A socio-metabolic perspective on environmental justice and degrowth movements
Scheidel, Arnim (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Schaffartzik, Anke (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)

Date:	2019
Abstract:	Degrowth and environmental justice movements share overarching aims of sustainability and justice and pursue them through radical social change and resistances. Both movements are diverse and comprised of groups that originate and operate in different contexts. The ever-growing metabolism of the world economy presents an obstacle to both movements' aims, while a socio-metabolic perspective unveils very different characteristics and contexts of the specific struggles. The strategies of many environmental justice movements located at the frontiers of resource extraction are employed to resist coerced socio-ecological transition towards industrialization and to protect more customary ways of life. Movements for the degrowth of industrial metabolism tend to push for socio-ecological transformation, pursuing new ways of life and reimagined social relations in alternative societies. The overarching aims and obstacles of these movements may be shared, but their struggles, strategies and required actions are not the same. Alliances should seek advantages from this plurality of perspectives and positions within their struggles, while acknowledging potential tensions arising from these different contexts.
Grants:	European Commission 695446
Note:	Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu MdM-2015-0552
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, i la comunicació pública de l'obra, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original. No es permet la creació d'obres derivades.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió acceptada per publicar
Subject:	Social movements ; Alliance ; Justice ; Sustainability ; Socio-ecological transitions ; Social metabolism
Published in:	Ecological economics, Vol. 161 (July 2019) , p. 330-333, ISSN 0921-8009

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2019.02.023

Postprint 10 p, 640.2 KB

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA)
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Articles > Published articles