Dossier
The urgency of the climate crisis we are currently facing requires the exploration of alternative paradigms for socio-economic organization. Social Solidarity Economy (SSE) refers to a set of practices aiming at changing the way we perceive and enact economy. These practices are expected to abide by certain standards in terms of both respect to social benefit and environmental sustainability. However, the linkage between SSE and efforts to mitigate the climate crisis has not been systematically explored yet. This on-line dossier intends to do exactly that. To offer theoretical insights and practical examples of how SSE might be conducive to the urgent goals set against climate change. We consider these insights and examples inspiring if we are to effectively address the challenges of our times without a naive recourse to the technofix obsessions of geoengineering.
In cooperation with the Heinrich Böll Foundation – Thessaloniki office, and Sofia Adam, we prepared a bilingual digital dossier on the contribution of the Social Solidarity Economy in addressing the Climate Crisis (Greek and English). This collection of articles attempts to offer theoretical arguments and practical examples as to how SSE could contribute to the imperative goals set for mitigating the climate crisis. We believe that these contributions at the level of theory and practice can inspire us to respond effectively to the challenges of our time without naively resorting to the obsession with technological solutions offered by geoengineering.
In the dossier you will find topical texts on key issues related to climate change, reasons why cooperative enterprises could contribute to environmental protection, articles on public policies and cooperative law, different approaches to the agri-food system through socially supported agriculture (SSA), energy transition, tourism (with international and domestic examples). You will also find videos that analyse what geoengineering is and why we need to fight it, as a dystopian technological solution to climate change.
- Climate change policy and the need for paradigm shift, by Asterios Tsioumanis
2. The Social Solidarity Economy as a Strategy to Mitigate the Climate Crisis, by Nadia Johanisova
3. Responding to the climate crisis through the Social Solidarity Economy: the role of public policies, by Sofia Adam
4. Cooperative Law and Sustainable Development, by Haagen Henry
5. Frequently Asked Questions on 1.5°C and Geoengineering
6. Many small-scale solutions, by By Stephanie Wild
7. Alternatives to dismantling the agri-food system, by Eduard Hernández Nualart
8. Energy in the hands of citizens. An example from Germany, by Dimitris Kitsikopoulos
9. Waste pickers’ cooperatives and Social and Solidarity Economy organizations
10. The environmental impact of Social and Solidarity enterprises, by Christina Kontaxi
11. Hiking Tourism Networks, by Fivos Tsaravopoulos
12. A technofix for the climate? Geoengineering