Time for a U-Turn

This Briefing Paper is part of an attempt to directly contribute to the definition of alternative political, economic, and cultural directions for the European Union. We believe an innovative European approach to the environmental challenge must take seriously the question of economic reform, as well as the inescapable connection between environmental and social justice. Introduction The fight against climate change has reached a critical point. After the failure of the COP 15 in Copenhagen, most governments seem to be suffering from a negotiation fatigue. The economic crisis has further complicated the issue. Currently, public debate is all focused on the road to financial recovery, thereby sidelining any serious reform concerning the ecological degradation of the planet. The general impression is that the economic downturn has left little room for the bold actions needed to curb greenhouse gas emissions, as the relationship between climate change and societal well-being is increasingly portrayed in an either/or fashion: curb emissions or save jobs, slow down the melting of the ice caps or boost economic progress. In this new framework, fighting global warming is often depicted as a noble cause requiring a series of “sacrifices” that our societies are not in the position to afford at a time of global economic crisis. This briefing paper argues that such a deadlock is due to the mainstream approach to climate change, which frames it as an environmental problem. By contrast, it is argued that climate change should be described (and tackled) as a social justice issue, as it compounds the instability of our development model. The challenge is not deciding whether to create jobs or curb CO2 emissions. It is rather how to revolutionize the way in which our economies have been working so far. The traditional linkage between societal development and economic growth must be decoupled, first of all by abandoning GDP as an indicator of success and international power. As a consequence, future policies should not aim at simply increasing GDP, but they should exclusively promote tangible and equitable wellbeing for citizens and for the ecosystems in which they live. In this view,Europe appears to have the instruments, economic leverage and the credibility to lead the way.