Produce Less – Exploring Degrowth

The Coalition for the Elimination of Imperialism in Africa calls on African governments to move beyond diplomatic declarations and provide material support to Cuba, which continues to face severe economic and humanitarian hardships under the US blockade. The coalition recalls Cuba’s historic contributions to African liberation struggles, its role in the fight against apartheid, and its continuing medical assistance across the continent. Despite overwhelming international opposition to the blockade at the United Nations, Cuba’s suffering persists. The coalition urges African governments to deliver food, medical supplies and energy assistance, while calling for continent-wide demonstrations and sustained public pressure.

In Serbia, a student movement transformed public anger over a railway station disaster that killed sixteen people into a sustained challenge to authoritarian rule. After nearly two years of protests, students organised through open assemblies, resisted arrests and intimidation, and selected parliamentary candidates from outside the established political class. Their electoral victory demonstrated the possibilities of collective decision-making and civic participation. The movement also fostered solidarity between Serbian and Bosniak students across religious and ethnic differences. Vuk Ba?anovi? examines how a generation challenged political resignation, rebuilt public trust, and affirmed the continuing struggle for freedom, dignity and democratic accountability.

The growing degrowth movement challenges the assumption that economic growth must remain the central measure of social well-being. In a world facing ecological collapse, widening inequality and persistent poverty, it argues for shifting priorities from material expansion to social welfare. Two major reports, the “Global Justice Report” and the UN’s “Roadmap for Eradicating Poverty Beyond Growth”, propose shorter working hours, fair wages, stronger public services, reduced overconsumption and sustainable agriculture. These measures aim to reduce poverty, redistribute wealth and power, and cut greenhouse gas emissions. Grassroots initiatives and international research are advancing alternatives to endless growth on a finite planet.

The Xukuru do Ororubá people in Brazil are restoring degraded forests, reviving springs and protecting biodiversity through ancestral knowledge and traditional agriculture. Their work highlights the connection between ecological restoration, Indigenous rights and community governance. As governments meet for the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP17) in Armenia, concerns are growing that existing protections for Indigenous peoples, Afro-descendant peoples and local communities could be weakened. Negotiations will shape recognition of community-managed territories, free, prior and informed consent, and equitable access to biodiversity finance. Effective conservation requires strengthening the rights and leadership of communities that have protected ecosystems forgenerations.

Urban life is about more than walkable streets. Andrew Burleson argues that its defining quality is connectedness: the social fabric linking homes, shops, schools, public spaces and everyday activities. In car-dependent suburbs, journeys often pass through spaces that discourage interaction, leaving destinations isolated from one another. In connected neighbourhoods, streets become shared social spaces where residents encounter neighbours, discover local events and build relationships. Children gain greater independence, while communities become stronger. Walkability, Burleson suggests, is not the cause of vibrant urban life but an outcome of connected places where people can participate in the life around them.

Artificial intelligence and hyperscale data center buildout constitute a new front of environmental racism and a project to optimize white supremacy, with Black communities targeted as sacrifice zones.

Jeffrey Isaac Jarquin was deported from the U.S. by ICE and upon arrival in Managua was sent to prison by Nicaraguan authorities. Corporate media has decried the detention of a “torture victim” and “political prisoner,” but failed to do a cursory background investigation into Jarquin, who was himself convicted of torture, arson and robbery in Nicaragua in 2018.

Cities once at the forefront of climate action are witnessing growing resistance to environmental policies. The rise of right-wing populism, socioeconomic insecurity, public distrust and the financial costs of climate transitions are weakening support for climate goals. From efforts to dilute climate targets in Dresden to opposition against bike lanes and 15-minute cities, climate policies have become political battlegrounds. Neelakshi Joshi examines the forces driving this urban greenlash and argues that climate action must confront social injustices, counter misinformation and address citizens’ concerns to build support for a fair and lastingtransition.

“The point of the book is to get people to think beyond capitalism. We need a criticism of fossil fuel capitalism and how that has dominated this problem. Replacing fossil fuel capitalism with critical mineral capitalism isn’t going to solve the problem.”