In May 2023, about 7,000 people met at Beyond Growth conference in the EU Parliament to explore pathways toward a post-growth society. That year was recorded as the hottest since the 1850–1900 pre-industrial baseline used for global temperature targets. The record was exceeded the next year 2024, when, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service, the global average temperature rose above the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C limit relative to pre-industrial levels.
By 2025, seven of the nine planetary boundaries have been crossed, implying Earth now lies well outside a safe operating space for humanity.
At the same time, biodiversity is disappearing rapidly: the WWF Living Planet 2024 report shows that monitored wildlife populations declined on average by 73% between 1970 and 2020.
It is fairly accurate to say, then, that we are living through the period of mass extinction of species.
According to the UN Emissions Gap Report 2024, emissions must drop 42% by 2030 relative to 2019 to stay on the 1.5°C pathway of the Paris Agreement, and 28% to meet the 2°C pathway.
Currently, even the most optimistic projections point to a rise of about 2.6°C this century.
Such an outcome would be catastrophic: a recent study indicates that if warming reaches or exceeds 2°C this century, it would lead to the deaths of roughly 1 billion people from human-caused global warming by century’s end—an impact likened to involuntary or negligent manslaughter.
This estimate concerns only humans; the consequences for other species would likely be even worse.
WHAT CAN WE DO?
The primary causes of excessive energy and natural resource use are tied to expanding global production.
According to the UN, rapidly reducing energy consumption requires policies that boost socioeconomic and environmental co-benefits while minimising trade-offs. There needs to be at least a sixfold rise in mitigation financing, supported by reform of the global financial system and decisive private-sector engagement. These measures are especially relevant for G20 nations and their biggest emitters.
Acknowledging that responsibility for human-caused climate change is unevenly shared prompts further debate about who should bear the costs.
The UN principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR) guides how quickly each country ought to cut emissions, taking into account factors like historical emissions, geographic circumstances, and social and political context. In short, nations differ in their situations and capacities to pursue rapid reductions. Many countries in the global South have contributed the least to cumulative emissions. Nevertheless, despite the inequity——they too must lower emissions to avert large-scale catastrophe.
A good life for everyone within planetary limits is nevertheless possible, but it requires sweeping changes, particularly in the production and consumption habits in “the global North”. Scientists stress energy systems without fossil fuels, the adoption of a vegan diet and no further conversion of land to crops.
Similar optimism was expressed at the Beyond Growth conference in the EU Parliament, where a clear vision emerged of moving beyond growth-oriented policies and practices, instead prioritising a socio-economic model centred on people’s wellbeing.