Joan Martínez-Alier
Wednesday 27th June, 10.00 – 11.30, ICTA-UAB
The lecture will be based on a collective article recently published in Sustainability Science.
Can ecological distribution conflicts turn into forces for sustainability? This paper addresses in a systematic conceptual manner the question of why, through whom, how, and when conflicts over the use of the environment (such as the 2400 included in the EJAtlas, www.ejatlas.org) may take an active role in shaping transitions toward sustainability. It presents a conceptual framework that schematically maps out the linkages between (a) patterns and changes of (unsustainable) social metabolism, (b) the emergence of ecological distribution conflicts, (c) the rise of environmental justice movements, locally and globally, and (d) their potential contributions for sustainability and transitions to a degrowth economy and society, with a different pattern of social metabolism.
Brief description of the method
Presentation of the EJAtlas and its methodology, explaining the relations between changes in social metabolism, ecological distribution conflicts, movements for environmental justice and transitions to “strong sustainability” including degrowth.
Compulsory readings:
Scheidel et al. 2017. Ecological distribution conflicts as forces for sustainability: an overview and conceptual framework. Sustainability Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-017-0519-0