Montreal 2012

This week long gathering in Montreal from May 13th to 19th 2012 brought together 340 academics, activists, environmentalists and indigenous peoples from Canada, the USA, Europe and Latin America, to present, discuss, share and celebrate our needs and hopes for diverse and more equitable societies in the Americas, on a post-growth healing earth. You can find the media and writtten results of our deliberations here.

Twenty years after the Earth Summit in Rio, the linkage of sustainable development to economic growth requires profound rethinking. It has not offered a convincing solution to one of the most dramatic crises in history: how to avert ecological collapse while enhancing social justice and improving life’s prospects. In advance of Rio plus 20, our Conference sought to challenge and move beyond the sustainable development agenda. A degrowth perspective helps us visualize and build towards a truly prosperous world.

Drawing from previous degrowth conferences in Paris and Barcelona in 2008 and 2010 respectively, the Montreal conference focused on the particular situations and dynamics of the Americas. What does degrowth mean for our Hemisphere with its rich geographical, cultural, social and economic diversity? How can degrowth models apply to different contexts from the Arctic to Tierra del Fuego? What does degrowth mean for the indigenous peoples of the Americas and their aspirations for their lands and peoples? How can degrowth concepts be made audible, understandable and acceptable to rich North Americans?

More information here.