Our webinar series has now concluded
Ourwbinar series leading up to the 18th conference of the International Society for Ecological Economics and the 11th International Degrowth conference in Oslo 24th to 27th of June 2025 has come to an end. But more events are coming! If you want to stay posted on upcoming events and happenings related to Post CC, please join our new mailing list. Please note that this is not the same mailing list as we used for the webinars, so even if you were on that list, you will have to join the new list in order to receive notifications.
Past webinars
June 5th 09:00-10:00
What do politicians talk about when they (don't) talk about sufficiency and degrowth?
Tomas Skjølsvold and Gisle Solbu (both NTNU)
Concepts like sufficiency and degrowth – which focus on meeting people’s basic needs, staying within ecological limits, and reducing our dependence on energy and resources – are gaining more attention in policy discussions. In Norway, for example, the "avoid-shift-improve" framework has made its way into climate policy. The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has also underlined the importance of sufficiency policies in cutting emissions, alongside efficiency and renewables. But as these concepts become more visible in policy making, a key question remains: Are they truly reshaping the way politicians think about sustainability? The answer, in short, is not really.
In this presentation, we’ll explain why. We’ve examined how Norwegian political parties, and the public understand and respond to the ideas of sufficiency and degrowth, based on in-depth interviews with policymakers and a national survey of public attitudes. We start by exploring how parties across the political spectrum view their ability and willingness to challenge the status quo – particularly the deep-rooted focus on efficiency and economic growth that still dominates sustainability policy. Then, we compare those political views with public opinion: How ready are people to reduce consumption? How do they feel about policies aimed at living with less?
Our goal is to build a grounded, bottom-up understanding of the real possibilities and limitations for implementing sufficiency and degrowth policies, both now and in the future. We aim to highlight where public support exists, where political resistance remains strong, and what this means for shaping a more sustainable society. Ultimately, we hope to spark a deeper conversation about the political realities of shifting away from endless growth. What kind of energy system do we want? What industries and lifestyles should we prioritize or let go of? These are critical questions for anyone serious about a just and sustainable future.
May 21st 09:00-10:00
Why biodiversity matters – and why society must change to protect it
Konstantinos Kotzakoulakis, Stefania Piarulli, and Katherine Crosman (all SINTEF)
Biodiversity underpins ecosystem functionality, providing essential services such as pollination, climate regulation, and nutrient cycling. These services are foundational to human well-being, economic stability, and planetary health.
However, biodiversity is declining at an unprecedented rate due to habitat loss, overexploitation, pollution, invasive species, and especially climate change. Projections indicate significant biodiversity loss in coming decades, with cascading effects on ecosystems and societies.
Despite encouraging rhetoric across scales, and coordinated efforts to slow or reverse biodiversity loss, alarming trends continue. We argue that issues inherent to global societal structures impede biodiversity protection. Transformation of the societal structures based on the degrowth principles is essential for a viable path forward.
Konstantinos Kotzakoulakis is a Research Scientist at SINTEF Ocean, Climate and Environment and has a PhD from Macquarie University, Sydney in modelling anthropogenic pollution in the Antarctic environments. He did his Post Doctoral research at the CIGoM physical oceanography institute, Mexico studying the effects of oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico. His research interests are in studying the effects of anthropogenic activities on physical and biological natural processes.
Dr. Stefania Piarulli is a research scientist at the Department of Climate and Environment at SINTEF Ocean, Norway. Her background is in marine biology and ecology with her current research focusing on the fate and effects of emerging contaminants (i.e. microplastics) to a broader range of anthropogenic impacts acting in marine environments including habitat modifications and climate change. As part of her research Stefania applies an integrated approach of in-situ experimental ecology, molecular biology, ecotoxicology and analytical chemistry to holistically assess ecological stressor-related responses on marine biodiversity.
Kate Crosman is a Researcher at SINTEF Ocean, specializing in using mixed methods to understand stakeholder perceptions of, support for, and interactions with ocean and coastal governance. She holds a Masters in Natural Resources and Environment from the University of Michigan and a PhD in Public Policy and Management from the University of Washington.
April 24th 09:00-10:00
Future scenarios for second homes in Norway?
Jin Xue (Professor at NMBU) and Gaute Dahl (Leader of Friends of the Earth, Trondheim)
The massive growth and expansion of second home development in Norway has been heavily debated and contested in the last few years. The development characterised by short-term economic interests overriding environmental concerns has led to overbuilt landscapes and degraded ecosystems. Negative social and environmental consequences are increasingly felt in local communities. With better documented impacts and an increasing awareness, various actors try to stop development projects and call for halting of further construction.
NGOs and researchers have raised concerns, arguing that second home development is contributing to increased pressure on fragile ecosystems, loss of biodiversity, and strain on local resources. They also highlight the lack of long-term planning and regulatory oversight, calling for more sustainable land use policies that prioritize environmental preservation. Norwegian second-home development is currently at a crossroad, and we need to find sustainable paths to follow from here on.
Three scenarios for second homes will be presented - including green growth, sharing and degrowth futures. Together with regional planners, researchers have reflected on these scenarios and discussed the role planning can play in steering and navigating the three scenarios.
February 14th 09:00-10:00
What Would a Consumption Corridor for Fashion Look like?
Marlyne Sahakian (Professor, Université de Genève) and Siglinde Lunde (co-founder of HEKNE retailer)
Why is so much of fashion un-sustainable? Bridging academic and business/practitioner knowledge, this talk will start by explaining the problem of the environmental impacts of fashion, and the existing market mechanisms and societal dynamics that promote fast fashion over more sustainable practices. The concept of consumption corridors is introduced as a way of balancing human wellbeing with ecological limits and ensuring a society that is just and sustainable. Easier said than done: Experiences from the sustainability-devoted Norwegian clothing retailer Hekne underline that sustainable fashion is not an easy path to commit to, due to a lack of consumer awareness and willingness to pay for quality products, as well as running a business in an environment with demands for extreme growth and competition. The two presenters will engage in a discussion to reflect on how broader systems would need to design and implement CCs, with citizen participation, to ensure that sustainable choices are not individual, but collective.
“When companies like Shein and Temu are thriving and showing the world how cheap a garment can be sold, it is increasingly hard to justify the real cost of making clothes” says Siglinde Lunde, co-founder of HEKNE and one of the speakers at this webinar.
January 16th 09:00-10:00
Does the Global South Need to Grow?
Tone Smith (Independent scholar, ecological economist, and degrowth-activist) and Rajeswari S. Raina (Professor, International Relations and Governance Studies, Shiv Nadar University)
As growth critique is spreading and degrowth is receiving increased attention, we can observe a divide between those who argue that degrowth is of relevance to rich, overconsuming countries only and those who argue that leaving “the growth society” behind is relevant everywhere. In between, we also find a contract-and-convergence position, holding that the rich need degrowth to make space for the poor to grow.
Given the long history of colonialism and imperialism, proposals about leaving growth behind, both in the South as well as in the North, can be seen as very provocative, implying that the South should not be allowed to obtain the same material privileges as the North already has. On the other hand, forcing capitalism and growth society upon the rest of the world can also be seen as a (new) form of colonialism, a topic thoroughly explored in the post-development literature.
How can we manoeuvre between these various considerations or dilemmas? That is the central topic of this meeting. Smith will present arguments for leaving growth society behind everywhere, based on ecological economics theory and the original French degrowth (décroissance) thinking of Gorz, Latouche and others. Professor Raina will comment from a global South perspective,using ecological economics,political ecology and international relations.
December 16th 09:00-10:00
«De-Eurocentrifying» degrowth? Insights from China.
Marius Korsnes (Associate Professor at Norwegian University of Science and Technology), Adrian Ely (Professor at University of Sussex), Dunfu Zhang (Professor at Shanghai University) and Shuhua Chen (Senior Researcher at Norwegian University of Science and Technology)
The notion that degrowth originated in Europe and is now being disseminated globally warrants critical re-evaluation. While terms like décroissance (coined by André Gorz in 1972) may have European roots, the underlying concepts of sufficiency and critique of GDP-driven growth are not exclusive to the West. Responses to the “Limits to Growth”, (also published in 1972) emerged from various world regions and highlighted – inter alia – the importance of innovation for basic needs rather than material consumption. Furthermore, many non-Western cultures, including Confucian and Daoist heritage China, have longer traditions aligned with principles of sufficiency, challenging a Eurocentric framing of degrowth. This webinar explores some of these traditions, considering how growth-critical ideas have traversed between Europe and China and critically examining whether concepts such as degrowth can—and should—be disentangled from their Eurocentric histories.
November 14th 09:00-10:00
Community Economies and Post-Capitalism
Elizabeth Barron (Professor at Norwegian University of Science and Technology) and Bianca Elzenbaumer (President of the cultural organisation Brave New Alps)
The concept of a post-capitalist world implies a world after capitalism, but it does not suggest a structure for economic negotiations in that world. Too much of the debate has focused on the need for a complete replacement of capitalism. Cooperative, ethically based economies have been proposed as one way of taking the economy back from capitalism and helping us move into a postcapitalist period in which capitalism is one part of a diverse array of economies. Community economies, as theorized by J.K. Gibson-Graham (1996), suggests that economic exchange encompasses a wide array of activities, spaces, places, and engagements. In this talk the presenters will introduce this line of scholarly work, and present how it is being activated in various places around the world.
October 17th 09:00-10:00
Overcoming Barriers and Enabling Change Towards Sustainable and Inclusive Wellbeing
Rutger Hoekstra (Associate Professor at Leiden University) and Maria Zinutti (Implementation Lead, Wellbeing Economy Alliance)
There is no lack of ideas when it comes to Beyond-Growth. For at least 50 years, many Beyond-GDP metrics have been proposed and visions of a new economy have been created. Yet implementation of these ideas has been (too) slow. What are the barriers that are keeping these ideas back? What lessons can we learn from the history of institutionalisation of economic growth after the second world war? What role is there from institutions and what role is there for citizens? In this presentation Rutger will present some of the insights from recent reports from the WISE Horizons and MERGE projects (link, link). Maria will present the experiences of the WEAll network to overcome barriers to enable change towards an economy which prioritises Sustainable and Inclusive Wellbeing.
September 12th 09:00-10:00
The rise and fall of growth. Post-capitalist alternatives and possibilities.
Emil A. Røyrvik (Professor at the department of Sociology and political science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology) and Øyvind Hansen (Representative from the political party Rødt)
The problem of growth is a complex question which is deeply intertwined with capitalism as a “way of life”. Frederic Jameson noted that it is easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism. The presentation addresses the constraints and possibilities for viable, desirable, and realistic alternatives to the dominant order and “business as usual”, and how we can go about systematically identifying and assessing the abundance of alternatives already in existence. The question remains whether a profound societal transformation towards post-capitalism is possible in lieu of apocalypse.
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The presentation will not be available for downloading, but can be requested by e-mailing gisle.solbu@ntnu.no
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Konstantinos Kotzakoulakis, Stefania Piarulli, and Katherine Crosman
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What is Post CC?
The downsides of growth and decades of resource depletion is showing more and more in today's society. Growth is however deeply embedded in capitalist societies steered by market liberalism. Excessive consumption has previously been associated with growth and prosperity. Now, an increasing number of people and communities are looking elsewhere to increase their quality of life and wellbeing at home, work, or in their spare time. These types of initiatives are the ones Post CC wants to investigate more closely.
Through case studies, media, and literature analysis, in addition to more exploratory methods, Post CC will look for what motivates actors and characterise both new and more long-established practices and initiatives that enables ways of living with lower consumption and increased well-being. Or in other words, what enables post consumption citizenship in neighbourhoods, workplaces, and leisure arenas. The research in the project is based on close dialogue, where people's experiences, behaviour, associations, opinions, and attitudes to reduced consumption and wellbeing is investigated.
In addition to a range of qualitative methods, surveys will be conducted at several points in time from the same group of people to identify potential changes in behaviour and opinions. Post CC wants to uncover the kind of resources and infrastructure necessary to support practices of lower consumption. Post CC will communicate and disseminate this knowledge to different groups in society, targeting diverse genders, ethnicities, age groups, and people of various socioeconomic status in addition to policy makers, and the academic community, to spread ideas, knowledge and actions supporting Post Consumption Citizenship on all arenas in life.
