Portugal and Spain, within the wider context of the European Green Deal? And how can we safeguard a green and socially just mobility transition?
By putting a spotlight on these challenges while fostering a trans-European exchange on best practices, this event series seeks to nurture the debate in Portugal and Spain around the future of mobility. It seeks to bring together relevant stakeholders from civil society, academia, and politics to discuss and explore key questions, tensions, and opportunities for the future of mobility and the Green Deal in Europe.
Events
Our debates series will unfold in various locations across Portugal and Spain, hybrid, and online formats.
This debates series is organised by the Green European Foundation and Heinrich Böll Stiftung EU with the support of Instituto José Tengarrinha, Transición Verde, Fundació Nous Horitzons, EcoPolítica and the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation.
The Club of Rome report “The limits to growth” was published in 1972 . These 50 years have gradually confirmed the validity of the study. However, despite the ever-closer risk of environmental and social collapse, the main focus of the economy remains profit growth, which is clearly unsustainable and profoundly unequal. In response to this crisis of the hegemonic socio-economic model, the degrowth/post-growth movements advocate for an economic model that overcomes the ecological limits of the planet, improves human well-being and reduces inequalities, challenging the growth dogma. In Europe, these movements are becoming increasingly popular among activists and scientists, and the debate has even begun open up at the institutional level.
Moving away from growth may represent an opportunity for the EU to increase its resilience and reduce its energy and raw materials dependence. However, this is something that undoubtedly poses important geopolitical and geostrategic challenges, including that of North-South relations. How would the EU’s post-growth approach influence relations with the global South, what would be the main tensions and synergies, and what challenges will it face in establishing cooperative and equal relations with these countries?
In this expert meeting, we will explore the advantages and also the challenges that the post-growth EU would face in its external relations with the Global South, and more specifically with the African continent. To this end, we will introduce into the equation the prospects of demographics and global population movements as a geopolitical factor, and as an opportunity for European foreign policy to put human rights, gender equality, sustainability of life and care, reduction of inequalities and a profound environmental transition at the centre.
Project background
This event is part of GEF’s project Geopolitics of a Post-Growth Europe, which explores the tensions between degrowth/post-growth and geopolitics. The project aims to ignite a conversation between critics of economic growth and progressive thinkers on foreign and security policy, who now often operate in separate circuits. It aims to find solutions beyond naïve anti-militarism and convenient belief in green growth. Find out more about the project and its findings at geopoliticspostgrowth.eu.
Speakers
Itziar Ruiz-Giménez. Lecturer in International Relations at the Autonomous University of Madrid. Coordinator of the Group of African Studies and of the International Studies Group of this university. PhD in International Relations. Bachelor in Law and in Political Science.
Francisco Pineda. Director of the NGDO Paz y Desarrollo. Advisor in International Relations and Cooperation, he has worked for 30 years in International Development Cooperation projects in Latin America, Africa and Asia.
Marcos Castro. Professor of Applied Economics at the University of Malaga. PhD in Economics and Master in Territorial and Urban Planning Policy. His lines of work are ecological economics, critical economics and international cooperation.
Moderator: Carmen Molina. Biologist and expert in ecological agriculture
Practicalities
Date and Time: 12th September, 7pm-8:30pm CEST
Location: La Térmica (Avenida de los Guindos, 48 – Málaga, Spain)
Language: The main language of the event will be Spanish
Registration: Open event. No prior registration is required
This event is organised by the Green European Foundation with the support of Fundación Transición Verde, and with the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation.
Currently, digital technology consumes 10% of the world’s electricity and contributes to 3-4% of the global greenhouse gas emissions at the increasing rate of over 9% per year. A country like France dedicates 8% of its electricity to digital consumption. A study of the semiconductor industry (2015) estimate that, at the current rate of growth of computing power, and given the gradual slowdown in gains in energy efficiency, digital technology could consume before 20703 the equivalent of all the world’s energy used in 2010.
This report has been realised by the Green European Foundation with the support of Transición Verde, Fondation de l’Écologie Politique, 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.
Rural depopulation is a challenge for Europe as it affects large areas of its territory, and Spain is no exception. This process has intensified in the last two decades. In Spain there are 6,827 municipalities with no more than 5,000 inhabitants, accounting for 12% of the total population. In the last decade, eight out of ten municipalities have lost their inhabitants, a total of 410,000 people. Ageing population, lack of basic services such as health, education, culture or transport, unemployment, and the shortage of housing are among the main challenges for staying or settling in a village.
One of the key factors in this situation, as we have already mentioned, is mobility. The absence of public transport means that dependence on the private car or on the solidarity of neighbours is fundamental. Going to the doctor, shopping, going to the bank or taking children to school can be a chore if you do not have a private car or are not able to use one. This is particularly serious for women and the elderly.
The bad situation of public transport in Spain, far from being reversed, has worsened in recent years. The conventional train, the least polluting transport system, has been progressively abandoned while large high-speed train lines have been promoted – after China we are the country with the most extensive high-speed train network in the world – a type of transport that is a minority, expensive, unprofitable, and inefficient, thus widening the inequality gap between geographies.
The search for realistic long-term solutions, adapted to each region and each community, which improve mobility in rural areas, is a social and environmental obligation and a lever to reverse the depopulation process by revitalising economic activity.
We are on the verge of a transition towards a low-carbon model of society, so it is urgent to work on strategies that make it compatible with the improvement of transport in the rural world.
About the event
We will hold this conference on rural mobility in El Burgo de Osma, a village in the province of Soria – the least densely populated province in Spain – to learn first-hand about the demands and proposals of its inhabitants on this issue. We will have examples of good practices and we will know what policies are being implemented in Spain and in the EU. We will be joined by the following speakers:
Juantxo López de Uralde, Member of the Spanish Parliament and Chair of the Committee on Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge
Marc Giménez, advisor on transport and tourism to the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament
Raquel Ramírez, El Colletero Association (Nalda – La Rioja)
Patxi Miranda, CEO of KUDEA Services
Moderator: Rosa M. Tristán, journalist
Practicalities
This is an in-person event taking place in El Burgo de Osma, Soria, Spain. It is open and free of charge, no prior registration is required.
The event will take place in Spanish. An event recording with subtitles in English will be made available following the event.
This project is organised by the Green European Foundation and Heinrich Böll Stiftung with the support of Transición Verde and El Hueco, and with the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation.
In an increasingly urban world, building resilient cities has become a challenge. But for this challenge to be successfully addressed, we cannot focus solely on urban areas. We need to develop strategies that consider the territory surrounding cities, as well as their dependence on the resources from rural areas. Establishing a balanced relationship between cities and their rural environment will bring mutual benefits while giving greater autonomy and independence to the city itself in obtaining the basic resources it needs. Based on this premise, this publication explores best practices in managing food, water or energy to make our cities and territories more resilient.
Resilience is the capacity of a living being to adapt to a disturbing agent or an adverse situation. This term also applies to cities, for which this capacity to adapt is essential to respond to the major crises of our time.
This publication has been realized by the Green European Foundation and Transición Verde with the financial support of the European Parliament. The European Parliament is not responsible for the content of this publication.
When we think of the cloud, we imagine it as something ethereal, light and dematerialised. We don’t visualise the millions of devices, thousands of kilometres of cables, gigantic data storage, and processing centres, or the satellites that make up its immense infrastructure. We don’t conceive the enormous amount of mineral, water, and energy resources required for its operation. Nor the environmental impacts resulting from their production and disposal.
Digital technologies have undoubtedly brought great advances for humanity. However, if we want to continue to benefit from them in the future, as well as from a healthy environment, we must delve deeper into that dark side of the cloud and correct its pernicious effects. This is especially relevant at the present time, with European post-covid policies pushing for digitalisation as a key element for economic recovery. And not only that, this endeavour aims to face multiple crises, including the global supply crisis; the energy crisis aggravated by the war in Ukraine; and an increasingly worrying climate and environmental crisis.
These will be discussed in this series, as well as alternatives for a more energy-efficient, sustainable and long-lasting digitalisation.
The event is online, open and free with prior registration throughthis form. The activity will take place in a Zoom room. Once registration has been completed, and before each session, a confirmation email will be sent with the access details for the meeting.
Simultaneous translation service Spanish-English will be available in all sessions.
Programme & Speakers
1st session: October 20, from 18:00 to 19:30 (CEST) “Feeding the Beast Part I: Infrastructure, Water and Minerals”
Vladan Joler. Professor at the New Media department of the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad (Serbia) and founder of SHARE Lab. He is the author of Anatomy of an AI System (with Kate Crawford) and Facebook Algorithmic Factory.
Alicia Valero. PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Zaragoza. In addition to this university, she trained at the TU Berlin, Paul Sabatier in Toulouse and the British Geological Survey. She currently leads the Industrial Ecology research group at the CIRCE Institute and is a full professor at the University of Zaragoza.
Lorraine de Montenay. Independent expert in digital responsibility and member of GreenIT.fr. She piloted the first life cycle analysis (LCA) on the environmental impacts of digital in Europe, published in 2021.
Melisa Argento. PhD in Social Sciences from the University of Buenos Aires, is a professor at the National University of Rosario and a researcher at the Institute for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (IEALC).
2nd session: October 27, from 18:00 to 19:30 (CEST) “Feeding the Beast Part II: Data and Energy”
Joseph Tainter. American anthropologist and historian, professor at Utah State University in the Department of Environment and Society. Author of The Collapse of Complex Societies and Drilling Down: The Gulf Oil Debacle and Our Energy Dilemma.
Antonio Aretxabala. Geologist, researcher, consultant and independent trainer and collaborator of the University of Zaragoza.
María Alegre. Energy and climate change specialist, focusing on decarbonisation of the electricity sector and data.
3rd session: November 3, from 18:00 to 19:30 (CET) “The bright side of the cloud. The digitalization we want”
Coral Calero. PhD in Computer Engineering and Professor of Computer Languages and Systems at the University of Castilla La Mancha. Responsible for the “Green and Sustainable software” line in the Alarcos Research Group.
Julieta Arancio. Postdoctoral researcher at Drexel University’s Center for Science, Technology and Society. Co-founder of the Latin American network of free technologies for science and education (reGOSH).
Kim Van Sparrentak. Member of the European Parliament (Greens/EFA Group) since 2019. She is a member of the Special Committee on Artificial Intelligence in the Digital Age and the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection.
This event is organised by the Green European Foundation with the support of Transición Verde and the financial support of the European parliament to the Green European Foundation.
With around 55% of the world’s population living in urban areas (over 75% in Europe), building resilient cities has become a challenge. But to successfully meet this challenge, we cannot focus only on urban areas. The strategies put in place must consider the territory they are part of and their dependence on the resources of rural areas. Establishing a balanced relationship with its rural environment will bring mutual benefits, as well as giving greater autonomy and independence to the city itself in obtaining the basic resources it needs.
Based on this premise, how should we manage food, water or energy to make our cities and territories more resilient? We will talk about this in this session organised by the Green European Foundation (GEF) with the support of the Transición Verde Foundation.
Speakers
Marta Olazabal is the head of the Adaptation research group at the Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3). She has participated in the drafting of the IPCC 2022 report, in chapter 6 on Urban Areas.
Jorge Molero is a consultant and project technician at the Entretantos Foundation and is in charge of the technical secretariat of the Network of Municipalities for Agroecology.
Francesc La Roca is a founding member of Fundación Nueva Cultura del Agua (New Water Culture Foundation) and professor in the Department of Applied Economics at the University of Valencia.
Ismael Morales is the head of communications at the Fundación Renovables (Renewables Foundation) and a contributor on energy issues to the newspaper El Confidencial.
Moderator: Lidia Ucher, journalist specialising in communication for social and climate justice.
Practicalities
When: 26th May, 18:00-19:30 PM CEST
Where: The event is online on Zoom, open and free of charge.
Language: The main language of this activity will be in Spanish. The access link and technical details will be sent to all registered participants on 25th May.
This event is organised by the Green European Foundation with the support of Transición Verde and with the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation. The European Parliament is not responsible for the content of this event.
The event is open to all those interested in mobility, especially members of organisations and platforms working on the issue, government officials, politicians and civil society associations.
Our aim is to publicise more sustainable alternatives when choosing a means of transport and to raise awareness of the need to change our mobility habits.
The events will be held via zoom and will have simultaneous translation from Spanish-English. Prior registration is required.
Context
This is the third event of the series of conferences entitled “The Future of European Mobility”
One of the key factors in the economic development in our global society has been the ease of mobility for people and goods due to the abundance of cheap oil. But we can already witness the consequences of this irrational mobility in the form of the climate crisis and air pollution.
In order to achieve Europe’s decarbonisation goals, the transport sector is a priority. That is why the German Heinrich Böll Foundation launched last year the European Mobility Atlas, a comprehensive analysis of the situation of the sector in Europe. The Green European Foundation and the Fundació Nous Horitzons have translated the Atlas into Spanish and, together with Transición Verde, have prepared a specific annex on the situation in Spain. For its launch, we have organised three online events on some modes of transport whose future is key to move towards low-emission mobility.
The last session of the series will focus on the railway. The most efficient means of motorised transport which, beyond the AVE (high-speed rail line), has been losing its condition as the backbone of the Spanish geography. Should it recover that condition? Can a large part of freight be transferred to the railway?
Speakers
Juantxo López de Uralde, national Deputy and president of the Commission for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge of the Spanish Congress.
José Luis Ordóñez, spokesperson of the State Coordination for a Public, Social and Sustainable Train.
Tilly Metz, MEP in the Greens/EFA group and member of the Committee on Transport and Tourism.
Language: The events will be held in Spanish via zoom, and will have simultaneous translation in English.
Registration: Prior registration is required- Please register here.
The day before each session we will send a message to the registered persons with the access link.
The sessions will be recorded and made available on YouTube.
This event is organised by the Green European Foundation with the support of Transición Verde and Fundació Nous Horitzons, and with the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation.
The event is open to all those interested in mobility, especially members of organisations and platforms working on the issue, government officials, politicians and civil society associations.
Our aim is to publicise more sustainable alternatives when choosing a means of transport and to raise awareness of the need to change our mobility habits.
The events will be held via zoom and will have simultaneous translation from Spanish-English. Prior registration is required.
Context
This is the second event of the series of conferences entitled “The Future of European Mobility”
One of the key factors in the economic development in our global society has been the ease of mobility for people and goods due to the abundance of cheap oil. But we can already witness the consequences of this irrational mobility in the form of the climate crisis and air pollution.
In order to achieve Europe’s decarbonisation goals, the transport sector is a priority. That is why the German Heinrich Böll Foundation launched last year the European Mobility Atlas, a comprehensive analysis of the situation of the sector in Europe. The Green European Foundation and the Fundació Nous Horitzons have translated the Atlas into Spanish and, together with Transición Verde, have prepared a specific annex on the situation in Spain. For its launch, we have organised three online events on some modes of transport whose future is key to move towards low-emission mobility.
This second session will focus on public space and urban mobility and, in particular, cycling. We will discuss the process of urban transformation in favour of the car and to the detriment of the use of public space as a space for coexistence; urban mobility strategies; and the transformative role of the bicycle.
Speakers
Pilar Vega Pindado, geographer and expert in territorial and environmental planning. Professor at the Complutense University of Madrid. Consultant at gea21
Laura Vergara, President of ConBici and Vice-President of Mujeres en Movimiento (Women on the Move).
Jaime Caballero, Councillor for Sustainable Urban Development at Logroño City Council.
Moderation: Raúl Gómez, director of Transición Verde Foundation.
Practicalities
Date ant Time: 8th February 18:00-19:30
Language: The events will be held in Spanish via zoom, and will have simultaneous translation in English.
Registration: Prior registration is required- Please register here.
The day before each session we will send a message to the registered persons with the access link.
The sessions will be recorded and made available on YouTube.
This event is organised by the Green European Foundation with the support of Transición Verde and Fundació Nous Horitzons, and with the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation.
This event is targeted at people interested in mobility, especially members of organisations and platforms working on the issue, government officials, politicians and civil society associations, but also the general public.
Our aim is to publicise more sustainable alternatives when choosing a means of transport and to raise awareness of the need to change our mobility habits.
Context
This is the first event of the series of conferences entitled “The Future of European Mobility”.
One of the key factors in the development of our global society has been the ease with which we move around and transport goods thanks to the abundance of cheap oil. But the consequences of this irrational mobility are already being felt in the form of the climate crisis and air pollution.
In order to achieve Europe’s decarbonisation goals, the transport sector is a priority. That is why the German Heinrich Böll Foundation launched last year the European Mobility Atlas, a comprehensive analysis of the situation of the sector in Europe. The Green European Foundation and the Fundació Nous Horitzons have translated the Atlas into Spanish and, together with Transición Verde, have prepared a specific annex on the situation in Spain. For its launch, we have organised three online events on some modes of transport whose future is key to move towards low-emission mobility.
The first session will focus on aviation, the only sector which, until the pandemic, continued to increase its emissions. What’s the current state of play of the aviation industry? What are its prospects? We will take the opportunity to take a closer look at the controversy surrounding the expansion of El Prat airport (Barcelona).
Speakers
– Sergi Alegre, director general of the Airport Regions Council
– Raúl Gómez, director of Transición Verde Foundation
– Joan Herrera (Director of the Environment Department of El Prat City Council).
Moderation: Susanne Rieger (Member of the Board of Directors of the Green European Foundation)
Practicalities
Date and Time: Tuesday 1st February, 18:00-19:30
The events will be held via zoom and will have simultaneous translation from Spanish-English. Please register here.
The day before each session we will send a message to the registered persons with the access link.
The sessions will be recorded and made available on YouTube.
This event is organised by the Green European Foundation with the support of Transición Verde and Fundació Nous Horitzons, and with the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation.
“The Unconditional Basic Income is a periodic cash transfer granted to all members of a political community, without work requirement nor means-testing, and high enough to ensure an existence in dignity and participation in society”.
During this event, we will analyse some examples of UBI pilot projects that have been developed in recent years as debunk negative stereotypes. The last part of the session will focus on deriving lessons and best practices for a future universal basic income.
Context
The idea of a basic income was, for decades, a utopia. But the last few years have seen it become more and more real, to the point where we now have many basic income pilot programs up and running around the world.
The severity of the pandemic has also highlighted the need to reduce inequalities and protect the most vulnerable. With the crisis generating so much financial loss and uncertainty, and with public stimulus packages failing to meet the needs of millions, we need decisive actions and bold solutions more than ever.
Speakers
• Julen Bollain: Spanish economist specialising in unconditional basic income. Julen is a lecturer and researcher at the University of Mondragón (Basque Country). He is also a PhD student in Development Studies, under the direction of Daniel Raventós. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Basic Income Network and a life member of the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN). He is one of the protagonists of the documentary on Basic Income “RBUI, our right to live” (2018) together with philosophers, economists, politicians or social activists such as Philippe Van Parijs, Guy Standing or Louise Haagh.
In the 2016 elections to the Basque Parliament Julen Bollain was elected MP for Elkarrekin Podemos. During the 11th legislature he was the coalition’s economic spokesperson, as well as acting as President of the Basque Parliament’s Health Committee
• Mike Danson : Professor Mike Danson is an economist, Professor Emeritus of Enterprise Policy, Heriot-Watt University, Visiting Professor in Energy Policy, University of Strathclyde, and Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. He has published widely on rural, regional and island economies, microbreweries, minority languages, and many other areas of Scottish economic policy and social development. Chair of Basic Income Network Scotland, Chair of the 2021 BIEN (Basic Income Earth Network) world congress, depute Convenor Jimmy Reid Foundation, Trustee of Nordic Horizons and Community Renewal, Mike was on the Scottish Government’s Just Transition Commission and has advised, national and international organisations: OECD, WHO, EC, trades unions and community groups. Mike is Co-Director of the Scottish Centre for Island Studies. Contact: michael.danson@hw.ac.uk.
Moderation: Susanne Rieger: Co-president of the Green European Foundation. She has been responsible for European issues and European relations in the Catalan Green foundation Fundació Nous Horitzons (FNH) for the past ten years.
Practicalities
Date and Time: 2nd Nov (17:00-18:00) Audience: The webinar is free and open to the general public. Registration: Please register here.
This event is organised by the Green European Foundation with the support of Transición Verde and with the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation. The European Parliament is not responsible for the content of this event.
“The Unconditional Basic Income is a periodic cash transfer granted to all members of a political community, without work requirement nor means-testing, and high enough to ensure an existence in dignity and participation in society”.
During this event, we’ll put UBI on the spotlight as a driving solution to tackle poverty and income inequality and other problems in a changing world.
The COVID-19 crisis continues to change the way we live our lives, and how social services continue to respond to the needs of the most vulnerable. This crisis will affect how governments plan their future responses to social emergencies, and UBI could be one effective way to do it.
This event is part of our knowledge community ‘A welfare state of the 21st century’. The Green European Foundation has been working on this issue for several years with the aim of opening a debate on UBI across Europe. We are now joining forces with other social actors to give this effort a broader scope.
As the debate continues, we too would be interested in expanding our analysis to include new information and additional countries.
Speakers
• Valerija Korošec, PhD in Postmodern Sociology. She is a representative of Slovenia in the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN) and the European Network for the Fair Sharing of Working Time.
• Natalie Bennet, Green member of the House of Lords in the UK. Former leader of the Green Party of England and Wales from 2012 to 2016. She previously spent 20
years working as a journalist, (the Bangkok Post, The Times, and the Guardian Weekly)
• Simo Raittila, Coordinator of the Finnish think tank Visio and a PhD student in Sociology at the University of Helsinki. In 2018 he worked on last-resort social assistance register research at Kela, the Social Insurance Institution of Finland.
Moderation: Hannes Mehrer. Coordinator of the Basic income working Group of the German Green party and of the Green Network of UBI supporters.
Practicalities
Date and Time: October 19th (17:00-18:00) Audience: The webinar is free and open to the general public. Registration: Please register in advance via this link.
This event is organised by the Green European Foundation with the support of Transición Verde and with the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation. The European Parliament is not responsible for the content of this event.
“The Unconditional Basic Income is a periodic cash transfer granted to all members of a political community, without work requirement nor means-testing, and high enough to ensure an existence in dignity and participation in society”.
During this event, we’ll seek to analyse if a European UBI is possible. We’ll put the focus on what benefits it would bring compared to nationwide implementation and how institutions could finance it.
We will also review how the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) for a European Basic Income emerged and whether European society is actually ready for a basic income.
Context
Views on a guaranteed basic income vary drastically across Europe. In 2020 a Universal Basic Income ECI was launched to request the EU Commission to make a proposal for unconditional basic incomes throughout the EU to reduce regional disparities and to strengthen the economic, social and territorial cohesion in the EU.
This event is part of our knowledge community ‘A welfare state of the 21st century’. The Green European Foundation has been working on this issue for several years with the aim of opening a debate on UBI across Europe. We are now joining forces with other social actors to give this effort a broader scope.
As the debate continues, we too would be interested in expanding our analysis to include new information and additional countries.
Speakers
Malcolm Torry. Dr. Malcolm Torry is a Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Bath and treasurer of the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN), and was until recently a visiting senior fellow at the London School of Economics and director of the Citizen’s Basic Income Trust. He has written a number of books about Basic Income, and for nearly twenty years has researched the financial feasibility of illustrative Basic Income schemes.
Klaus Sambor. One of the main initiators of activities surrounding basic income in Austria and in Europe and one of the main organizers of the European Citizens’ Initiative “Start Unconditional Basic Incomes (UBI) throughout the EU”, which is taking place in all countries of the European Union.
Moderation:
Ewa Suffin-Jacquemart. Member of the Board of the Green European Foundation and Director of the Polish green foundation Fundacja Strefa Zieleni.
Practicalities
Date and Time: October 5th (17:00-18:00) Audience: The webinar is free and open to the general public. Registration: Please register in advance via this link.
This event is organised by the Green European Foundation with the support of Transición Verde and with the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation. The European Parliament is not responsible for the content of this event.
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.
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.
The food industry is one of the main factors behind biodiversity loss and the worsening of global inequalities. We aim to contribute to a better understanding of the food system as a tool for social change. It is vital to understand the different processes and exercise critical thinking, as actors in the agri-food system become aware, act, and demand change.
These project will be decided into sessions that will have a European focus, but also a global one, as global is the agri-food business and, above all, its impacts. The Common Agricultural Policy and the different European strategies and policies (From Farm to Fork) will be present throughout this series of roundtables in September/ October and with the speakers we will try to analyse their positive and negative aspects regarding the topics discussed.
Programme:
5. THE TRANSFORMATIVE POTENTIAL OF AGROECOLOGY
Agroecology is a way of farming that focuses on food production that makes the best use of nature’s goods and services while not damaging these resources. It is an in-depth transformative tool to develop sustainable agri-food systems, moving away from the industrial system.
Agroecology teaches us that there is another way of looking at the world, a more sustainable and fairer way to feed humanity, respecting the environment, and taking care of both producers and consumers.
Agroecological initiatives are on the rise as they favour soil regeneration, water protection, and safeguards biodiversity. It protects our health, promotes employment, fair wages, makes women’s work visible and valued, and revitalizes the rural economy.
However, the adjective “agroecological” can hide a distinct reality. Large agri-food companies have found in agroecology a new business opportunity, albeit one that promotes their vision based on profit and is far removed from its transformative component. They incorporate certain practices to mitigate some agricultural affects but avoid touching the pillars holding the current industrial system. In this session, we will further explore this issue. We will also look at the EU’s strategies and policies to promote agroecology. We will also learn about two agroecological experiences: the Ecocomedores in the Canary Islands and the projects of the El Colletero Association (
Speakers:
* Andrés Muñoz, Head of Food Sovereignty at Friends of the Earth specialising in
awareness raising and advocacy on Food Sovereignty. * Aina Calafat
Head of international projects of the Spanish Society of Organic Agriculture and Agroecology. She
worked for almost 20 years as technical director of the Consell Balear de la Producció Agrària
Ecològica. * Margarita Hernández
Technician at the Canary Islands Institute of Agri-food Quality (ICCA) and coordinator of the
Ecocomedores (eco canteens) programme. * Raquel Ramírez
representative of El Colletero (Nalda – La Rioja), an association that promotes agroecology to
achieve sustainable development and equality.
Moderation: * Helena Cifre
Coordinator of the Spanish Society of Organic Agriculture and Agroecology. Law graduate,
ecofeminist and expert in responsible consumption.
Practicalities:
Where: Online platform – ZOOM
Time and date: 21 October, 17:30-19:00 PM CET
Language: Simultaneous translation to English
Audience: these series of webinars are open for the general public
This event is organised by the Green European Foundation with the support of Transición Verde and with the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation. The European Parliament is not responsible for the content of this event.
The food industry is one of the main factors behind biodiversity loss and the worsening of global inequalities. We aim to contribute to a better understanding of the food system as a tool for social change. It is vital to understand the different processes and exercise critical thinking, as actors in the agri-food system become aware, act, and demand change.
These project will be decided into sessions that will have a European focus, but also a global one, as global is the agri-food business and, above all, its impacts. The Common Agricultural Policy and the different European strategies and policies (From Farm to Fork) will be present throughout this series of roundtables in September/ October and with the speakers we will try to analyse their positive and negative aspects regarding the topics discussed.
Programme:
4. FOOD SOVEREIGNTY VERSUS CORPORATE CONTROL
The logic of liberalism applied to agri-food markets has led to the accumulation of political and economic power by a small group of actors in critical sectors of the food chain.
Powerful agricultural companies dictate the rules for the functioning of the entire system. They exercise influence on policy-makers to boost policies that promote a productivity-based form of agriculture, neglecting any form of environmental responsibility or social justice.
Who’s in charge of making these decisions and in whose interests? How do these corporations exercise power? What is the EU doing to control this power and guarantee food sovereignty? Is food sovereignty compatible with free-market models as we know them today? Are there economic alternatives? In this session, we will try to delve deeper into the web of interests that are endangering food sovereignty and security.
Speakers: * Vandana Shiva
one of the most influential women in the field of ecology and ecofeminism. PhD in Physics,
philosopher and writer, she has received numerous awards such as the Right Livelihood Award,
the UN Global 500 Award and the Sanctuary Wildlife Award.. * Sofía Monsalve
Secretary General of FIAN International where she coordinated the land and natural resources
programme for more than 15 years. She is also a member of the IPES-Food expert panel. * Geneviève Savigny
Member of the European Economic and Social Committee. Former national secretary of the
Confédération paysanne (farmers’ confederation) and former member of the European
coordination committee of Via Campesina.
Moderation: * Carolina García
Member of the Board of Trustees of Transición Verde. Journalist and political scientist, she is
currently communications coordinator at Alianza por la Solidaridad- ActionAid.
Practicalities:
Where: Online platform – ZOOM
Time and date: 14 October, 17:30-19:00 PM CET
Language: Simultaneous translation to English
Audience: these series of webinars are open for the general public
This event is organised by the Green European Foundation with the support of Transición Verde and with the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation. The European Parliament is not responsible for the content of this event.
