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Green politics, orecopolitics, is apolitical ideology that aims to foster an ecologically sustainable society often, but not always, rooted inenvironmentalism,nonviolence,social justice andgrassroots democracy.[1][2][3] It began taking shape in the western world in the 1970s; since thengreen parties have developed and established themselves in many countries around the globe and have achieved some electoral success.
The political termgreen was used initially in relation todie Grünen (German for "the Greens"),[4][5] a green party formed in the late 1970s.[6] The termpolitical ecology is sometimes used in academic circles, but it has come to represent an interdisciplinary field of study as the academic discipline offers wide-ranging studies integrating ecological social sciences withpolitical economy in topics such as degradation and marginalization,environmental conflict, conservation and control and environmental identities and social movements.[7][8]
Supporters of green politics share many ideas with theconservation,environmental,feminist andpeace movements. In addition to democracy and ecological issues, green politics is concerned withcivil liberties, social justice, nonviolence, sometimes variants oflocalism and tends to supportsocial progressivism.[9] Green party platforms are largely considered left in thepolitical spectrum. The green ideology has connections with various other ecocentric political ideologies, includingecofeminism,eco-socialism,degrowth andgreen anarchism, but to what extent these can be seen as forms of green politics is a matter of debate.[10] As theleft-wing green political philosophy developed, there also came into separate existence opposite movements on theright-wing that include ecological components such aseco-capitalism andgreen conservatism.
Adherents to green politics tend to consider it to be part of a higher worldview and not simply a political ideology. Green politics draws its ethical stance from a variety of sources, from the values ofindigenous peoples, to the ethics ofMahatma Gandhi,Baruch Spinoza, andJakob von Uexküll.[11][12] These people influenced green thought in their advocacy of long-termseventh generation foresight, and on the personal responsibility of every individual to make moral choices.
Unease about adverse consequences of human actions on nature predates the modern concept ofenvironmentalism. Social commentators as far apart as ancient Rome and China complained of air, water andnoise pollution.[13]
The philosophical roots of environmentalism can be traced back to enlightenment thinkers such asRousseau in France, and later the author and naturalistThoreau in America.[14] Organised environmentalism began in late 19th-century Europe and the United States, as a reaction to theIndustrial Revolution with its emphasis on unbridled economic expansion.[15]
"Green politics" first began as conservation and preservation movements, such as theSierra Club, founded in San Francisco in 1892.
Left-green platforms of the form that make up the green parties today draw terminology from the science ofecology, and policy fromenvironmentalism,deep ecology,feminism,pacifism,anarchism,libertarian socialism,libertarian possibilism,[16]social democracy,eco-socialism, and/orsocial ecology orgreen libertarianism. In the 1970s, as these movements grew in influence, green politics arose as a new philosophy which synthesized their goals. The Green Party political movement is not to be confused with the unrelated fact that in some far-right and fascist parties, nationalism has on occasion been tied into a sort of green politics which promotes environmentalism as a form of pride in the "motherland" according to a minority of authors.[17][18][19]
In June 1970, a Dutch group calledKabouters won 5 of the 45 seats on theAmsterdam Gemeenteraad (City Council), as well as two seats each on councils inThe Hague andLeeuwarden and one seat apiece inArnhem,Alkmaar andLeiden. The Kabouters were an outgrowth ofProvo's environmental White Plans and they proposed "Groene Plannen" ("Green Plans").[20]
The first political party to be created with its basis in environmental issues was theUnited Tasmania Group, founded in Australia in March 1972 to fight against deforestation and the creation of a dam that would damageLake Pedder; whilst it only gained three percent in state elections, it inspired the creation of Green parties all over the world.[21] In May 1972, a meeting atVictoria University of Wellington launched theValues Party, the world's first countrywide green party to contest Parliamentary seats nationally.[22] In November 1972, Europe's first green party,PEOPLE in the UK came into existence.[23]
The German Green Party was not the first Green Party in Europe to have members elected nationally but the impression was created that they had been, because they attracted the most media attention: TheGerman Greens, contended in their first national election in the1980 federal election. They started as a provisional coalition of civic groups and political campaigns which, together, felt their interests were not expressed by the conventional parties. After contesting the1979 European elections they held a conference which identified Four Pillars of the Green Party which all groups in the original alliance could agree as the basis of a common Party platform: welding these groups together as a single Party. This statement of principles has since been utilised by many Green Parties around the world. It was this party that first coined the term "Green" ("Grün" in German) and adopted thesunflower symbol. The term "Green" was coined by one of the founders of the German Green Party,Petra Kelly, after she visited Australia and saw the actions of theBuilders Labourers Federation and theirgreen ban actions.[24] In the1983 federal election, the Greens won 27 seats in theBundestag.
The first Canadian foray into green politics took place in the Maritimes when 11 independent candidates (including one in Montreal and one in Toronto) ran in the 1980 federal election under the banner of the Small Party. Inspired by Schumacher's Small is Beautiful, the Small Party candidates ran for the expressed purpose of putting forward an anti-nuclear platform in that election. It was not registered as an official party, but some participants in that effort went on to form theGreen Party of Canada in 1983 (theOntario Greens andBritish Columbia Greens were also formed that year).Green Party of Canada leaderElizabeth May was the instigator and one of the candidates of the Small Party and she was eventually elected as a member of the Green Party in2011 Canadian federal election.[25]
In Finland, theGreen League became the first European Green Party to form part of a state-level Cabinet in 1995. The German Greens followed, forming a government with theSocial Democratic Party of Germany (the "Red-Green Alliance") from 1998 to 2005. In 2001, they reached an agreement to end reliance onnuclear power in Germany, and agreed to remain in coalition and support the German government of ChancellorGerhard Schröder in the2001 Afghan War. This put them at odds with many Greens worldwide, but demonstrated that they were capable of difficult political tradeoffs.
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In Latvia,Indulis Emsis, leader of the Green Party and part of theUnion of Greens and Farmers, an alliance of a Nordic agrarian party and the Green Party, wasPrime Minister of Latvia for ten months in 2004, making him the firstGreen politician to lead a country in the history of the world. In 2015, Emsis' party colleague,Raimonds Vējonis, was elected President of Latvia by the Latvian parliament. Vējonis became the first greenhead of state worldwide.
In the German state ofBaden-Württenburg, the Green Party became the leader of the coalition with the Social Democrats after finishing second in the2011 Baden-Württemberg state election. In the followingstate election, 2016, the Green Party became the strongest party for the first time in a GermanLandtag.
In 2016, the former leader of the AustrianGreens (1997 to 2008),Alexander Van der Bellen, officially running as an independent, won the2016 Austrian presidential election, making him the second green head of state worldwide and the first directly elected by popular vote. Van der Bellen placed second in the election's first round with 21.3% of the vote, the best result for the Austrian Greens in their history. He won the second-round run-off against the far-rightFreedom Party'sNorbert Hofer with 53.8% of the votes, making him the first president of Austria who was not backed by either the People's Party or the Social Democratic Party.
According toDerek Wall, a prominent British green proponent, there are four pillars that define green politics:[2]
In 1984, the Green Committees of Correspondence in the United States expanded the Four Pillars into Ten Key Values,[26] which further included:
In 2001, theGlobal Greens were organized as an international green movement. TheGlobal Greens Charter identified six guiding principles:
Green economics focuses on the importance of the health of thebiosphere tohuman well-being. Consequently, most Greens distrust conventional capitalism, as it tends to emphasizeeconomic growth while ignoring ecological health; the "full cost" of economic growth often includes damage to the biosphere, which is unacceptable according to green politics. Green economics considers such growth to be "uneconomic growth"— material increase that nonetheless lowers the overall quality of life. Green economics inherently takes a longer-term perspective than conventional economics, because such a loss in quality of life is often delayed. According to green economics, the present generation should not borrow from future generations, but rather attempt to achieve whatTim Jackson calls "prosperity without growth".
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Some Greens[which?] refer toproductivism,consumerism andscientism[citation needed] as "grey", as contrasted with "green", economic views. "Grey" approaches focus on behavioral changes.[27]
Therefore, adherents to green politics advocate economic policies designed to safeguard the environment. Greens want governments to stopsubsidizing companies that waste resources or pollute the natural world, subsidies that Greens refer to as "dirty subsidies". Some currents of green politics place automobile andagribusiness subsidies in this category, as they may harm human health. On the contrary, Greens look to agreen tax shift that are seen to encourage both producers and consumers to make ecologically friendly choices.
Many aspects of green economics could be consideredanti-globalist. According to many left-wing greens,economic globalization is considered a threat to well-being, which will replace natural environments and local cultures with a single trade economy, termed theglobal economic monoculture.[citation needed] This is not a universal policy of greens, asgreen liberals andgreen conservatives support a regulatedfree market economy with additional measures to advancesustainable development.
Since green economics emphasizes biospheric health andbiodiversity, an issue outside the traditional left-right spectrum, different currents within green politics incorporate ideas from socialism and capitalism. Greens on the Left are often identified aseco-socialists, who merge ecology and environmentalism with socialism andMarxism and blame the capitalist system forenvironmental degradation, social injustice, inequality and conflict.eco-capitalists, on the other hand, believe that thefree market system, with some modification, is capable of addressing ecological problems. This belief is documented in the business experiences of eco-capitalists in the book,The Gort Cloud that describes thegort cloud as the green community that supports eco-friendly businesses.
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Since the beginning, green politics has emphasized local,grassroots-level political activity and decision-making. According to its adherents, it is crucial that citizens play a direct role in the decisions that influence their lives and their environment. Therefore, green politics seeks to increase the role ofdeliberative democracy,[28] based on direct citizen involvement andconsensus decision making, wherever it is feasible.
Green politics also encourages political action on the individual level, such asethical consumerism, or buying things that are made according to environmentally ethical standards. Indeed, many green parties emphasize individual and grassroots action at the local and regional levels overelectoral politics. Historically, green parties have grown at the local level, gradually gaining influence and spreading to regional or provincial politics, only entering the national arena when there is a strong network of local support.
In addition, many greens believe that governments should not levy taxes against strictly local production and trade. Some Greens advocate new ways of organizing authority to increase local control, includingurban secession,bioregional democracy, and co-operative/local stakeholder ownership.
Although Greens in theUnited States "call for an end to the 'War on Drugs'" and "for the decriminalization ofvictimless crimes", they also call for developing "a firm approach to law enforcement that directly addresses violent crime, including trafficking in hard drugs".[31]
In Europe, some green parties have tended to support the creation of a democraticfederal Europe, while others have opposedEuropean integration.[citation needed]
In the spirit of nonviolence, green politics oppose thewar on terrorism and the curtailment ofcivil rights, focusing instead on nurturingdeliberative democracy in war-torn regions and the construction of acivil society with an increased role for women.[citation needed]
In keeping with their commitment to the preservation of diversity, greens are often committed to the maintenance and protection of indigenous communities, languages, and traditions. An example of this is theIrish Green Party's commitment to the preservation of the Irish Language.[32] Some of the green movement has focused on divesting in fossil fuels.Academics Stand Against Poverty states "it is paradoxical for universities to remain invested in fossil fuel companies".Thomas Pogge says that thefossil fuel divestment movement can increase political pressure at events like the international climate change conference (COP).[33] Alex Epstein of Forbes notes that it is hypocritical to ask for divestment without a boycott and that a boycott would be more effective.[34] Some institutions that are leading by example in the academic area areStanford University,Syracuse University,Sterling College and over 20 more. A number of cities, counties and religious institutions have also joined the movement to divest.[35][36]
Green politics mostlyopposes nuclear fission power and the buildup ofpersistent organic pollutants, supporting adherence to theprecautionary principle, by which technologies are rejected unless they can be proven to not cause significant harm to the health of living things or thebiosphere.[37]
Green platforms generally favor tariffs onfossil fuels, restrictinggenetically modified organisms, and protections forecoregions orcommunities.[citation needed]
The Green Party supports phasing out of nuclear power, coal, and incineration of waste.[38] However, the Green Party in Finland has come out against its previous anti-nuclear stance and has stated that addressing global warming in the next 20 years is impossible without expanding nuclear power.[39] These officials have proposed usingnuclear-generated heat to heat buildings by replacing the use ofcoal andbiomass to reach zero-emission outputs by 2040.
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Green ideology emphasizesparticipatory democracy and the principle of "thinking globally, acting locally." As such, the ideal Green Party is thought to grow from the bottom up, from neighborhood to municipal to (eco-)regional to national levels. The goal is to rule by aconsensus decision making process.
Strong local coalitions are considered a prerequisite to higher-level electoral breakthroughs. Historically, the growth of Green parties has been sparked by a single issue where Greens can appeal to ordinary citizens' concerns. In Germany, for example, the Greens' early opposition to nuclear power won them their first successes in the federal elections.[41]
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There is a growing level of global cooperation between Green parties. Global gatherings of Green Parties now happen. The first Planetary Meeting of Greens was held 30–31 May 1992, in Rio de Janeiro, immediately preceding theUnited Nations Conference on Environment and Development held there. More than 200 Greens from 28 nations attended. The first formal Global Greens Gathering took place inCanberra, in 2001, with more than 800 Greens from 72 countries in attendance. The second Global Green Congress was held in São Paulo, Brazil, in May 2008, when 75 parties were represented.
Global Green networking dates back to 1990. Following the Planetary Meeting of Greens inRio de Janeiro, a Global Green Steering Committee was created, consisting of two seats for each continent. In 1993 this Global Steering Committee met in Mexico City and authorized the creation of a Global Green Network including a Global Green Calendar, Global Green Bulletin, and Global Green Directory. The Directory was issued in several editions in the next years. In 1996, 69 Green Parties from around the world signed a common declaration opposing French nuclear testing in the South Pacific, the first statement of global greens on a current issue. A second statement was issued in December 1997, concerning the Kyoto climate change treaty.[42]
At the 2001 Canberra Global Gathering delegates for Green Parties from 72 countries decided upon aGlobal Greens Charter which proposes six key principles. Over time, each Green Party can discuss this and organize itself to approve it, some by using it in the local press, some by translating it for their website, some by incorporating it into their manifesto, some by incorporating it into their constitution.[43] This process is taking place gradually, with online dialogue enabling parties to say where they are up to with this process.[44]
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The Gatherings also agree on organizational matters. The first Gathering voted unanimously to set up theGlobal Green Network (GGN). The GGN is composed of three representatives from each Green Party. A companion organization was set up by the same resolution:Global Green Coordination (GGC). This is composed of three representatives from each Federation (Africa, Europe, The Americas, Asia/Pacific, see below). Discussion of the planned organization took place in several Green Parties prior to the Canberra meeting.[45] The GGC communicates chiefly by email. Any agreement by it has to be by unanimity of its members. It may identify possible global campaigns to propose to Green Parties worldwide. The GGC may endorse statements by individual Green Parties. For example, it endorsed a statement by the US Green Party on the Israel-Palestine conflict.[46]
Thirdly, GlobalGreen Gatherings are an opportunity for informal networking, from which joint campaigning may arise. For example, a campaign to protect theNew Caledonian coral reef, by getting it nominated for World Heritage Status: a joint campaign by the New Caledonia Green Party, New Caledonian indigenous leaders, theFrench Green Party, and theAustralian Greens.[47] Another example concernsIngrid Betancourt, the leader of the Green Party inColombia, the Green Oxygen Party (Partido Verde Oxigeno). Ingrid Betancourt and the party's Campaign Manager, Claire Rojas, were kidnapped by a hard-line faction ofFARC on 7 March 2002, while travelling in FARC-controlled territory. Betancourt had spoken at the Canberra Gathering, making many friends. As a result, Green Parties all over the world have organized, pressing their governments to bring pressure to bear. For example, Green Parties in African countries, Austria, Canada, Brazil, Peru, Mexico, France, Scotland, Sweden and other countries have launched campaigns calling for Betancourt's release.Bob Brown, the leader of theAustralian Greens, went to Colombia, as did an envoy from the European Federation,Alain Lipietz, who issued a report.[48] The four Federations of Green Parties issued a message to FARC.[49] Ingrid Betancourt was rescued by the Colombian military inOperation Jaque in 2008.
Separately from the Global Green Gatherings, Global Green Meetings take place. For instance, one took place on the fringe of theWorld Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. Green Parties attended from Australia, Taiwan, Korea, South Africa, Mauritius, Uganda, Cameroon, the Republic of Cyprus, Italy, France, Belgium, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Norway, the US, Mexico and Chile.
The Global Green Meeting discussed the situation of Green Parties on the African continent; heard a report fromMike Feinstein, former mayor ofSanta Monica, about setting up a website of the GGN; discussed procedures for the better working of the GGC; and decided two topics on which the Global Greens could issue statements in the near future: Iraq and the 2003 WTO meeting in Cancun.
Affiliated members in Asia, Pacific and Oceania form theAsia-Pacific Green Network.The member parties of theGlobal Greens are organised into four continental federations:
The European Federation of Green Parties formed itself as theEuropean Green Party on 22 February 2004, in the run-up toEuropean Parliament elections in June 2004, a further step in trans-national integration.
Green movements are calling for social change to reduce the misuse of natural resources. These include grassroots non-governmental organizations likeGreenpeace and green parties:
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Renewable energy portalNot surprisingly the colours green and yellow are used widely in the symbols of ecologists, the former evoking vegetation and the latter the sun. The sunflower, a popular symbol, embodies both colours, and turns towards the sun, the source of renewable energy. The bicycle is another important icon as bicycle transportation is regarded as one of the means to re-humanise society.
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