Economics for Rebels Dr. Köves Alexandra

We welcome Doughnut economics legend Kate Raworth onto the show. Kate talks us through the successes and challenges facing the adoption of doughnut economics
over the last seven years, gives advice on how to better communicate the ideas of ecological economics, and gives her take on the key public policies for getting us closer to a life within the doughnut. Hosted by Sophus zu Ermgassen. Edited by Aidan Knox.

It is often argued that it was market-based capitalism that made agriculture so efficient that it enabled the eradication of hunger globally. This claim is shadowed by the incredible environmental degradation that was
caused by industrial agriculture in the last centuries. Hence, due demand arises that we should keep the world fed through sustainable means. Our guest today, Pablo Tittonell claims that this is possible through agroecology where we combine agricultural and ecological knowledge to create food while taking care of nature’s amazingly creative and generous provisioning and regenerative
systems. Hosted by Alexandra Köves. Edited by Aidan Knox.

Ecological economists need to pull all sorts of leverage
points to enable a just future in which the economy flourishes within planetary boundaries. One of the leverage points that is receiving increasing attention
is climate and nature litigation. But what do we as community need to know about climate litigation, historical responsibility for climate change, and how
litigation works in practice? We welcome Dr Benjamin Franta onto the show to discuss all things related to climate litigation. Ben is the founder and director of the
climate litigation lab at the Smith School for Enterprise and the Environment at the University of Oxford. Hosted by Sophus zu Ermgassen. Edited by Aidan Knox.

Today’s guest, Robert Costanza is hardly unknown to anyone who is vaguely familiar with ecological economics. While we could fill entire seasons discussing the topics he has covered in his works, in this episode we are discussing his latest book: Addicted to Growth: Societal Therapy for a Sustainable Wellbeing Future where he applies the analogy of addiction to our contemporary problems. Humanity is addicted to economic growth and like true addicts, even if we accept that it is ruining us by fuelling climate change, mass extinction and a wide range of
social crises, we don’t want to quit. With today’s guest, we discuss if and how we can find the appropriate therapy to collectively come off the substance. Hosted by Alexandra Köves. Edited by Aidan Knox.

Some key mainstream critiques of postgrowth economics revolve around labour, and what the labour market would look like in a postgrowth economy, with the common perception being that economic contraction tends to be associated with unemployment, and therefore that a postgrowth economy is socially unsustainable. But, if we are to transition to a postgrowth
world for ecological reasons or because of secular stagnation, ecological economics needs to present a compelling story about what people’s jobs and lives could look like in this world. This episode’s guest Dr Ben Gallant is an expert in understanding and modelling postgrowth futures for the labour force, here to guide us through what employment in a postgrowth economy could look like. Hosted by Sophus zu Ermgassen. Edited by Aidan Knox.

Over the last decades, burning wood for energy has expanded in the EU, as have proposals for implementing Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS). The origins of this questionable boom can be found in accounting loopholes, which allow burning woody biomass to be classed as carbon neutral
and BECCS as carbon negative. Based on these loopholes and large lobby power, (woody) biomass has received generous subsidies and been counted towards renewable energy targets in the EU. A large international supply chain has developed, with wood pellets being shipped all the way from forests in the U.S.
Southeast to generate energy in the EU. In this episode, we
discuss all these issues with ecologist Dr. Mary Booth, founder and director of the Partnership for Policy Integrity (PFPI). PFPI is a small non-profit organisation in the US working on forest biomass, energy, and climate issues. Hosted by Matilda Susan Gettins. Edited by Aidan Knox.