On Saturday 16 November, activists from Scientist Rebellion and Growth Kills took part in civil disobedience actions in several cities around the world. They were out to highlight how politicians, businesses, and leaders obsession with growth and GDP as measures of human success was killing us all. In doing so, the groups were calling on people to start to consider so-called ‘degrowth’ as a viable and crucial option to stop, and reverse, the climate crisis and biodiversity crisis – but also so much more than these.
Degrowth: essential to save the planet
In Peru, Mexico, Ecuador, and Panama, activists employed a variety of actions, including building projections, banner drops, street mobilisations, and more. This was Mexico:
In France, the Netherlands, Norway and Germany, they replaced advertising posters with ones featuring citizen quotes and plastered additional posters across public spaces:
In Brussels, Belgium, in broad daylight, activists replaced advertising posters in bus shelters in a crowded square, then interacted with the public, interviewing them, amplifying their words over a loudspeaker, until the police stopped them:
Economic growth doesn’t bring happiness
A single core message unites all these actions: only a shift towards degrowth can lead us out of our social and ecological deadlock.
The ecological crisis poses an existential threat to life on Earth. The IPCC estimates that on our current trajectory it is very likely that we will exceed even the 2 degree limit, and that several tipping points will be crossed, beyond which global warming will accelerate uncontrollably and extreme weather events will become the norm.
Around 50 to 80% of the world population could be exposed to one month per year of deadly heat by 2100. A recent review article predicts 1 billion premature deaths in the coming century. Global warming will dramatically increase the ongoing mass extinction, while we have lost 75% of the insects and ⅔ of vertebrates already.
Climate change isn’t even the most worrying environmental crisis. With the collapse of biodiversity and pollution of all kinds, humanity has crossed 6 of the 9 planetary boundaries, causing irreversible damage to life on Earth, and threatening food and water security. The UN’s Global Resources Outlook report shows that global resource consumption, which has quadrupled since 1970, is set to increase by a further 60% by 2060.
Our politicians claim that the environmental transition is compatible with infinite GDP growth through massive investment in ‘green technologies’, the so-called ‘green growth’. However, there is no empirical basis to suggest that it is possible to decouple GDP from environmental pressures on a global scale. As stated by the European Environmental Agency:
it is unlikely that a long-lasting, absolute decoupling of economic growth from environmental pressures and impacts can be achieved at the global scale.
The EEA concludes that:
societies need to rethink what is meant by growth and progress and their meaning for global sustainability.
GDP is not a measure of anyone’s wellbeing – not least the planet’s
So, in a statement, the activists declare:
The belief that economic growth is essential for our well-being is a myth that mainly serves the interests of a wealthy few. Instead of endlessly increasing production, we should focus on producing what is truly essential for everyone’s well-being and ensuring fair distribution.
The belief that economic growth can align with environmental respect is equally misleading, as climate disasters multiply, pollution worsens, and biodiversity continues to decline without signs of improvement. Economic growth is inherently tied to overconsumption, driving the relentless extraction of resources at the planet’s expense.
We must urgently rethink the economy to reduce resource consumption while ensuring everyone’s well-being, regardless of economic growth. Our campaign, rooted in collective ecological restoration, aims to inspire a global grassroots movement that empowers individuals to restore balance and biodiversity through shared responsibility. Connected with one another, we can rediscover our power to act and restore life.
These concerns and the call for degrowth align with numerous systemic scientific studies linking ecology and economy, as well as a report from the European Environment Agency and an open letter signed by leading experts and over 100 civil society organisations.
Following this evidence, the activists are calling on everyone to help envision a livable world and fight for:
- A drastic reduction in resource consumption to stay within planetary boundaries.
- An economy focused on the well-being of all, prioritising people and the planet over unchecked growth for the benefit of a few.
- The creation of citizen assemblies selected by lottery to determine concrete steps for a transformative socio-economic shift.
A campaign rooted in collective energy
This global initiative is part of a campaign launched last June in Brussels by the Growth Kills and Scientist Rebellion collectives, kicking off with a week of bold actions, including a blockade of the European Commission on the eve of the European elections.
Following this week of action, since September activists from both movements have taken to the streets to engage directly with the public, igniting conversations around shared concerns, hopes, and visions for a sustainable future. Through these interactions, they gather quotes from the people they meet, showcasing these reflections on posters that replace commercial advertising in their current actions. Initially piloted in Brussels, this campaign has since been replicated globally.
The groups said:
By claiming the shopping streets as our stage, we take back spaces overwhelmed by the noise of consumerism and advertising. Through gathering quotes from those we meet and showcasing them on posters and public projections, we amplify the voices of the street, connecting their reflections to the vision of degrowth.
Reimagining activism and degrowth
Through this approach, the activists put forward a holistic vision of activism, aiming to build a grassroots movement that strengthens the social fabric as a basis for preventing future disruption and instability in our lives.
They said:
Our mission is to reawaken the creative spark within each of us, pouring this energy, with love, into public spaces. To reclaim the imagination of these spaces, we must come together as a collective whole, united by purpose and possibility.
We believe this shared reflection can reawaken the strength within us all, restoring confidence and grounding us in a community poised for action. Our commitment to public engagement embodies our conviction: only a genuine grassroots movement can ignite the societal shift essential for true sustainability.
Through collective action, we work to rekindle life and restore harmony in our fractured world. Together, we reclaim, we restore, and we create anew.
You can read more about this in the groups’ manifesto here.
