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Towards a Wellbeing Economy That Serves People and Nature

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Towards a Wellbeing Economy That Serves People and Nature 21 April, 2021 TOWARDS A WELLBEING ECONOMY THAT SERVES PEOPLE AND NATURE BUILDING A HUMAN ENVIRONMENT THAT IS SOCIALLY JUST AND ECOLOGICALLY SUSTAINABLE COP 25 climate rally in Madrid, Spain, 2019. © Pablo Tosco / Oxfam Co-funded by the European Union This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of Oxfam Germany and the European Environmental Bureau and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union. Europe is currently living as though we had 2.8 planets, consuming too many natural resources and trashing the environment. Exploitation of the world’s resources is skewed in favour of those who are already rich, with millions of people in less-advantaged countries toiling to service high-income country markets while bearing the brunt of worsening environmental conditions and an unstable climate. But we only have one Earth, and if we are to sustain it, we need to change our economies in order to live within planetary boundaries, while ensuring that basic needs and social wellbeing are taken care of, for everyone. Only in this way can we avert disaster and ensure a just world for all. Impressum This report was written by Barbara Sennholz- The authors wish to thank the following For further information on the issues raised in Weinhardt, Nick Meynen and Katy Wiese. colleagues for feedback: this paper please email [email protected]. Stephane Arditi, Irene Bello, Esme Berkehout, The illustrative cases were written by Frank Braßel, Rebecca Buchholz, Khaled This publication is copyright but the text may Jean-Pierre Schweitzer (digitalization), Diab, Saskia Fischer, Patrizia Heidegger, be used free of charge for the purposes of Yamina Saheb (building), Emily Macintosh Elisa Iori, Eva Izquierdo, Albin Keuc, advocacy, campaigning, education and re- (textiles) and Barbara Sennholz-Weinhardt Jan Kowalzig, David Labi, Max Lawson, search, provided that the source is acknowl- (agriculture). The parts on migration and Diego Marin, Maria-Jose Moreno Ruiz, edged in full. The copyright holder requests labour were written by Sarah Walker. Markus Nitschke, Celia Nyssens, Carolin that all such use be registered with them for Philipp, Margherita Romanelli, Evelien van impact assessment purposes. For copying in Some sections of this report are adaptations Roemburg, Anita Rötzer, Gonzalo Sánchez, any other circumstances, or for reuse in other of published reports by other authors. The Sameerah Siddiqui, Joanna Sullivan, publications, or for translation or adaptation, section ‘The economics of the climate crisis’ Isabella Szukits, Irit Tamir, Sarah Walker, permission must be secured and a fee may is based on T. Gore. (2020). Confronting Jeremy Wates, Marita Wiggerthale, be charged. Carbon Inequality: Putting climate justice at David Wilson and Tim Zahn. the heart of the COVID-19 recovery, a media A special thanks to Quentin Monsieur Published by Oxfam Germany e.V. and briefing by Oxfam and the Stockholm for IT assistance. European Environmental Bureau. Environment Institute (SEI). T. Gore, M. Alestig. (2020). Confronting Carbon Inequality Layout: Ole Kaleschke V.i.S.d.P.: in the European Union: Why the European Marion Lieser Green Deal must tackle inequality while Oxfam Deutschland e. V. cutting emissions. Media briefing. Oxfam. Am Köllnischen Park 1, 10179 Berlin (2019). Forced from home: climate-fuelled Tel.: +49 (0)30 45 30 69 0 displacement. Media briefing. E-Mail: [email protected] SUMMARY The economy depends on people, who depend on nature and the resources taken from it. Decades of unfettered growth of extraction, production and trade have fuelled a cycle of large-scale destruction. This The wealth of European nations partly rests on overexploitation is the result of political choices. exploitative global structures that export the worst We as civil society organisations from many parts environmental costs to other parts of the world. of Europe demand political change that will steer us Meanwhile, the interdependence of economic and away from the current destructive economy towards a political power and their concentration lead to a socially and ecologically just one. vicious downward spiral. Maintaining these injustices and this dependency on growth are against the Oxfam Germany and the European Environmental interests of the vast majority of people, but very much Bureau (EEB) have examined the root causes of the in the narrow, short-term interests of a powerful and current crisis: past and present injustices between extremely rich minority. and within countries, the spiralling social, economic and political inequality and associated concentration The economics of the climate crisis are clear: the of power, and a fixation and structural dependency world’s richest 10% (around 630 million people) on economic growth. This report focuses on the were responsible for over half of cumulative carbon European economy and its role and responsibilities, emissions between 1990 and 2015. The correlation both globally and locally. It covers the domains between growth of the global economy and the in which people produce, distribute and consume increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is products and services, whether this is done via the close to perfect. market economy or through other mechanisms. The world has a problem of extreme affluence. The The safe and just space for humanity has a just role of the rich in global warming is symptomatic of a social foundation and a hard ecological ceiling. To broader reality: they have largely caused the climate understand how we can arrive there, we need to see crisis, and its solution lies mainly in their hands the bigger picture. Our interconnectedness today is due to their political power. Meanwhile, hundreds of unprecedented, but the ugliest realities are kept well millions still suffer the ravages of extreme poverty. out of sight and mind for European consumers. Oxfam and the EEB investigated four sectors How we steer our economy, and what corporations that exemplify the systemic problems plaguing headquartered in the EU are allowed or not allowed our economies: farming, textiles, buildings and to do, affect the lives and livelihoods of people and digitalisation. These showcase the extent and depth the integrity of nature around the world. Currently, the of the changes needed. economies of the 27 EU member states plus the UK are massively overshooting planetary boundaries. Future-proofing farming: For many farming still has a rustic image, but industrial farming is fuelling global For the EU as a whole, we live as if there were 2.8 warming, polluting the environment, destroying Earths. Overconsumption in Europe and other high- biodiversity, hurting small farmers, damaging income regions fuels environmental degradation communities and concentrating wealth and power in elsewhere, which leads to large numbers of people in the hands of large corporations. Studies and realities less-privileged countries losing their livelihoods. on the ground show that through agroecology we can feed society, provide farmers with a fair living and restore the environment. Tailoring the textile sector to the natural world: Producing our clothing and footwear consumes vast amounts of raw materials, fossil fuels and water and generates enormous quantities of waste throughout the product lifecycle. Fast fashion is a major culprit. Its adverse social footprint is massive, and includes sweatshops, dangerous or unhealthy working conditions and even forced labour. But there is a way to refashion the textiles industry and cut it from a different cloth. 3 Building back better: Buildings swallow up massive quantities of space and resources, but lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic have also highlighted the serious impact of unequal access to living space, daylight and ventilation. A housing crisis, combined with speculative property markets, has forced many people into living in substandard housing or locations. The built environment and the construction sector have a profound impact on the wider environment and the climate. But there are ways to make our built habitats more compatible with our To break up existing exploitative structures, natural habitat and to build back better than before. we urge policy-makers to: The invisible side-effects of the digital revolution: • Reverse financial flows from those countries The green promises of the digital revolution, such as that have benefited or are benefiting the the paperless office, have been overhyped. Negative most from these unjust structures to those impacts include the mushrooming energy demands of that have been disadvantaged digital technologies and the destruction and damage • Allow for more just trade and associated caused by extracting the minerals required for their structures of production manufacture. At the socioeconomic level, digital • Allow people to exercise their freedom to technologies have a tendency to widen inequalities movement and also to raise serious concerns about privacy. But we have it within our capacity to upload a new To democratise the economy and reduce inequality, operating system and reboot the digital revolution. we urge policy-makers to: These examples highlight the three pillars upon • Ensure much more equal access to which a wellbeing economy must be built. We need to productive assets dismantle the exploitative structures that perpetuate • Ensure universal access to essential inequality between countries, genders, races and services and social security classes. We need to democratise the economy by placing greater economic and political power in the To become independent of the need for continual hands of the many rather than the few. We need to growth and to reduce material use, we urge policy- make the economic system independent of growth to makers to: allow for a reduction in the resources it consumes. • Shift the political mindset from ever growing When thinking about change, we need to think in gross domestic product (GDP) to aiming directly terms of three layers: niches, regimes and cultures. for wellbeing within planetary limits; Niches are where the trailblazers operate, sowing the • Approach trade not from the perspective seeds of the new economy.
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