Slowdown or Perish: the economics of degrowth (ft. Timothée Parrique)

In today's show, I'm receiving Timothee Parrique, Dr. in economics at Lund University. He is a rising scholar, who made a big splash at the European Commission Beyond Growth conference. His book on Degrowth has sold more than 35,000 copies. He is a brilliant guy and a true artist with words.

We talk about:

-Why Timothée thinks Climate Tech VC and green growth are fairy tales

-Degrowth as an alternative, what does that even mean?

-How to engage the Top 10% and motivate them to embrace a new narrative

-Whether a Covid-scale catastrophe will be the triggering event for our system to move away from Capitalism

-Why the well-being economy should be our collective future

--------------

ABOUT CLIMATE INSIDERS:

Learn all the insights from the top Climate Tech Founders and Investors. Listen to the stories behind the startup successes, understand the drivers of investment decisions, and become a true Climate Insider.

Check us out at: https://www.climateinsiders.co

--------------

ABOUT THE GUEST:

Timothée Parrique (pronounced “tea-mo-tay pa-rick”) is an economist, originally from Versailles, France. He is currently a researcher at the School of Economics and Management of Lund University (Sweden).

He holds a PhD in economics from the Centre d’Études et de Recherches sur le Développement (University of Clermont Auvergne, France) and the Stockholm Resilience Centre (Stockholm University, Sweden). Titled “The political economy of degrowth” (2019), his dissertation explores the economic implications of degrowth.

Tim is the author of Ralentir ou périr. L’économie de la décroissance (September 2022, Seuil), a wide-audience book adaptation of his PhD dissertation.

Tim frequently writes about green growth and decoupling; he is the lead author of “Decoupling Debunked – Evidence and Arguments against Green Growth” (2019), a report published by the European Environmental Bureau (EEB).

Tim is passionate about the philosophy of science and academic writing. When not ranting about economics stuff, Tim likes to surf, climb, and do backflips on his mountain bike – yes, it’s possible. (He also spends more time than he would like to admit playing chess online.)

--------------

SHOW NOTES:

00:09 – Intro

00:55 – Who is Timothy?

02:03 – Is Climate Tech BS?

05:30 - The Quest for the Holy Grail of Energy

08:14 – Is green growth really possible?

13:24 - The Need for a New Narrative in Climate Change

18:32 - Rediscovering the Sweetness of a Slower Economy; Does it Actually Work?

24:03 – How do we convince the top 10% that degrowth is the way to go?

28:58 – What is the plan? What is the first domino that tickles the rest of the dominoes?

33:16 – Have we reached the "end of history" with liberal democracy and consumerism as the dominant forces?

36:18 - The Need for a Catalyst of Change

39:31 - The complex relationship between activism and politics

43:54 - The concept of timing and its crucial role in effecting change

47:49 – How can people play an impactful role today? Is joining a climate VC or startup the way to go?

51:37 – Outro

--------------

ABOUT THE HOST:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/yberno/

Yoann Berno is committed to the democratization of climate tech investing, to contribute significantly to the fight against global warming. Passionate about empowering individuals striving to make a difference in addressing climate change, he is renowned as the podcast host of Climate Insiders. In this role, he dedicates himself to showcasing the perspectives of trailblazers in environmental sustainability.

--------------

Mentioned in the podcast:

Timothee Parrique - https://www.linkedin.com/in/timoth%C3%A9e-parrique-7b593450/

Timothee's Book: "Ralentir ou Périr" -...