View source for Green politics

{{Short description|Political ideology focused on establishing an ecologically sustainable society}}
{{redirect|Green movement|the Iranian political movement|Iranian Green Movement|other uses|Green Movement (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2022}}
{{green politics sidebar}}
'''Green politics''', or '''ecopolitics''', is a [[political ideology]] that aims to foster an ecologically sustainable society often, but not always, rooted in [[environmentalism]], [[nonviolence]], [[social justice]] and [[grassroots democracy]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Membrive |first1=Veronica |last2=Armie |first2=Madalina |title=Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure |date=2020 |publisher=Springer |location=Cham |isbn=978-3-319-71059-4 |pages=1–12 |url=https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-319-71059-4_107-1 |language=en |chapter=Eco-Politics: History and Policy Frameworks}}</ref><ref name="Wall">[[#Wal10|Wall 2010]]. p. 12-13.</ref><ref name="ReedRothenberg1993">{{cite book|author1= Peter Reed|author2= David Rothenberg|title= Wisdom in the Open Air: The Norwegian Roots of Deep Ecology|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=lijSesXIxz0C&pg=PA84|year= 1993|publisher= University of Minnesota Press|isbn= 978-0-8166-2182-8|page=84}}</ref> It began taking shape in the Western world in the 1970s; since then, [[green parties]] have developed and established themselves in many countries around the globe and have achieved some electoral success.

The political term ''green'' was used initially in relation to ''[[Alliance 90/The Greens|die Grünen]]'' (German for "the Greens"),<ref name="Wall2010">{{cite book|author= Derek Wall|title= The No-nonsense Guide to Green Politics|year= 2010 |url= https://archive.org/details/nononsenseguidet0000wall|url-access= registration|publisher= New Internationalist|isbn= 978-1-906523-39-8|page= [https://archive.org/details/nononsenseguidet0000wall/page/12 12]}}</ref><ref name= "Burchell2002">{{cite book|author= Jon Burchell|title =The Evolution of Green Politics: Development and Change Within European Green Parties |url= https://archive.org/details/evolutionofgreen0000burc|url-access= registration|year= 2002|publisher= Earthscan|isbn= 978-1-85383-751-7|page= [https://archive.org/details/evolutionofgreen0000burc/page/52 52]}}</ref> a green party formed in the late 1970s.<ref>{{cite book|title= Playing by the Rules: The Impact of Electoral Systems on Emerging Green Parties |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=m2Zp5nkbvPkC&pg=PA79|year= 2007|isbn= 978-0-549-13249-3|page= 79}}</ref> The term ''[[political 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 with [[political economy]] in topics such as degradation and marginalization, [[environmental conflict]], conservation and control and environmental identities and social movements.<ref>{{cite book |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=NixJcZnSsv8C |last= Robbins | first = Paul |date = 2012 | publisher = Wiley-Blackwell |title = Political Ecology: A Critical Introduction |isbn = 9780470657324}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1 = Peet | first1 = Richard |last2= Watts |first2 = Michael |title = Liberation Ecologies: Environment, Development, Social Movements | isbn = 9780415312363 |publisher = Routledge |date = 2004 |page =6 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=_IwqvHWiwFkC&pg=PA6}}</ref>

Supporters of green politics share many ideas with the [[Conservation movement|conservation]], [[environmental movement|environmental]], [[Feminist movement|feminist]] and [[peace movement]]s. In addition to democracy and ecological issues, green politics is concerned with [[civil liberties]], social justice, nonviolence, sometimes variants of [[Localism (politics)|localism]] and tends to support [[social progressivism]].<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=AaBFGNXjljsC&pg=PA394|title= Green Politics, An A-to-Z Guide|author= Dustin Mulvaney|publisher= SAGE publications|year= 2011|page= 394|isbn = 9781412996792}}</ref> Green party platforms are largely considered left in the [[political spectrum]]. The green ideology has connections with various other ecocentric political ideologies, including [[ecofeminism]], [[eco-socialism]], [[degrowth]] and [[green anarchism]], but to what extent these can be seen as forms of green politics is a matter of debate.<ref>
[[#Wal10|Wall 2010]]. p. 47-66.</ref> As the [[left-wing]] green political philosophy developed, there also came into separate existence opposite movements on the [[right-wing]] that include ecological components such as [[eco-capitalism]] and [[green conservatism]].

== History ==
=== Influences ===
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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 of [[indigenous peoples]], to the ethics of [[Mahatma Gandhi]], [[Baruch Spinoza]], and [[Jakob von Uexküll]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-10-11 |title=Indigenous Leaders at the Frontlines of Environmental Injustice and Solutions |url=https://www.nrdc.org/bio/giulia-cs-good-stefani/indigenous-leaders-frontlines-environmental-injustice-and-solutions |access-date=2024-10-17 |website=www.nrdc.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sharma |first=Aaditya Vikram |date=2020-07-06 |title=Green Politics: What Drives Us and What Drove Us? |url=https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2020/07/06/green-politics-what-drives-us-and-what-drove-us/ |access-date=2024-10-17 |website=Modern Diplomacy |language=en-US}}</ref> These people influenced green thought in their advocacy of long-term [[Seven generation sustainability|seventh 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 of [[environmentalism]]. Social commentators as far apart as ancient Rome and China complained of air, water and [[noise pollution]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Keys|first=David|title=How Rome polluted the world|journal=Geographical|volume=75|number=12|date=December 2003|url=https://www.questia.com/magazine/1G1-111733101/how-rome-polluted-the-world-we-tend-to-think-of-industrial|access-date=13 February 2015|archive-date=29 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170629012004/https://www.questia.com/magazine/1G1-111733101/how-rome-polluted-the-world-we-tend-to-think-of-industrial|url-status=live}}</ref>

The philosophical roots of environmentalism can be traced back to enlightenment thinkers such as [[Rousseau]] in France, and later the author and naturalist [[Thoreau]] in America.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=LaFreniere|first=Gilbert F.|date=1990|title=Rousseau and the European Roots of Environmentalism|journal=Environmental History Review|volume=14|issue=4|pages=41–72|doi=10.2307/3984813|jstor=3984813|s2cid=157682006 |issn=1053-4180}}</ref> Organised environmentalism began in late 19th-century Europe and the United States, as a reaction to the [[Industrial Revolution]] with its emphasis on unbridled economic expansion.<ref>{{cite book|last = McCormick|first= John |title =  The Global Environmental Movement|location =London|publisher= John Wiley|date= 1995|isbn = 9780471949404}}</ref>

"Green politics" first began as conservation and preservation movements, such as the [[Sierra 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 of [[ecology]], and policy from [[environmentalism]], [[deep ecology]], [[feminism]], [[pacifism]], [[anarchism]], [[libertarian socialism]], [[libertarian possibilism]],<ref>{{Cite web| url=http://social-ecology.org/wp/1998/08/a-politics-for-the-21st-century/| title=A Politics for the 21st Century| date=26 August 1998| access-date=2 October 2019| archive-date=2 October 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191002044933/http://social-ecology.org/wp/1998/08/a-politics-for-the-21st-century/| url-status=live}}</ref> [[social democracy]], [[eco-socialism]], and/or [[Social ecology (theory)|social ecology]] or [[green 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.<ref>{{cite book |title=The green and the brown: a history of conservation in Nazi Germany|first=Frank|last=Uekötter|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2006|isbn=9780521612777|page=202|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q-LavK2QaMcC&q=Anna+Bramwell&pg=PA203}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Peter|last=Staudenmaier|title=Fascist Ecology: The 'Green Wing' of the Nazi Party and its Historical Antecedents.|url=http://www.spunk.org/texts/places/germany/sp001630/peter.html|access-date=24 March 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080313141128/http://www.spunk.org/texts/places/germany/sp001630/peter.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 13 March 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Biehl |first1=Janet |last2=Staudenmaier |first2=Peter |title=Ecofascism: Lessons from the German Experience |publisher=AK Press |date=1995 |chapter='Ecology' and the Modernization of Fascism in the German Ultra-Right |chapter-url=http://www.spunk.org/texts/places/germany/sp001630/janet.html |isbn=978-1873176733 |access-date=23 February 2008 |archive-date=19 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080919090154/http://www.spunk.org/texts/places/germany/sp001630/janet.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Early development ====
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In June 1970, a Dutch group called [[Kabouters]] won 5 of the 45 seats on the [[Amsterdam]] Gemeenteraad (City Council), as well as two seats each on councils in [[The Hague]] and [[Leeuwarden]] and one seat apiece in [[Arnhem]], [[Alkmaar]] and [[Leiden]]. The Kabouters were an outgrowth of [[Provo (movement)|Provo]]'s environmental White Plans and they proposed "Groene Plannen" ("Green Plans").<ref>{{cite web|last1=Kempton|first1=Richard|title=The Provos: Amsterdam's Anarchist Revolt|url=http://madgorilla.org/kempton/provos.pdf|publisher=madgorilla.org|date=10 May 2003|access-date=5 September 2012|archive-date=26 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626130314/http://madgorilla.org/kempton/provos.pdf|url-status=usurped}}</ref>
[[File:Values Party canvassing at Nambassa 1979 & 1981, New Zealand 1.jpg|thumb|People canvassing for the [[Values Party]], considered the world's first national-level environmentalist party, at [[Nambassa]],1979]]
The first political party to be created with its basis in environmental issues was the [[United Tasmania Group]], founded in Australia in March 1972 to fight against deforestation and the creation of a dam that would damage [[Lake Pedder]]; whilst it only gained three percent in state elections, it inspired the creation of Green parties all over the world.<ref>[[#Wal10|Wall 2010]]. p. 14.</ref> In May 1972, a meeting at [[Victoria University of Wellington]] launched the ''[[Values Party]]'', the world's first countrywide green party to contest Parliamentary seats nationally.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.greens.org.nz/about/history.htm |title=The History of The Green Party |publisher=Greens.org.nz |access-date=16 March 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010175959/http://www.greens.org.nz/about/history.htm |archive-date=10 October 2008 }}</ref> In November 1972, Europe's first green party, [[PEOPLE Party|PEOPLE]] in the UK came into existence.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.green-history.uk/articles/general/46-who-was-first |title=Green History UK-Who Was First? |publisher=Green-History.uk |date=28 August 2017 |access-date=10 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170911025431/http://www.green-history.uk/articles/general/46-who-was-first |archive-date=11 September 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

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: The [[Alliance '90/The Greens|German Greens]], contended in their first national election in the [[1980 West German federal election|1980 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 the [[1979 European Parliament election in West Germany|1979 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 the [[sunflower]] 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 the [[Builders Labourers Federation]] and their [[green ban]] actions.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Humphries|first1=David|title=Newsmaker: Green bans|url=http://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/newsmaker-green-bans-20120330-1w372.html|agency=Sydney Morning Herald|date=31 March 2012|access-date=29 June 2017|archive-date=22 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622140413/https://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/newsmaker-green-bans-20120330-1w372.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In the [[1983 West German federal election|1983 federal election]], the Greens won 27 seats in the [[Bundestag]].

==== Further developments ====
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 the [[Green Party of Canada]] in 1983 (the [[Green Party of Ontario|Ontario Greens]] and [[Green Party of British Columbia|British Columbia Greens]] were also formed that year). [[Green Party of Canada]] leader [[Elizabeth 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 in [[2011 Canadian federal election]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://greenparty.ca/en/party/history|title=The Green Movement|publisher=Green Party of Canada|access-date=12 February 2015|archive-date=7 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191107221101/https://www.greenparty.ca/en/party/history|url-status=live}}</ref>

In Finland, the [[Green 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 the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany]] (the "[[Red-Green Alliance]]") from 1998 to 2005. In 2001, they reached an agreement to end reliance on [[nuclear power]] in Germany, and agreed to remain in coalition and support the German government of Chancellor [[Gerhard Schröder]] in the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|2001 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 the [[Union of Greens and Farmers]], an alliance of a Nordic agrarian party and the Green Party, was [[Prime Minister of Latvia]] for ten months in 2004, making him the first [[Green party|Green]] 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 green [[head of state]] worldwide.

In the German state of [[Baden-Württemberg|Baden-Württenburg]], the Green Party became the leader of the coalition with the Social Democrats after finishing second in the [[2011 Baden-Württemberg state election]]. In the following [[2016 Baden-Württemberg state election|state election, 2016]], the Green Party became the strongest party for the first time in a German [[Landtag]].

In 2016, the former leader of the Austrian [[The Greens – The Green Alternative|Greens]] (1997 to 2008), [[Alexander Van der Bellen]], officially running as an independent, won the [[2016 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-right [[Freedom Party of Austria|Freedom Party]]'s [[Norbert 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.

== Core tenets ==
[[File:4pilarsgreens.png|thumb|278x278px|The four green pillars]]
According to [[Derek Wall]], a prominent British green proponent, there are four pillars that define green politics:<ref name="Wall"/>
* [[Ecology|Ecological wisdom]]
* [[Social justice]]
* [[Grassroots democracy]]
* [[Nonviolence]]

In 1984, the Green Committees of Correspondence in the United States expanded the Four Pillars into Ten Key Values,<ref name="Environmental Activism book">{{cite book |last1=Switzer |first1=Jacqueline Vaughn |title=Environmental Activism: A Reference Handbook |date=2003 |publisher=ABC-CLIO, Inc. |location=Santa Barbara, CA |isbn=1-57607-901-5 |pages=184–185 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QAKVrmEyDAsC&q=green+committee+of+correspondence+ten+values&pg=PA184 |access-date=1 June 2020}}</ref> which further included:
* [[Decentralization]]
* [[Community-based economics]]
* Post-patriarchal values (later translated to [[ecofeminism]] and [[Ethics of care]])
* Respect for diversity
* Global responsibility
* Future focus

[[File:6pilarsgreens.png|thumb|283x283px|The six guiding principles]]
In 2001, the [[Global Greens]] were organized as an international green movement. The [[Global Greens Charter]] identified six guiding principles:
* Ecological wisdom
* Social justice
* [[Participatory democracy]]
* Nonviolence
* [[Sustainability]]
* Respect for diversity

=== Ecology ===
=== Economics ===
{{green economics sidebar}}
{{main|Green economics}}
{{see also|Communalism (Bookchin)|Participatory economics|Post-capitalism|Postgrowth|Common good (economics)}}
Green economics focuses on the importance of the health of the [[biosphere]] to [[Quality of life|human well-being]]. Consequently, most Greens distrust conventional capitalism, as it tends to emphasize [[economic growth]] while ignoring ecological health; the "[[full cost accounting|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 what [[Tim Jackson (economist)|Tim Jackson]] calls "prosperity without growth".
[[File:Susan George (political scientist) - Kirchentag Cologne 2007.jpg|thumb|150px|[[Susan George (political scientist)]], theorist of [[social justice]] and [[international development]]]]
Some Greens{{Which|date=October 2024}} refer to [[productivism]], [[consumerism]] and [[scientism]]{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}} as "grey", as contrasted with "green", economic views. "Grey" approaches focus on behavioral changes.<ref>Giuseppe Ferrari (2008) Green and grey in Dutch environmentalism: Debates and Philosophical Implications, Environmental Sciences, 5:3, 191-204, DOI: 10.1080/15693430802299114 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15693430802299114 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801051250/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15693430802299114 |date=1 August 2020 }}</ref>

Therefore, adherents to green politics advocate economic policies designed to safeguard the environment. Greens want governments to stop [[subsidy|subsidizing]] companies that waste resources or pollute the natural world, subsidies that Greens refer to as "dirty subsidies". Some currents of green politics place automobile and [[agribusiness]] subsidies in this category, as they may harm human health. On the contrary, Greens look to a [[green tax shift]] that are seen to encourage both producers and consumers to make ecologically friendly choices.

Many aspects of green economics could be considered [[anti-globalization|anti-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 the [[global economic monoculture]].{{cn|date=September 2022}} This is not a universal policy of greens, as [[green liberalism|green liberals]] and [[green conservatism|green conservatives]] support a regulated [[free market]] economy with additional measures to advance [[sustainable development]].

Since green economics emphasizes biospheric health and [[biodiversity]], 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 as [[Eco-socialism|eco-socialists]], who merge ecology and environmentalism with socialism and [[Marxism]] and blame the capitalist system for [[environmental degradation]], social injustice, inequality and conflict.  [[Eco-capitalism|eco-capitalists]], on the other hand, believe that the [[free 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 the [[gort cloud]] as the green community that supports eco-friendly businesses.
<gallery mode="packed">
 Tim Jackson, 2017 (cropped).jpg|[[Tim Jackson (economist)|Tim Jackson]], author of [[Prosperity Without Growth]]
 François-Bausch--w.jpg|[[François Bausch]], member of [[Association for the Taxation of Financial Transactions and for Citizens' Action|ATTAC]], theorist of the [[Tobin Tax]]
 El periodista británico Paul Mason, fotografiado en Madrid (cropped).jpg|[[Paul Mason (journalist)|Paul Mason]], theorist of [[post-capitalism]] and [[universal basic income]]
Serge Latouche - Festival Economia 2012 (3x4 cropped).JPG|[[Serge Latouche]], theorist of [[degrowth]]
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=== Participatory democracy ===
[[File:Saskia Sassen 2012.jpg|thumb|150px|[[Saskia Sassen]], theorist of international [[Human migration]] and [[urban sociology]]]]
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 of [[deliberative democracy]],<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Kronsell|first1=Annica|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280314549|title=Environmental politics and deliberative democracy: Examining the promise of new modes of governance|last2=Bäckstrand|first2=Karin|last3=Lövbrand|last4=Khan|first4=Jamil|date=30 June 2010|publisher=Edward Elgar Pub. |isbn=978-1-84844-954-1}}</ref> based on direct citizen involvement and [[consensus decision making]], wherever it is feasible.

Green politics also encourages political action on the individual level, such as [[ethical 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 over [[election|electoral 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, including [[urban secession]], [[bioregional democracy]], and co-operative/local stakeholder ownership.
<gallery mode="packed">
 NLN Michael Albert.jpg|[[Michael Albert]], theorist of [[participatory economics]] (participism)

 César Rendueles durante su conferencia en Wikimanía 2015 06.JPG|[[César Rendueles]], theorist of [[Common good (economics)]] and [[open content]] and [[net neutrality]]
 AntonioNegri SeminarioInternacionalMundo.jpg|[[Antonio Negri]], theorist of [[Post-fordism]] and immaterial labour
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=== Other issues ===
[[File:Anti-Nuclear Power Plant Rally on 19 September 2011 at Meiji Shrine Outer Garden 03.JPG|thumb|Anti-Nuclear Power Plant Rally on 19 September 2011 at [[Meiji Shrine]] complex in Tokyo in which sixty thousand people marched chanting "Sayonara nuclear power" and waving banners to call on Japan's government to abandon nuclear power following the Fukushima disaster<ref name="usatoday.com">{{cite web |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2011-09-19/japan-anti-nuclear-protest/50461872/1 |title=Thousands march against nuclear power in Tokyo |date=September 2011 |work=USA Today |access-date=12 November 2018 |archive-date=17 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230317191750/https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2011-09-19/japan-anti-nuclear-protest/50461872/1 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=wompro>{{cite web |url=http://japanfocus.org/events/view/117 |title=Fukushima women against nuclear power: finding a voice from Tohoku |author=David H. Slater |date=9 November 2011 |work=The Asia-Pacific Journal |access-date=10 November 2018 |archive-date=14 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140214195812/http://japanfocus.org/events/view/117 |url-status=live }}</ref>]]
Although Greens in the [[Green Party (United States)|United States]] "call for an end to the '[[War on Drugs]]'" and "for the decriminalization of [[victimless crimes]]", they also call for developing "a firm approach to law enforcement that directly addresses violent crime, including trafficking in hard drugs".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gp.org/platform/2004/socjustice.html#1001998|title=Green Party of the United States platform: Criminal Justice|publisher=Green Party|date=2004|access-date=12 February 2015|archive-date=4 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080904012624/http://www.gp.org/platform/2004/socjustice.html#1001998|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In Europe, some green parties have tended to support the creation of a democratic [[federal Europe]], while others have opposed [[European integration]].{{citation needed|date=July 2019}}

In the spirit of nonviolence, green politics oppose the [[war on terrorism]] and the curtailment of [[civil rights]], focusing instead on nurturing [[deliberative democracy]] in war-torn regions and the construction of a [[civil society]] with an increased role for women.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}

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 the [[Green Party (Ireland)|Irish Green Party]]'s commitment to the preservation of the Irish Language.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.greenparty.ie/assets/docs/Green%20Party%20Irish%20Language%20Policy%20in%20English%20(2014)-3.pdf|title=Green Party Irish Language Policy|date=2014|publisher=the Green Party of Ireland|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140702121432/http://greenparty.ie/assets/docs/Green%20Party%20Irish%20Language%20Policy%20in%20English%20(2014)-3.pdf|archive-date=2 July 2014}}</ref> 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 the [[fossil fuel divestment]] movement can increase political pressure at events like the international climate change conference (COP).<ref>{{cite web|last1=Howard|first1=Emma|title=Top academics ask world's universities to divest from fossil fuels|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/apr/07/top-academics-ask-worlds-universities-to-divest-from-fossil-fuels|work=The Guardian|date=7 April 2015|access-date=7 April 2015|archive-date=7 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150407223326/http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/apr/07/top-academics-ask-worlds-universities-to-divest-from-fossil-fuels|url-status=live}}</ref> Alex Epstein of Forbes notes that it is hypocritical to ask for divestment without a boycott and that a boycott would be more effective.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Epstein|first1=Alex|title=The Moral Case For Investing, Not Divesting, In Fossil Fuels|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexepstein/2015/02/11/the-moral-case-for-investing-not-divesting-in-fossil-fuels/|access-date=7 April 2015|agency=Forbes|archive-date=13 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150413071454/http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexepstein/2015/02/11/the-moral-case-for-investing-not-divesting-in-fossil-fuels/|url-status=live}}</ref> Some institutions that are leading by example in the academic area are [[Stanford University]], [[Syracuse University]], [[Sterling College (Vermont)|Sterling College]] and over 20 more. A number of cities, counties and religious institutions have also joined the movement to divest.<ref>{{cite web|title=Divestment Commitments|url=http://gofossilfree.org/commitments/|website=FossilFree.org|access-date=7 April 2015|archive-date=23 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221223012740/https://gofossilfree.org/commitments/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Syracuse University to divest fossil fuel investments|date=April 2015|url=http://www.syracuse.com/schools/index.ssf/2015/04/syracuse_university_to_divest_fossil_fuel_investments.html|access-date=7 April 2015|archive-date=3 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403174723/http://www.syracuse.com/schools/index.ssf/2015/04/syracuse_university_to_divest_fossil_fuel_investments.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Green politics mostly [[Anti-nuclear|opposes nuclear fission power]] and the buildup of [[persistent organic pollutants]], supporting adherence to the [[precautionary principle]], by which technologies are rejected unless they can be proven to not cause significant harm to the health of living things or the [[biosphere]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-03-21 |title=Green groups reject nuclear revival as governments seek climate fix |url=https://www.euronews.com/green/2024/03/21/green-groups-reject-nuclear-renaissance-as-governments-seek-climate-fix |access-date=2024-10-17 |website=euronews |language=en}}</ref>

Green platforms generally favor tariffs on [[fossil fuels]], restricting [[genetically modified organisms]], and protections for [[ecoregions]] or [[communities]].{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}

The Green Party supports phasing out of nuclear power, coal, and incineration of waste.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Energy|url=https://policy.greenparty.org.uk/ey.html|access-date=12 December 2020|website=policy.greenparty.org.uk|archive-date=12 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112024443/https://policy.greenparty.org.uk/ey.html|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Conca|first=James|title=Finland's Green Party And Nuclear Power -- Really?|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2017/04/17/finlands-green-party-and-nuclear-power-really/|access-date=12 December 2020|website=Forbes|language=en|archive-date=12 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112011008/https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2017/04/17/finlands-green-party-and-nuclear-power-really/|url-status=live}}</ref> These officials have proposed using [[Nuclear power|nuclear-generated heat]] to heat buildings by replacing the use of [[coal]] and [[biomass]] to reach zero-emission outputs by 2040.
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Naomi Klein at Berkeley, California, in 2014 (cropped).jpg|[[Naomi Klein]] has written about capitalism and climate.
File:Martha Nussbaum wikipedia 10-10.jpg|[[Martha Nussbaum]], Professor of Law and Ethics at the University of Chicago, is a proponent of the [[Capability approach|capabilities approach]] to [[animal rights]].
File:Anna Grodzka.jpg|alt=Anna Grodzka, Polish green LGBTI advocate|[[Anna Grodzka]], Polish green [[LGBT social movements|LGBTQIA]] advocate
</gallery>

== Organization ==
=== Local movements ===
[[File:Sunflower10094.jpg|left|thumb|The [[sunflower]] is recognized internationally as a symbol of green politics.<ref>{{cite book |first=Dimitrios|last=Roussopoulos|title=Political ecology: beyond environmentalism|url=https://archive.org/details/politicalecology0000rous|url-access=registration|publisher=Black Rose Books|location=Montreal|year=1993|isbn=1-895431-80-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/politicalecology0000rous/page/114 114]|quote=Not 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.}}</ref>]]
Green ideology emphasizes [[participatory democracy]] and the principle of "[[Think Globally, Act Locally|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 a [[consensus decision-making|consensus 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cleanenergywire.org/factsheets/history-behind-germanys-nuclear-phase-out|title=The history behind Germany's nuclear phase-out|date=25 September 2014|website=Clean Energy Wire|language=en|access-date=20 March 2020|archive-date=26 June 2021|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210626154939/https://www.cleanenergywire.org/factsheets/history-behind-germanys-nuclear-phase-out|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Global organization ===
[[File:Ashok Khosla, 2014 (cropped).jpg|thumb|120px|[[Ashok Khosla]] was president of the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]] and also worked for the [[United Nations Environment Programme]].]]
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 the [[Earth Summit (1992)|United Nations Conference on Environment and Development]] held there.  More than 200 Greens from 28 nations attended. The first formal Global Greens Gathering took place in [[Canberra]], 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 in [[Rio 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.globalgreens.org/ggn/brief-history-2003|title=Global Greens Network - a brief history up to 2003|author=John Rensenbrink|publisher=Global Greens|date=August 2003|access-date=13 February 2015|archive-date=13 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150213113057/http://www.globalgreens.org/ggn/brief-history-2003|url-status=live}}</ref>

At the 2001 Canberra Global Gathering delegates for Green Parties from 72 countries decided upon a [[Global 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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Canadian Greens / Green Party of Canada Constitution|url=http://www.green.ca/english/members/constitution.shtml|website=green party of canada|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040218004310/http://www.green.ca/english/members/constitution.shtml|archive-date=18 February 2004|url-status=dead}}</ref> This process is taking place gradually, with online dialogue enabling parties to say where they are up to with this process.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://greenparties.hpg.ig.com.br/virtual.html |title=iG - Notícias, Vídeos, Famosos, Esportes, Bate Papo, Infográficos |publisher=Greenparties.hpg.ig.com.br |date=17 September 2013 |access-date=16 March 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030402095954/http://www.greenparties.hpg.ig.com.br/virtual.html |archive-date=2 April 2003 }}</ref>

[[File:Green bloc at the Copenhagen climate demo FYEG (4186296292).jpg|thumb|[[Federation of Young European Greens]] demonstration in [[Copenhagen]] during the Climate Summit 2009]]
The Gatherings also agree on organizational matters. The first Gathering voted unanimously to set up the ''Global 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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Global Network of Green Parties|url=http://www.greens.org.au/bobbrown/global.htm|website=Australian Greens|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030301155622/http://www.greens.org.au/bobbrown/global.htm|archive-date=1 March 2003|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Statement of the Global Green Coordination on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict|url=http://www.greenpartyus.org/press/pr_04_10_02.html|website=Green Party US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030218053722/http://www.greenpartyus.org/press/pr_04_10_02.html|archive-date=18 February 2003|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Thirdly, Global [[Green Gathering|Green Gatherings]] are an opportunity for informal networking, from which joint campaigning may arise. For example, a campaign to protect the [[New Caledonia]]n coral reef, by getting it nominated for World Heritage Status: a joint campaign by the New Caledonia Green Party, New Caledonian indigenous leaders, the [[French Green Party]], and the [[Australian Greens]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.globalgreens.org/sites/globalgreens.org/files/spinifex-4.pdf|title=Spinifex '''4''', Newsletter of the 2001 Global Greens Congress|publisher=Consensus Productions|access-date=24 February 2015|archive-date=2 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702114704/https://www.globalgreens.org/sites/globalgreens.org/files/spinifex-4.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Another example concerns [[Ingrid Betancourt]], the leader of the Green Party in [[Colombia]], the Green Oxygen Party (''[[Partido Verde Oxigeno]]''). Ingrid Betancourt and the party's Campaign Manager, Claire Rojas, were kidnapped by a hard-line faction of [[Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia|FARC]] 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 the [[Australian Greens]], went to Colombia, as did an envoy from the European Federation, [[Alain Lipietz]], who issued a report.<ref>{{cite web|title=Alain LIPIETZ à BOGOTA du 3 au 5 mars 2002|url=http://www.providence.edu/polisci/affigne/free_ingrid.htm#Anchor-Lipietz|website=Providence College: Tony Affigne: Green parties of the world declare: "Free Ingrid Betancourt and Clara Rojas!"|language=fr|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040216090122/http://www.providence.edu/polisci/affigne/free_ingrid.htm#Anchor-Lipietz|archive-date=16 February 2004|url-status=dead}}</ref> The four Federations of Green Parties issued a message to FARC.<ref>{{cite web|title=Green Parties of the World Call for Ingrid Betancout's Freedom|url=http://www.web.greens.org/~cls/gp/to-farc-ep|website=Green Parties world wide|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081120094936/http://www.web.greens.org/~cls/gp/to-farc-ep|archive-date=20 November 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> Ingrid Betancourt was rescued by the Colombian military in [[Operation Jaque]] in 2008.

==== Global Green Meetings ====
[[File:Video Vandana Shiva 2014.webm|thumb|262x262px|[[Vandana Shiva]] in [[Cologne, Germany]], 2007]]
Separately from the Global Green Gatherings, Global Green Meetings take place. For instance, one took place on the fringe of the [[World 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 from [[Mike Feinstein]], former mayor of [[Santa Monica, California|Santa 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.

=== Green federations ===
[[File:Bob Brown at 2008 climate change rally DSC 6368.JPG|thumb|[[Bob Brown]] at a [[climate change]] rally in [[Melbourne]], 5 July 2008]]
Affiliated members in Asia, Pacific and Oceania form the [[Asia-Pacific Green Network]].
The member parties of the [[Global Greens]] are organised into four continental federations:
* [[Federation of Green Parties of Africa]]
* [[Federation of the Green Parties of the Americas|Federation of the Green Parties of the Americas / Federación de los Partidos Verdes de las Américas]]
* [[Asia-Pacific Green Network]]
* [[European Green Party]]

The European Federation of Green Parties formed itself as the [[European Green Party]] on 22 February 2004, in the run-up to [[European Parliament]] elections in June 2004, a further step in trans-national integration.

=== Green political parties  ===
{{party politics|platforms}}
Green movements are calling for social change to reduce the misuse of natural resources. These include grassroots non-governmental organizations like [[Greenpeace]] and green parties:
* <!-- Please follow alphabetic order while adding item to the list -->[[Alliance 90/The Greens]] (Germany)
* [[Australian Greens]] 
* [[The Greens – The Green Alternative|Austrian Green Party]]
* [[Belarusian Green Party]]
* [[Democratic Renewal of Macedonia]]
* [[Dialogue for Hungary]], [[LMP – Hungary's Green Party]]
* [[Ecolo]]
* [[Ecologist Greens]] (Greece)
* [[The Ecologists]] (France)
* [[Green Europe]] (Italy)
* [[Green League|Green League (Finland)]]
* [[Greens of Andorra]]
* [[Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand]]
* [[Green Party of Armenia]]
* [[Green Party (Brazil)]]
* [[Green Party of Canada]]
* [[Green Party (Czech Republic)]]
* [[Green Party of England and Wales]]
* [[Green Party (Ireland)]]
* [[Green Party (Israel)]]
* [[Green Party of Lebanon]]
* [[Green Party (Norway)]]
* [[Green Party (Romania)]]
* [[Green Party (Sweden)]]
* [[Green Party Taiwan| Green Party of Taiwan]]
* [[Green Party (Turkey)]]
* [[Green Party of the United States]]
* [[Groen (political party)|Groen]]
* [[GroenLinks]]
* [[Hariyali Nepal Party]]
* [[Latvian Green Party]]
* [[Left-Green Movement]]
* [[Red–Green Alliance (Denmark)]]
* [[Scottish Greens|Scottish Green Party]]
* [[Socialist People's Party (Denmark)]]
* [[The Alternative (Denmark)]]

== See also ==
{{Portal|Climate change|Earth sciences|Ecology|Environment|Politics|Renewable energy}}
<!-- Please add related topics to [[Outline of green politics]] -->
* [[Outline of green politics]] (list of related articles, organized for easy browsing)
* [[Political colour]] for a list and summary of all political colours
{{clear}}

== Notes ==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

=== References ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book|title=The No-Nonsense Guide to Green Politics|last=Wall|first=Derek|year=2010|publisher=New Internationalist Publications|location=Oxford|isbn=978-1-906523-39-8|ref=Wal10}}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
* Dobson, Andrew (2007). ''Green Political Thought''. 4. Edition (1. Edition 1980), London/ New York: Routledge. {{ISBN|0-415-40351-0}} (Hardcover) 
* {{cite book|last=Gilk|first=Paul|year=2009|url=http://www.lutterworth.com/product_info.php?products_id=1411|title=Green Politics is Eutopian|publisher=The Lutterworth Press|access-date=13 October 2010|archive-date=17 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190617045033/https://www.lutterworth.com/product_info.php?products_id=1411|url-status=dead}}
* Spretnak, Charlene (1986). ''The Spiritual Dimension of Green Politics''. Santa Fe, N.M.: Bear & Co. 95 p. {{ISBN|0-939680-29-7}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Zimmermann |first1=Katharina |last2=Graziano |first2=Paolo |title=Mapping Different Worlds of Eco-Welfare States |journal=[[Sustainability (journal)|Sustainability]] |date=2020 |volume=12 |issue=5 |pages=1819 |doi=10.3390/su12051819 |doi-access=free|hdl=11577/3414644 |hdl-access=free }}

== External links ==
{{library resources box|by=no|onlinebooks=no|about=yes|wikititle=green politics}}
<!--Links about global Green politics, not national or sub-national.-->
* [http://www.globalgreens.org/globalcharter Global Greens Charter, Canberra 2001] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514172856/http://www.globalgreens.org/globalcharter |date=14 May 2008 }}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Green Politics}}
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[[Category:Environmentalism]]
[[Category:Nonviolence]]
[[Category:Political ideologies]]
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