The Green Party is ready to start all over again as it marks its 30th birthday
‘SIR’ BEGAN a letter published in this newspaper 30 years ago, “readers of John Cooney’s European Diary who were delighted to read of the success of four “Green” candidates in the Belgian elections will be interested to read that a similar party, radically opposed to both capitalism and socialism, is now being formed in Ireland.”
The Irish Timessubeditor on the Letters page chose the catchy headline: "Ecofreaks Unite".
Convenor Christopher Fettes certainly did seek like-minded members who would put “the planet before politics”. The party aimed to have a radical alternative vision which promoted sustainability, decentralisation of power and peaceful international co-operation.
But the first items on the agenda were not environmental issues. They included a proposal for a land value tax which, had it been introduced, would have meant no property bubble and therefore no banking crisis.
In the 30 years since, support in Ireland for Green politics has generally edged upwards as the scientific and economic case for living within the means of the planet grew stronger. That all came to a shuddering halt earlier this year when the party lost all its Dáil seats, having been part of a government which had lost the confidence of the Irish people.
So is that it? Is there no more room for a Green perspective? Will we continue to simply ignore the fact that the first capital is environmental capital? Will we be content to grow the world economy any way we can and hope that climate chaos won’t happen in our lifetime? Or will the other parties just steal our clothes? That final question is easily answered. In their nine months in Government, Fine Gael and Labour have shown that whatever they stand for, it is not sustainability.
They have abandoned all the major public transport projects: Metro North, Dublin’s rail interconnector, the western rail corridor. They have sidelined climate change legislation and clear emissions targets for different sectors. They have weakened incentives for low emissions vehicles. They have excluded solid fuels from the carbon levy, reducing it to a revenue-raising tax, rather than an incentive to low-emissions living. They have scaled back support measures for retro-fitting energy efficiency in our buildings.
Representing labour and capital, they seem locked in a battle over the division of economic spoils. They ignore the fact that our activities are causing our planet to burn.
On the Opposition benches, the clientelist and nationalist culture in Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin will make it difficult for them to adopt to Green thinking which is instinctively more liberal and international in its nature. A radical international vision is vital as Europe edges towards the kind of integration which, with the right leadership, could allow it to steer the world towards sustainability. We don’t just need to live within our fiscal means; we need to live within the means of the planet.
There are some politicians from other parties who “get” elements of Green thinking. But only the Green Party bases all its policies on the simple fact that the resources of the planet are not infinite. For us in the West, it means economic security: energy security and sustainable jobs which won’t disappear overnight.
But it also means having a wider definition of a useful member of society. If you raise a child, run the GAA club, or simply stop to chat with your elderly neighbour, you are making a vital, measurable contribution.
For the developing world, it means a climate which doesn’t destroy life before it has even begun. It means having a chance of getting your kids to adulthood and through education. It means ending the shame of global inequality.
At the weekend the Green Party returned to the Central Hotel in Dublin to celebrate its 30th birthday and to start all over again. We can still recall how to run a campaigning organisation on a purely voluntary basis, with scarce resources.
Lessons have been learned from the mistakes which were made in government. It was not easy being Green in recent years but we can now put those lessons to good use in presenting an honest analysis of the changes we need to make in our political system. People struggled to come to terms with the implications of a severe recession and understandably considered any focus on wider issues as an insult. But the wider issues of climate change and energy security are fundamental to any economic recovery.
At this time of crisis we need new thinking and a new economic model for this country. I am sure that going Green is a pathway leading in a better direction. It will take time, but I am convinced the Green Party will recover as we continue to present this alternative pathway to the Irish people.
Eamon Ryan is leader of the Green Party