Assessing public support for degrowth: survey-based experimental and predictive studies

Dario Krpan, Frédéric Basso, Jason Hickel and Giorgos Kallis
The Lancet Planetary Health | Nov 2025

Summary

Degrowth argues that high-income economies should reduce harmful production and prioritise wellbeing. Although it is increasingly discussed as essential for tackling climate change, the level of public support for this economic approach has remained uncertain.

In their new The Lancet Planetary Health study, CUSP fellow Dario Krpan and colleagues Frédéric Basso, Jason Hickel and Giorgos Kallis investigated public support for the full degrowth proposal in the UK and USA—two high-income, growth-oriented nations with substantial climate responsibility and notable political resistance to a postgrowth agenda.

Using representative online surveys, the aim of the study was to distinguish support for the proposal itself from perceptions of the degrowth label, and to examine the role of participants’ individual differences. Contrary to concerns from politicians and commentators that degrowth is broadly unpopular, the core degrowth proposal received substantial support among participants in both countries, regardless of whether it was accompanied by the degrowth label.

Further Reading