When? June 16-19, 2026
Where? Krakow, Poland
Across Central and Eastern Europe, people are experiencing overlapping crises: rising living costs, environmental degradation, work precarity and growing inequalities. Climate and economic transformations are often presented as trade-offs – between satisfying social needs and caring for the environment. Yet many social movements, trade unions, community initiatives and researchers are asking a shared question: how can we ensure good life for all within planetary boundaries? Degrowth offers a framework to imagine a green and just transition that prioritises well-being, care and fairness over endless economic growth, rejecting the need for “sacrifices”.
As a social movement and practice, as well as a field of academic research, degrowth is becoming an increasingly clear and serious proposition, yet it is still mainly voiced by West European theory and practice. That is why this conference want to talk about degrowth in the context of Central and Eastern Europe. Countries from the former Eastern Block aspiring to ‘catch up with the West’. Societies that are rather sceptical about climate policies and perceive green transition as a cost rather than an opportunity. Economies largely based on non-renewable energy sources, still experiencing the consequences of an unjust political transition for the world of work. ‘Young’ democracies, increasingly vulnerable to attacks from the far right. Places where discussions about de/militarisation are taking place in the shadow of the ongoing war in Ukraine and the threat of Russian aggression. Let’s talk about degrowth in the CEE region and develop regional responses, tasks, and propositions!
The topic of population growth is often omitted from any debate regarding environmental impact in all academic circles ranging from classical to heterodox. While it is undeniable that the global population is increasing and will continue to increase for some time, no serious address towards the seemingly obvious relationship between population growth and environmental degradation is directly di...
One of the most controversially discussed key tracks during the 5th International Degrowth Conference 2016 in Budapest was “Degrowth and other social movements”. Can degrowth be considered a movement? Does degrowth embrace all kinds of movements struggling for a sustainable future? On one hand, the notion of “degrowth movement(s)” was rigorously criticized for fragmenting the political struggle...
Without trying to give definitions of growth or degrowth everybody knows anyway, I would like to emphasize that these phenomena were always subject to discussions. Even a non-economist knows that it is impossible to talk about growth without mentioning ideas like increases in production factors, industrialization or economic development. Any increase has to come to a [...]
