We (Manchester Climate Monthly editors and allies) are inviting individuals, community groups, campaigning groups and, well, everyone who believes that economic growth can’t go on to join us in creating a plan for a greener, fairer, climate-safe Manchester, within a specific framework of steady-state economics.

The plan will list things that Mancunians can do in the short-term and the medium term, the things that councils can do to help them achieve those things. It will also suggest things that councils and businesses can do.

The report will be released in October 2012, and accompanied by videos, briefing papers, public meetings and much more.

How?

We are working out the fine detail, but at a minimum;

• There will be face-to-face meetings. The first one is on Monday 25^th June, from 6pm to 9pm [drop-in! You don’t have to come for the whole thing!]) at the Friends Meeting House, 6 Mount St.
• There will be face-to-face sessions with community groups, at churches and mosques, meetings and interviews with academics, activists etc
• There will be a website, with surveys and invitations for comments (moderated!)
• There will be email and web-based communications, but we are aware some of the people we most want to hear from, most want to work with, are not big internet users.

We expect that, as is the nature of these things, 80% of the work will be done by 20% of the people, but we are keen to test out our ideas about “legitimate peripheral participation” – which means people will be asked if they will do specific one-off things, and then not be blackmailed into doing more and more.

Who

Artists, activists, academics, beer-drinkers, coffee-drinkers, campaigners, cyclists through to pensioners, students, trades unionists. Basically, anyone who is willing to think about how Manchester can thrive with an economy that is improving and developing but not growing. And anyone whose version of “steady-state economics” does not include the ‘Airport City’ development, which will lock us in to high-carbon usage.

When
The report will be released in October 2012. Beyond that time, the networks that develop while writing the report, and producing the other materials, will continue to grow and learn. We explicitly welcome people who want a specific, time-limited, involvement.

What it will be
A vibrant, attractive, feasible-but-difficult set of ideas and practical steps. An accessible document, available as words, podcasts, videos, cartoons and other formats, that can be taken by anyone who do their bit towards a greener and fairer Manchester.
Chapters (with headings around health, neighbourhoods, food and so on) will always include

1. Things we the undersigned can and will try to do
2. Things the Council can do to make it easier for us to do those things (may involve money. Will definitely involve transparency, genuine collaboration, speed.)
3. Things we think the Council should do

All with numbered “SMART” goals, and review dates.

What it won’t be
Just a litany of “the Council hasn’t”, “the Council should.” We don’t believe that someone else is going to solve our problems (but then again, we believe the Council could be doing much more to help us)

This is not a report that then sits on shelves, or is killed off in the committees. This is a living document that can help people and organisations answer the questions – “what can I do in Manchester?” “What are other people doing?” “What have they done well, done badly?”

Why
We have to be ready for the challenges ahead. Right now we are sleep-walking to catastrophe. We have freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of association. With those freedoms come responsibilities.

Why Now?
In November 2011, 11 signatories of an open letter offered to collaborate with the City Council on producing a report about steady-state economics and Manchester.. That collaboration has, for various reasons, not happened. Now is the time, when more and more economists are seeing the limits to growth, and growth is absent anyway, to be doing systematic new thinking about the future prosperity of the city, and its preparedness for the challenges ahead.

Questions

But isn’t there already a Manchester Climate Change Action Plan?
Yes indeed there is. That plan had many fine qualities. There were important silences in that report though. Missing words included; Permaculture, Transition towns, Peak Oil, Meat, Vegetarianism, Vegan, Democracy, Consumerism, Consultation, Catastrophe, Emergency, Equity, Fairness, Descent (as in energy descent), Inequality, Poverty, Minorities, Privilege, Rationing, Contraction and Convergence, Deprivation, Resilience, Solidarity. “Dialogue” gets one mention, in connection with the Council and … business!

And the plan assumes that economic growth can – and should – continue. We are fond of the quote by American economist Kenneth Boulding: “Anyone who believes exponential growth can go on forever in a finite world is either a madman or an economist.” He said that a long time ago, and there are now economists – more and more of ’em – who are escaping their intellectual strait-jackets. We hope to work with some of them.
For these reasons – and others – we feel it’s right to write another plan.

Are you a front group for the Liberal Democrats, the Greens, the SWP or someone else?

No (but then, we would say that, wouldn’t we!)

If I get involved in this, will I get paid?
No

If I get involved in this, will I end up on a perpetual treadmill of meetings and commitments?
If that’s what you want, yes. If that’s what you don’t want, then no.

There will, very soon, be a website and an email address. For now, please contact mcmonthly@gmail.com if you are interested in being involved.