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This from Vix Lowthion, Chair of the Isle of Wight Green Party. Ed
“Green is good, green is right, green works” – no, not the mindless ramblings of a fictional banker from the movie ‘Wall Street’ but the exclamations of our Prime Minister on the platform in London at the Global Investments Summit alongside Bill Gates yesterday.
So – are we all Green now? Not only does our PM make claims that ‘Green Is Good’ and launch his net-zero strategy (to mixed reviews) but our Isle of Wight councillors of all political persuasions voted unanimously to reject oil drilling proposals on the same day.
So is this what ‘being Green’ is? Is it championing £10 billion of private investments in Bill Gates’s projects? Is it rejecting oil drilling in our back yard? Is it encouraging people to swap gas boilers for heat pumps?
What ‘being Green’ means politically
As the Green Party conference meets in Birmingham at the weekend, and the United Nations COP26 climate talks begin in Glasgow next week, it is worth clarifying what ‘being Green’ means in a political sense.
We are facing a climate and ecological emergency, with significant measures demanded from governments across the globe to reduce global temperatures, save energy and protect wildlife and habitats.
They will all tell you that they are ‘greening up’ and taking it seriously – but is it enough to pledge to plant more trees, offset carbon emissions and insulate some homes?
(TLDR – being Green is much more than that – but it turns out that most of you believe in Green policies already anyway)
The fight for environmental justice
Greens fight for environmental justice – but also human and societal justice.
To tackle the climate crisis requires rebalancing the planet in terms of humans and nature – and this requires greater equality for all members of society.
Being Green involves fighting for a world where class and economic background does not limit you and the most disadvantaged are advocated for- whether that is for vulnerable global island nations or the working class in our own backyard.
Being Green is not just fighting against isolated fossil fuel exploration proposals, but ruling it out at a global scale.
Being Green is not courting digital oligarchs such as Bill Gates, but empowering communities at a national level to invest in long term solutions.
Being Green is not closing doors on international co-operation, but opening channels and working with other nations at a global scale.
Being Green means prioritising the climate emergency through longer term solutions to tackle the challenges we all face.
A council chamber full of greens
It was amazing to see an Isle of Wight Council Planning Committee room full of greens for the evening – because that is how our councillors were talking when they referred to defending the Island against exploitation of fossil fuel resources and short term economic speculation.
It is more important than ever before that Islanders work together for the common good – and we hope to look forward to even more councillors joining our party.
A collective of like-minded, ordinary people
Greens are not a bunch of tree huggers and yoghurt weavers – but a collective of like-minded, ordinary people grounded in their community who prioritise the climate and social realities above short-term economic gain.
We are all Green now – the next challenges will only be met through facing up to and acknowledging that reality.
We must have bolder ambitions
We did it on the Isle of Wight by rejecting the oil drilling yesterday – but that will not be enough by itself.
We must have bolder ambitions to face the future with confidence.
