Can Catalonia survive without economic growth? A new study says it can

In a global context marked by the environmental crisis, social destabilization, and geopolitical uncertainty, a new report prepared by ICTA-UAB proposes a detailed public policy plan to meet the population's needs in a resilient manner while respecting planetary boundaries, decoupling well-being from traditional economic growth. The study "Pla B. Per una Catalunya resilient en un escenari postcreixement" (Plan B: for a resilient Catalonia in a post-growth scenario) analyzes how to implement solid alternatives by responding directly to Catalonia's socio-environmental reality.

The report stems from the need to explore potential Plan Bs in an environment of increasing disruptions. The study, which is part of the REAL post-growth research project, is funded by a European Research Council (ERC) Synergy Grant and led by Giorgos Kallis and Jason Hickel from ICTA-UAB, along with Julia Steinberger from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. In this academic sphere, economic growth is viewed as having become a sort of addiction that no longer improves people's lives, but instead increasingly compromises resources and the environment, thereby undermining the ability to meet essential needs in the future. Post-growth research seeks formulas to improve quality of life without relying on growth—due to its drawbacks and increasingly doubtful viability—while respecting the limits of a finite planet.

The author of the study, Salvador Pueyo, acknowledges that there are "reasons for pessimism given all the problems present in the world and in people's daily lives", but emphasizes that "the game is not over" and considers defining solidly grounded policies an immediate necessity to emerge from this global crisis. The report is part of a collective effort in this direction and seeks to tailor these actions to the specific case of Catalonia. According to Giorgos Kallis, principal investigator of REAL, "this is a fundamental study, the first that calculates how a region can transition toward a post-growth future, proving that it is feasible".

One of the report's key contributions is quantifying the resources required by current modes of living and production, comparing them with the potential capacity of both Catalonia and the planet as a whole. Pueyo explains that the report "does not focus on individual responsibility, but rather on the potential for collective change; however, having reached this point, it is inevitable that this collective shift will also involve a change in consumption habits".

In the energy sector, he presents quantitative data arguing that it is urgent to move away from fossil fuels—which is not currently happening—and notes that meeting all current energy consumption levels solely through renewable sources would carry difficult-to-bear consequences. Increasing these consumption levels further would be even worse. The document proposes an energy transition plan accompanied by a rapid contraction of sectors such as road and air transport, while calling attention to the emerging challenge posed by data centers. It demonstrates how sharply reducing air traffic through targeted fiscal tools would not only save resources, reduce impacts, and lower vulnerabilities, but also generate public revenue and temper housing prices.

In the agrifood sector, the report offers guidelines for a transition toward an agroecological model centered on small-scale farmers rather than large corporations, prioritizing food security over exports. By quantifying ways to achieve a baseline level of self-sufficiency while reducing local and global impacts, the authors consider a drastic reduction in the consumption of animal-based products indispensable, given the agricultural output absorbed by intensive livestock farming and the limits of extensive farming. Beyond the domestic benefits, a coordinated international reduction in this type of consumption represents perhaps the last remaining hope for the climate, now that a rapid phase-out of fossil fuels is more necessary than ever, yet no longer sufficient on its own to respect the 1.5 °C limit.

The economic sphere is inseparable from the others. As Pueyo indicates: "In a post-growth transition, a profound transformation of economic, fiscal, labor, and social policies is required. We need economic tools to drive sustainability—even if it comes at the expense of growth—and when growth ceases to be a priority or is simply no longer viable, redistribution becomes key to meeting basic needs."

Although globally there seems to be no other option to improve everyone's quality of life, unilaterally implementing these types of policies is far more difficult for specific territories, especially when part of a system like the eurozone. Research conducted for the REAL project at ICTA-UAB yielded notable advances in post-growth economic policies for the eurozone, but a major challenge remains: identifying what Catalonia can do while the rest of the eurozone has yet to apply them. "At the start of this study, we feared that the margin for unilateral maneuver in Catalonia would be minimal, but we are now more optimistic", Salvador Pueyo admits. A central contribution of the report has been compiling existing policies while developing new ones that, in principle, can be applied unilaterally. The researchers hope these policies can also serve as a benchmark for other countries.

Even if applying unilateral policies remains insufficient on its own, implementing them in Catalonia could offer the region leadership potential in driving the international coordination necessary to address major global challenges. The study notes that the current global landscape reflects the failure of the globalized economic model and frames the main challenge as articulating a new form of international cooperation focused on people and the planet, drawing on historical precedents that demonstrate the viability of such collective action.

 

Reference Report: Pueyo, S. 2025. Pla B. Per una Catalunya resilient en un escenari postcreixement. ICTA-UAB. https://www.realpostgrowth.eu/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Postcreixement-Catalunya-Juny-2026-1.pdf

 

Key Highlights of the Report

 

1. General Framework and Climate Emergency

• New model beyond GDP: The study proposes steering public policies toward meeting the population's needs in a resilient manner while respecting planetary boundaries, decoupling well-being from traditional economic growth.
• Climate emergency: To avoid exhausting the CO2 budget compatible with the 1.5 °C limit by 2028, the report proposes a 7% annual reduction in fossil emissions in Catalonia starting in 2026, alongside a shift in the food model.

 

2. Energy Transition and Mobility

• Reducing territorial impact: Maintaining all current energy uses exclusively through renewables would require occupying the equivalent of 4.9% of Catalonia’s territory. To avoid this, energy consumption must be sharply reduced and renewables deployed sequentially—from locations with lower impact to those with higher impact—to take advantage of future opportunities to mitigate damage.
• Focus on rooftops: The bulk of current electricity consumption could be covered using rooftops and degraded land, though this requires a proactive role from the Catalan government (Generalitat). To cover 60% of available rooftop areas, an investment equivalent to 4.5% of the Generalitat’s non-financial budget over 5 years (which would be recoverable) is estimated.
• Road mobility: To reduce energy consumption and environmental impacts, the report proposes curtailing private motorized traffic and strengthening public transit. Subsidies for electric cars would be redirected toward leasing services, vehicle-sharing systems, and community fleets.
• Air transport: Contracting air traffic would not only save energy, reduce environmental impacts, and lower housing prices, but also significantly benefit public finances if implemented through taxation.

 

3. Agrifood System

 

• Agroecological transition: A model based on agroecological intensification would maintain high productivity while offering far greater benefits for sustainability and small-scale farmers.
• Scaling down the livestock industry: Catalonia lacks the agricultural capacity to supply both its human population and its livestock industry simultaneously, even if meat exports were halted completely. Sustainable extensive farming could only cover a small fraction of current consumption levels. Consuming substantially fewer animal-derived foods is essential to ensure food security no longer depends heavily on imports or inflicts severe environmental damage and health risks.

 

4. Green Taxation and Financing

 

• Adaptive Eco-Vouchers (EVA): A proposed tax framework combining an environmental consumption tax with a complementary currency distributed to citizens, penalizing higher polluters while compensating those with a lower environmental footprint.
• Land Value Tax: A progressive tax on land to curb speculation and lower housing costs. The revenue generated would help expand public rental housing, support housing cooperatives, and fund social spending.

 

5. Labor, Social Rights, and Democracy

• Social protection model: The report advocates creating a "cushion income" (renda coixí, a tailored welfare benefit protecting low- and middle-income households) and, as an alternative or complement, a job guarantee focused at least on those facing the greatest difficulty finding work (estimated to cost 2.4% of the Generalitat's budget).
• Working conditions and a just transition: Recommendations include shortening the workweek to improve quality of life and share caregiving duties, alongside guaranteeing public or cooperative employment for workers affected by the eco-social transition.
• Social economy and governance: A commitment to ethical banking, the cooperative model, public-community partnerships, and binding citizens' assemblies for strategic decision-making, as well as mechanisms to ensure leadership positions are held by individuals motivated by the common good.