According to the sixth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, carbon emissions are driving a rise in average temperature. The world is already suffering from floods, fires, and food shortages. There are serious ecological and social costs to reduce carbon emissions.
Waste and destruction can be generated by renewable energy. Replacing fossil-fuel powered cars with fleets of electric vehicles requires a lot of new materials. Critical minerals and rare earth elements are involved in controversial practices that damage the environment. The clean-tech pathway threatens to exaggerate the exploitation of our precious living planet and fails to account for the burdens felt by the poor and vulnerable, who cannot afford price hikes or the purchase of new "ECO-friendly" appliances and devices. The United Nation's carbon-offset program for forests shows that the wealthy can pollute at the expense of the poor.
The earth and humankind need a different kind of technology. Tools and production techniques that are easy to understand, created, and repaired, and that assist people to fulfill their basic needs are included in the concept. Transport, food growing, self-provisioned housing, and many more are all based on cooperative, mutually agreeable and sharing approaches.
Quality of life, social and ecological values, and the modest use of materials and energy are all emphasized by a society like this. A set of measures and daily practices that avoid demand for energy, materials, land and water while delivering human wellbeing for all within planetary boundaries is described in a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Degrowth is sometimes seen as depression, poverty and austerity. Degrowth is to growth as quality is to quantity
The term degrowth was first used 50 years ago and is still used today. Since 2009, scholarly literature on the topic has grown. The movement has the potential to speed up the transformation to a zero-carbon or negative-carbon economy, according to the report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Degrowth and technology play out in practice. We can walk, ride bikes, use cargo bikes, and use public transportation instead of using motorized vehicles. The parking lots can be turned into gardens that are self-sustaining. We can plant trees throughout the city to reduce heat in the city and to provide wood, fruits and nuts for local communities. The Los Angeles Eco-Village will be 30 years old in three years' time. The group covers two blocks of Los Angeles and has influenced the city's transportation policies.
Cargonomia is a center in Hungary that is based on three businesses that show how degrowth works. A self-organizing do-it-yourself bicycle cooperative called Cyclonomia is one of the initiatives. The bicycle, which is easy to build, use and repair, is an example of a tool that is good for the environment. Members can use the workshop to fix their bikes. The team designs, builds and hires out bike trailers and cargo bikes to be used as a substitute for delivery trucks.
The Zsmboki Biokert is an educational center and an organic vegetable farm. Vegetables grown at Zsmboki Biokert and neighboring partner farms are ferried to collection points in Hungary by a third self-organized Cargonomia venture. There are other cities where such schemes thrive. The SHARECITY research team at Trinity College has explored food sharing in 100 cities.
It is ideal to source food as close as possible to the consumer. It means providing for a mostly plant-based diet that is appropriate for the local climate and soils. Food consumers usually make at least some of their food. Members of Zsmboki Biokert are able to work from home. The small farm follows principles of Regenerative Agriculture and is able to offer greater resilience against global warming. It's important for improving resilience and production in food-growing areas if you use horse-drawn tools. A renewed interest in local food sources has been spurred by recent rises in food prices.
Out-of-date industrial infrastructure can be adapted for a number of different types of work. A very old cottage is being renovated by Cargonomia on their farm. Degrowth housing is the building of modest dwellings with low ecological impacts by using local, at-hand materials and benefiting from collective work parties. Precincts of such residents provide off- grid services. Social housing should be refurbished and expanded instead of being demolished. Degrowth advocates for more affordable, sustainable and varied housing options. The German Mietshuser Syndikat has nearly 200 housing projects in the works.
In contrast to clean technology, convivial technology helps communities achieve zero-carbon or even negative-carbon living. Degrowth and technology work together to reduce carbon emissions.
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