BEGIN:VCALENDAR PRODID;X-RICAL-TZSOURCE=TZINFO:-//com.denhaven2/NONSGML ri_cal gem//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN VERSION:2.0 BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID;X-RICAL-TZSOURCE=TZINFO:Europe/Stockholm BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20180325T020000 RDATE:20180325T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0200 TZNAME:CEST END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;TZID=Europe/Stockholm;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20180822T153000 DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Stockholm;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20180822T140000 DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20180816T222136Z DESCRIPTION:This session is based on the research project ”Beyond GDP Gro wth – Scenarios for sustainable planning and building” which started in 2014 and ends in December 2018. The aim of the project is to explore sce narios for developments beyond traditional GDP-growth\, understand the i mplications of such development within various sectors\, and subsequentl y develop strategies and policies that can be used for sustainable plann ing and building in Sweden. The results concretely indicate how a steady state or degrowth economy can materialize on a societal level\, how eco nomic\, ecological and social sustainability problems can be tackled\, a nd how different policies and other strategies can address these insight s and transform challenges into opportunities. The scenarios are set in a Swedish context where discussions about degrowth so far have been rela tively scarce. In different ways they offer alternative visions beyond t he gloomy horizon reflected by the current political agendas. 17 researc hers from various fields such as environmental strategic analyses\, soci ology\, urban studies\, political science\, social anthropology\, econom ics\, and human ecology are participating in the project. Approaching th e end of the project the bulk of the results are available\, forming a s tory of the hindrances but also potentials for Swedish society beyond gr owth. The four presentations given here are intended to represent some o f the most important aspects and insights in more detail. We will allow time in this special session for discussions about the politics of degro wth and possible ways of expanding the geographies of degrowth.\n\n\n1. The economic context and the importance of alternative scenarios \nMikae l Malmaeus\, IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute\n\nGDP is prim arily an indicator of economic activity and measures the total productio n cost of the goods and services in the economy. The monetary costs refl ect the use of labor and natural resources and apparently correlate with environmental impacts. As soon as efficiency gains reduce production co sts the impact on GDP growth is negative. Hence decoupling of GDP growth from resource use is inherently difficult. In addition\, in the last de cade GDP growth has been a disappointment from a social perspective. In Sweden\, for example\, GDP has increased more than 100 percent during th e last 30 years. During the same period\, unemployment more than doubled and the welfare state has gradually been eroded. Nevertheless alternati ve strategies challenging the growth agenda meet resistance on the groun ds that the economic consequences of lower growth rates would be harmful or even disastrous. In this presentation an overview is given of potent ial consequences on the economy of low or no economic growth as identifi ed by researchers from different branches of economics. Conclusions are based on models and experiences from individual countries or shorter tim e spans of economic depressions. Potential consequences are identified c oncerning\, e.g.\, labor markets\, financial markets\, individual busine sses and the public sector. Short term effects are sometimes dramatic as evident from experienced economic depressions. However\, in the longer term the effects may be less dramatic but may require substantial adjust ments to a new normal. In a very general sense\, many effects of low or no economic growth are directly or indirectly linked to failed expectati ons. Decisions made on the premise that growth will continue turn out to be wrong decisions\, with various consequences following the realizatio n of an unexpected growth trajectory. Thus opening up for new expectatio ns is in itself a strategy to manage a transition beyond GDP growth.\n\n \n2. Sustainability aspects in scenarios – potential opportunities and c hallenges\nEléonore Fauré\, KTH Royal Institute of Technology\, Division of Strategic Sustainability Studies\n\nFuture scenarios are often used in policy-making in order to guide action towards sustainability. In our project four normative\, so-called backcasting\, scenarios depicting Sw edish society in 2050 were developed\, with the stated aim of fulfilling four distinct sustainability goals\, regardless of economic growth assu mptions. Two goals are environmental (climate and land use) and two are social (power\, influence and participation in society as well as welfar e and resource equity). Each scenario is based on a distinct strategy: c ircular economy combined with a strong welfare state\, automatization co mbined with reduced working hours\, local self-sufficiency and collabora tive economy (in the cases of local self-sufficiency and collaborative e conomy\, these are both strategies and scenarios). But what are the pote ntial opportunities and challenges of these four scenarios\, when it com es to reaching the sustainability goals? And can these strategies also p otentially impact positively or negatively on other sustainability goals than those presented above? This presentation builds upon the findings from several publications based on different methods from semi-quantitat ive methods mixing excel models\, literature studies and workshop discus sions to interviews with researchers or Swedish municipalities. The prel iminary insights point to some challenges that are common to all scenari os\, albeit to a different extent\, when it comes to e.g. diets or trans portation (in particular air transport) for reaching the climate goal. O ther challenges\, on the contrary\, seem to be more inherent to the stra tegy chosen behind each scenario e.g. regarding potential risks of exclu sion from participation in society and/or access to resources depending on socio-economic groups\, rural or urban population or gender.\n\n\n3. Barriers to degrowth – hindering structures and institutional conditions for radical transition \nPernilla Hagbert\, KTH Royal Institute of Tech nology\, Department of Urban Planning and Environment\nThe Swedish polic y context could be (somewhat simplistically) characterized by a strive f or consensus in outlining a triple bottom line approach\, where a histor ically strong social welfare system\, middle-of-the-road economics and r elatively ambitious environmental management has merged in prevalent eco -modern notions of a Scandinavian “brand” of sustainability. As a counte r-narrative to this largely de-politicized mainstream sustainability dis course\, there is nonetheless a growing recognition that we will need to move towards ensuring social justice while keeping within planetary bou ndaries\, and that this will require fundamental changes in society. In this presentation\, explorations of the institutional conditions\, the r ole of different sectoral actors\, but also the hindering structures for approaching more radical transitions in Swedish society are presented\, based in empirical studies within the areas of transport\, agriculture\ , work\, and housing. The insights point towards a need to challenge con temporary power relations\, dominant institutional logics\, prevalent no rms and attitudes\, as well as outline more concrete tools to move towar ds a future beyond growth. Particularly\, there is an identified lack of competency\, combined with an inertia in established planning structure s and forms of production that hinders alternative understandings of dev elopment to be taken up by more than a few driven enthusiasts. The overa rching story of consumption and technological salvation is however being questioned in different ways\, emphasizing what is seen as inherently c onflicting agendas of growth and long-term sustainability\, proposing co unter-narratives that outline transitional agency\, despite prevailing s tructures.\n\n\n4. How to make degrowth happen? Windows of opportunity a nd how to catch them\nÅsa Nyblom\, IVL Swedish Environmental Research In stitute\n\nThis presentation will focus on the question: What sorts of o pportunities for transitions towards a degrowth society has been found i n the different parts of the Beyond GDP-growth project? Two different pa ths within the project can be noted. Either the research focus has been on the reasons and opportunities to go beyond a norm of economic growth. Key findings here suggests that there is little evidence indicating lon g-lasting negative consequences of non-growth\, although having correct expectations on future levels of growth is important to avoid states of crisis. Or the focus has been on researching what a sustainable future s ociety and everyday life based in alternative ideas about economic growt h might look like. Key opportunities found in this line of inquiry stres ses the importance of expectations: How change is imagined in local comm unities and in local authorities is crucial for if- and what type of dev elopment towards a sustainable society beyond growth that will take plac e. The opportunity and importance of municipal involvement and\, more br oadly\, institutional embeddedness and capacity for making local initiat ive grow and flourish is highlighted. Moreover the prospect of everyday life as an arena for change is underlined. Homes are in a degrowth conte xt not just objects of investments and high mortgage loans but also site s of reskilling\; inner transition\; experimentation\; and arenas for a diverse economy. Findings show that great change potential rests within reformed social structures and norms regarding the everyday life of peop le (their needs\, home\, view on work\, consumption etc.). Findings also point to that reducing private consumption may be easier than generally believed\, drawing on field studies that situate degrowth notions in st ories of well-being and meaningfulness. URL: SUMMARY:A Swedish Society Beyond GDP Growth – potentials and hindrances ORGANIZER:malmo2018 LOCATION:ABF (Stora Salen) END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR