Seminar: "A new development classification for the 21st century", by Chirag Dhara

The REAL-Postgrowth project (Post-growth – REAL – A Post-Growth Deal) is excited to announce that Chirag Dhara, from the Krea University, presents a talk as part of our monthly public seminar series.

Seminar: "A new development classification for the 21st century"

Speaker:  Chirag Dhara, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at Krea University, India

• Date: Wednesday, October 1st 2025
• Time:  10.30-11.30 (CET)
• Venue: Sala Montseny (Z/022 - Z/023) ICTA-UAB. Online- https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81641572600?pwd=PbgKLwZBCl6bSHyFkGyy2JbriR8WRb.1

Nordic countries are frequently positioned as the leaders of “sustainable development” but their high per capita resource use presents a significant challenge. We propose a refined conceptual framework for sustainable development centering “universalizability” – the capacity for a development trajectory to have be globally adopted without overshooting biophysical limits. Our analysis identifies Panama, Costa Rica, and Sri Lanka as having achieved the highest levels of scalable social progress.

We leverage this framework  to propose a new equity-oriented development classification that aligns with current research on environmental limits. This framework offers an alternative to the prevailing conception of a “developed country”, and enables the identification of replicable development models. Its goal is to offer policymakers guidance toward more equitable and sustainable progress in the 21st century. 

Chirag Dhara

Chirag Dhara is a quantum physicist turned sustainability scientist, and current an Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at Krea University, India. He holds a PhD in Earth Science (2017) from the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry in Germany, and a second PhD in Photonics (2013) from the Institute of Photonic Sciences in Barcelona, Spain. Chirag’s research interests span climate and sustainability science, and their implications for human development. He was a co-author of India’s regional climate change assessment report (2020), and a contributing author to the IPCC AR6 (2021).