In a new Article by JHU-UPF Public Policy Center, Dr. Christos Zografos and colleagues analyse EU Parliament's perspectives on how to face the climate crisis
In a new Article by JHU-UPF Public Policy Center, Dr. Christos Zografos and colleagues analyse EU Parliament's perspectives on how to face the climate crisis
In a new Article by JHU-UPF Public Policy Center, Dr. Christos Zografos and colleagues analyse EU Parliament's perspectives on how to face the climate crisis
A study carried out by researchers from the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA-UAB) and the Department of Political and Social Sciences of the UPF recently published in the journal Nature Sustainability determines that politicians in the European Parliament support post-growth and eco-socialist positions to face the climate crisis, and not just green growth.
Degrowth is a sustainability strategy that is attracting increasing scientific interest, but is seen as too radical for politicians to accept, especially when compared with ‘green growth’. In their recent pubblication, Giorgos Kallis, Riccardo Mastini & Christos Zografos use Q methodology to investigate viewpoints of political elites on degrowth and green growth by inquiring the views of 41 elected members of the European Parliament. Their results found opinions clustered around three distinct discourses: a ‘Post-growth Deal’, closer to degrowth, an ‘Ecosocialist Green New Deal’ and finally a ‘Liberal Green Deal’, linked to green growth. Green growth opinions are found in the centre-right of the political spectrum while two distinct centre-left/left discourses (post-growth and eco-socialism) are respectively critical and agnostic towards growth and coalesce on public investment, environmental justice, and working-hours reduction. Radical sustainability opinions therefore exist among elected policy makers, and consensus does not necessarily build on supposedly win–win options that combine growth and sustainability. Questions remain over when and how such radical opinions may find expression in concrete policies.
Read UPF's press-release HERE