degrowth | Life after Overshoot

It’s time to give up on growth – is degrowth the key?

After a year or so watching YouTube and reading books like How Everything Can Collapse, I realised in January 2022 there was one more possibility. So with two others I started a new nonprofit called Degrowth Aotearoa New Zealand.

It wasn’t long before we had a keen group talking to each other. In mid 2022 our energetic secretary started a Facebook group. That now has over 1400 members, many from other countries. We have a rapidly growing and highly motivated tribe.

Continue reading “It’s time to give up on growth – is degrowth the key?”

Tradable Energy Quotas will reduce Agricultural Emissions

When Degrowth Aotearoa New Zealand (DANZ) first became keen on advocating for Tradable Energy Quotas (TEQs) as invented by David Fleming, we were worried that TEQs wouldn’t reduce our huge agricultural emissions, particularly methane and nitrous oxide. This piece explores the potential impact of TEQs (a form of rationing fossil fuels) on agriculture, the role of fossil fuels in farming. It concludes that TEQs will result in a decrease in agricultural emissions.

Degrowth – the word to hate and then accept

Yes, degrowth is an awful word but we won’t try and change it because there are already over 500 academic articles on degrowth. The movement is strong in Europe. Continue reading “Degrowth – the word to hate and then accept”

Tradable Energy Quotas – the magic route to degrowth and control of emissions

In the face of an urgent need to reduce emissions, we are proposing a TEQ scheme replace the Emissions Trading Scheme. This article argues that price-based schemes to reduce emissions are unfair to the poor and are not working anywhere.

They must be replaced by a numbers-based scheme. And since the Government has recently reduced the excise tax on fuel, we must now decide the purpose and future of fuel excise taxes. Continue reading “Tradable Energy Quotas – the magic route to degrowth and control of emissions”