Resolution adopted in Avignon at the GA of the ICW, May 2022

(Original in English)

Recalling all the numerous available studies confirming the strict relationship between economic growth and energy consumption (see for instance the report “Decoupling Debunked” issued by the European Environmental Bureau (EEB): https://eeb.org/library/decoupling-debunked/),

Recalling that the so-called ‘green growth’ is supposed to reduce the environmental impact of economic activity by decoupling, orseparating, resource use from economic growth,

Recalling that a fundamental analysis of the limits of growth was published by the Club of Rome in 1972, with updates in 1992 and in 2004,

Recognising that the worsening climate crisis and environmental degradation led policymakers to adjust, rather than abandon, the paradigm of continuous economic expansion,

Recognising that policies are often contradictory, since on one side we want to become sustainable, minimise our emissions and bring down resource use significantly, but at the same time, we keep running an economic system in which stability and jobs need an unending expansion of the economy,

Recognising that a better use of feminine culture and approaches can be useful in the development of a commons-based economy,

THE INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF WOMEN THROUGH ITS AFFILIATED COUNCILS CALLS UPON:

• Governments to publish the results of researches and studies aimed at a better understanding of the economic consequences of the so called “green deal” to raise awareness that energy transition requires refraining from over-consumption;
• Governments to change the focus of economic policy from economic growth to well-being and sustainability;
• Women’s associations to be involved in education and training to increase the awareness of women and girls in the connections between economy and energy.