Produce Less – Exploring Degrowth

As wars, extreme weather, fuel shortages and rising electricity demand strain aging power systems, decentralized energy is gaining importance. Solar panels, batteries, smaller generators and microgrids can reduce dependence on vulnerable centralized grids and help maintain essential services during disruptions. In Ukraine, distributed systems are supporting hospitals and water infrastructure amid attacks. Puerto Rico is integrating household batteries into its grid, while Cuba is expanding solar generation as fuel shortages deepen. These experiences show both the potential and limitations of decentralized energy. Scaling remains difficult, but localized generation and storage are emerging as practical tools for improving resilience in increasingly insecure energy systems.

In the mountains of Eswatini, Warren has built a garden around indigenous plants, permaculture and local ecological knowledge. But the landscape he has carefully cultivated is facing a changing climate. He has witnessed heavier and less predictable rains, flooding, soil erosion, crop failures and the spread of invasive species. His response combines practical adaptation with conservation: cultivating native plants, restoring degraded land, reducing invasive wattle, reusing waste and producing organic compost. Working with like-minded neighbours, Warren hopes to develop a nature reserve around Sibebe Rock. His experience offers a grounded account of grassroots climate adaptation and the challenges of building resilience in a vulnerable rural community.

Javier Milei’s government has faced setbacks both in the streets and in Congress over its plans to liberalize foreign ownership of land and weaken environmental protections. Mass protests against the proposed land law were met with police repression, while the government failed to secure enough parliamentary support to pass key provisions as presented. The article examines these developments as signs of growing resistance to austerity, privatization and the transfer of control over Argentina’s land and resources. It also explores the role of sovereignty, the Malvinas issue and football in popular political consciousness, and the challenge of turning street mobilization into sustained political organization.

Climate communication has often emphasized hope, success and the possibility of staying within the 1.5°C threshold. Theresa Leisgang and Gerriet Schwen argue that this approach can obscure the severity of the climate crisis. Drawing on climate science, research and conversations with scientists, journalists and activists, they examine the growing evidence of ecological and social breakdown and the limits of optimistic narratives. They call for more honest communication about climate overshoot, systemic risks and the possibility of profound disruption. Rather than abandoning action, they argue for a form of hope grounded in realism: acting to protect life, prepare for crises and pursue meaningful gains even when outcomes remain uncertain.

Berry didn’t exempt himself from this critique of the destructive habits that draw down the ecological capital of the planet: “I am … still in bondage to the automobile industry and the energy companies, which have nothing to recommend them except our dependence on them. I still fly on airplanes, which have nothing to recommend them but speed; they are inconvenient, uncomfortable, undependable, ugly, stinky, and scary. I still cut my wood with a chainsaw, which has nothing to recommend it but speed, and has all the faults of an airplane, except it does not fly.”

Transcript of my interview with Kohei Saito on 1 st September, 2023 on the occasion of the 9th International Degrowth Conference in Zagreb. This interview was originally published in Czech in Alarm, a Czech left-wing online magazine, on 28 September 2023. This is the first English publication of the full transcript, approved by Kohei Saito.

Japan offers a distinctive perspective on degrowth, shaped less by deliberate economic contraction than by depopulation, ageing, and shrinking rural economies. Junko Edahiro examines how communities are adapting by placing wellbeing, resilience, sufficiency, and local participation ahead of conventional growth. From Transition Town Fujino’s local energy initiatives to the “Half Farmer, Half X” lifestyle model and Ama Town’s approach to living with fewer material resources, these examples show how communities can reorganize around what matters most. The article also explores Toyama’s wellbeing indicators and a practical framework for community development that connects future visions, systems thinking, and local action.

Openly discussing degrowth can be a great activity both for those who think about it a lot as well as those who never imagined that life can improve with less stuff. Our group examination proved a great way to let a thousand flowers bloom in people’s minds. Removing the ills of the old society is critical for survival but will come to nothing without provoking a cascade of ideas for building a new one.

The amount of materials needed to sustain an electrified future at the world’s continued pace of economic growth is as remarkable as it is troubling. By one estimate, at least 384 new mines will be needed by 2035.