Ecosocialism Conference

Ecosocialism or barbarism… it's up to us

Final Statement from the Ecosocialism 2023 Organising Group

This is the final statement agreed by the organising group for the 2023 Ecosocialism Conference.

To get in touch please email us at info@ecosocialism-conference.org

Statement from the Ecosocialism 2023 Organising Group

  1. The environmental crisis is accelerating. Six of the nine planetary boundaries have been breached; climate change; biogeochemical flows (i.e., excessive phosphorus and nitrogen pollution from fertiliser use); biosphere integrity (e.g., extinction rate and loss of insect pollination); and-system change (e.g., deforestation); novel entities (e.g., pollution from plastics, heavy metals, and what are commonly referred to as “forever chemicals”); and fresh water use. 
  2. The rise in pre-industrial average temperature above 1.5C cannot be allowed to happen. This would cause climate chaos and collapse of society. We urgently need emergency programmes to prevent this happening such as replacing all fossil fuels with renewable energy, insulating buildings, cheap and reliable public transport, reducing meat production and stopping deforestation. These programmes would need socialisation of industries and services to break the domination of capital which works for immediate profits and not for the benefit of people and the planet. We pledge to build mass movements to achieve these goals. 
  3. Our ultimate goal is to fight to end all the class hierarchies and social oppressions that come with capitalism – and replace it with a society based on democratic control of the economy and a sustainable relationship with the Earth is the central fight of our time. We need to totally reorganise economic production, reducing harmful and unnecessary activity and focussing on human need not profitability. This will mean a decisive and total shift away from fossil fuels towards renewables, and significant reduction in industrial farming for meat and an end to waste. 
  4. Ecosocialism is a revolutionary challenge to the existing world order. We stand for expropriation of business and private wealth, socialising housing and land, ending the market economy, dismantling imperialism, fighting for abolition of borders, militarism and policing, social transformation of the economy from the ground up. It is internationalist, it challenges all forms of social division under capitalism including racism and nationalism.
  5. Fighting ecocide is a global task, it means having an internationalist perspective. Imperialism and colonialism has under-developed countries across the world and now there is a renewed rush to plunder these areas for rare earth materials for new technologies. Millions languish in slum cities whilst the super rich fly over their heads in private jets. Capitalism cannot develop their infrastructures of industries in a sustainable way because there is no money in it. There is no Green Road to development for these nations outside of ecosocialism.
  6. Our goal is to help build a movement that can end capitalism, democratise our society, decommodify our economy and decolonise the world. Our vision of a better world is one based on universal public services, a massive reduction in the working day and an end to waged labour. We want humanity to be free from the oppression of capitalism to fully explore our potential.
  7. To achieve this revolutionary change means being active in the environmental movement and the workers’ movement, in the trade unions, the communities, social movement and our workplaces. It means fighting for reforms in the here and now but always pointing to a future better world. It means solidarity with refugees and immigrants forced to move as the climate crisis makes their lives impossible.
  8. We welcome people who want to join the organising group to help develop this campaign and expand its activities. We want to transform the ideas and theories of ecosocialism into practical action. It means fighting for reforms such as stopping the new coal mine in Cumbria, new oil and gas licences in the north sea such as Rosebank or supporting the Sí al Yasuní! campaign in the here and now but always pointing to a future better world.
  9. We want to build an organising centre for ecosocialist theory, strategy and activity as part of a global movement. We intend to organise the Ecosocialism Conference as a regular event, expand its capacity and work with other campaigns and organisations to make it an event that helps deepen our discussions and take forward our campaigning. We might not agree on every slogan or theory but we need to build a mass movement in a spirit of unity and hope. 

Actions

  1. We will join the COP28 protests on 9 December as part of an ecosocialist bloc.
  2. Develop the website to become a regularly updated space for articles, actions and ideas
  3. We will join the Climate Justice Network and the Global Ecosocialist Network.
  4. We will work with others to launch an Ecosocialist Journal with a range of contributors
  5. Attend the 10th International Degrowth Conference and the 15th Conference of the European Society for Ecological Economics (ESEE) in Pontevedra (Galicia, Spain) from 18 – 21 June 2024.
  6. We will organise a regular online discussion/reading group to develop our understanding of Ecosocialism.
  7. We will open the Ecosocialism Conference Organising Group to those wishing to help develop this initiative. The ECOG will aim to meet monthly.