Potential for degrowth : attitudes and behaviours across 18 European countries

Ančić, Branko (author), Domazet, Mladen (author)

Avoiding a whole-scale collapse of the civilisation- supporting ecosystems within this century will require a change in the social metabolism, as well as expectations, aspirations, behaviours and attitudes of the majority of the global population, especially in the Global North. In absence of the technological innovation to allow maintenance and expansion of the current energy utilisation by the global society, but without the collapse-inducing byproducts, the societies will require a transformation along the lines of a degrowth scenario. The main goal of this paper is to explore to what extent is environmentally motivated degrowth potential present among European populations on the level of attitudes and evaluation of behaviour. In order to do so we use the ISSP research module Environment survey data from 2011, analysing comparative findings for 18 European 'old' and 'new' democracies. Our findings indicate the prevalence of common awareness of environmental limits to growth among all participating European national populations, but a different potential to apply them in a degrowth scenario between 'richer' and 'poorer' states, as well as between younger and older European degrowthers.

• Language: English
• Work type: Not categorized
• Organization: FDV - Faculty of Social Sciences
• Year: 2015
• Number of pages: Str. 456-475, 566
• Numbering: Letn. 52, št. 3
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-85405
• ISSN: 0040-3598
• UDC: 502.131.1:316.42(4)
• COBISS.SI-ID: 33418333
• Publication date in RUL: 20.09.2016

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Teorija in praksa : revija za družbena vprašanja
• Shortened title: Teor. praksa
• Publisher: Fakulteta za družbene vede
• ISSN: 0040-3598
• COBISS.SI-ID: 763652

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian

Abstract

V tem stoletju bo izogibanje vseobsegajočem propadu ekosistemov, ki so osnova civilizacije, zahtevalo spremembo v socialnem metabolizmu, pa tudi spremembe pričakovanj, aspiracij, obnašanj in stališč večjega dela globalnega prebivalstva, posebej globalnega Severa. Brez tehnoloških inovacij, ki bi omogočile vzdrževanje in rast trenutne uporabe energije v globalni družbi brez stranskih produktov, ki povzročajo splošni propad, bodo družbe potrebovale spremembo, utemeljeno na scenariju ustavljanja rasti ("degrowth" scenarij). Glavni cilj tega članka je razkriti, koliko je okoljevarstveno motiviran potencial za ustavljanje rasti prisoten med evropsko populacijo na ravni stališč in ocene obnašanj. V ta namen uporabljamo ISSP raziskovalni modul Okoljski anketni podatki iz leta 2011 in analiziramo primerljive podatke za 18 evropskih "starih" in "novih" demokracij. Naši rezultati kažejo, da pri vseh evropskih prebivalcih, ki so bili zastopani v raziskovalnem modulu, prevladuje splošno zavedanje o okoljskih omejitvah razvoja, vendar se glede pripravljenosti za uporabo t. i. "degrowth" scenarija kažejo razlike med "bogatejšimi" in "revnejšimi" državami tako kot med mlajšimi in starejšimi podporniki scenarija.