Presentation short abstract

We analyse how unequal exchange shapes geopolitical barriers to securing decent living standards for all within ecological limits, and identify leverage points for just post-growth transitions.

Presentation long abstract

Many people around the world still lack the resources needed for a dignified life, while affluent societies consume far more than their fair share, pushing the planet beyond safe ecological limits. This contribution examines the geopolitical dimensions of post-growth eco-social transitions by bringing together three perspectives: decent living standards, planetary boundaries, and ecological unequal exchange.

Our starting point is that global patterns of trade and resource extraction, which sustain capitalist economic systems, systematically channel environmental pressures and material benefits in opposite directions. These dynamics allow high consumption in wealthy regions while limiting access to essential services elsewhere, making it impossible to secure decent living standards for all within ecological limits.

We draw on ongoing modelling work on gaps in decent living standards, safe and just Earth system boundaries, and unequal exchange to show that post-growth transitions must confront the geopolitical structures that reproduce these inequalities.

The paper outlines an emerging framework that links decent living standards, planetary boundaries, and unequal exchange to identify leverage points for action, and to explore how socio-ecological transitions could be shaped to ensure wellbeing for all within the planet’s limits.