Political Platform: | FYEG Political Platform - The Green Economy |
---|---|
Proposer: | GRÜNE JUGEND |
Status: | Published |
Submitted: | 05/21/2021, 16:20 |
Ä14 to PP2-IV: FYEG Political Platform - The Green Economy
Political Platform text
From line 126 to 128:
carbon economy. We oppose the austerity policies* that have been put in place across Europe,. Massive investments into social and weurban infrastructure, health systems, education and fighting climate change are needed for the young generation. Young people do not need a balanced state budget, but decent jobs, health care, free public transport and a livable planet. We demand fair taxation and a stronger fight against fiscal fraud. Taxation can also be a powerful tool in itself, reducing inequalities,
4. The Green Economy
The Federation of Young European Greens identifies the root causes of the social
and environmental crises as lying within the current economic system. We believe
that this capitalist system, based on unrestrained competition, consumerism, the
exploitation of workers, and profit maximisation* is unsustainable and
incompatible with our planet’s limited resources and the goal of an economy that
benefits all. This system deliberately imposes social and environmental costs on
low-income countries, future generations, and other species. It creates extreme
inequalities and excludes most people from decision-making processes concerning
how and what is produced in an economy. We are deeply interconnected, with each
other and with the rest of the planet. The crises we are facing are the result
of the system we have created that is disrupting human well-being and destroying
our collective resilience, and which represents an existential threat to
humanity.
FYEG sees an urgent need for a new vision of progress that is fit for the
century ahead of us. In order to bring an end to environmental destruction and
human deprivation, it is crucial to change the way our economies are built and
defined. We need to shift from economic growth* to human and planetary well-
being. We need to go beyond indicators such as gross domestic product (GDP)* and
start taking into account matters such as quality of life and environmental
well-being when judging our economic performance. We believe the technological
shift to a zero-waste industry and economy is not enough. The green economy we
want to build implies a radical change in the democratisation of the economy,
the redistribution of wealth, and a just transition.
a. Alternative models to unlimited growth
Economics should not prioritise economic growth, profit, and consumption, but
rather human well-being and welfare. The indicators currently used by economists
fail to take social and environmental factors into account. We therefore think
it is time to develop new indicators which factor in environmental degradation
and economic inequality. The genuine progress indicator (GPI)*, for instance,
measures overall quality of life rather than just economic progress, and takes
into account the needs of individuals and their environment.
A market model creates privately owned and monopolised resources while
alternative economic models, such as “doughnut economics”*, degrowth*, and the
Economy for the Common Good*, provide a system which is sustainable, fair, and
just.
We need to look at the economy in a new way, dismantling the myth of unlimited
growth, putting an end to excessive capital accumulation, and prioritising a
redistribution of wealth and production factors. We strive to use the European
Green Deal to recover from the current crisis in a sustainable way: to foster a
circular economy, economic security and certainty, and gender equality, and to
bring about the destruction of the gendered division of labour.
Intergenerational and intragenerational equity are also fundamental social
values for a green economy.
For governments, economic policies must be guided by the goals of the Paris
Climate Agreement and the UN’s 2030 Agenda* for Sustainable Development, not by
the pursuit of endless economic growth.
b. Economic structures
The current structure of the economy is a source of injustice, inequality, and
environmental destruction. The monopoly some international companies hold
prevents the entrance of new actors onto the market. It is more and more
difficult for states and citizens to hold companies accountable for their
actions. These companies are the gatekeepers for change. FYEG believes that in
order to create a more sustainable and fair approach to the economy, our
economic system has to change. It must serve people, not billionaires.
It is time to rethink how we do economics.
Many economic challenges come from large companies who seek profit at all costs.
They undermine workers’ rights and environmental standards as well as small
local businesses and worker cooperatives. They often avoid paying taxes,
compromising the ability of the state to provide public services. We therefore
call for the economy to be structured differently. Companies that are too big to
fail* or hold monopolies should be split up. Small and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs)* should have more opportunities to run their businesses without facing
the threat of multinational corporations. Enterprises that serve goals other
than maximising profits, who operate simply in order to provide services or
create jobs, are a solution.
We believe workers themselves can take a more active role in shaping the
economy. We demand that businesses be governed by the people that work in them.
One important step towards this goal would be the occupation of at least 50% of
seats on company boards by employees. Another tool is the cooperative business
model* as it helps to democratise the economy and shift the focus to placing
people over profit and building a more inclusive economy. Mechanisms should be
put in place to make it easier for workers to transform their companies into
cooperatives, especially when the original owner is planning to close the
company.
A green economy rejects the commodification and privatisation of the commons.
Basic human needs and social rights should always be guaranteed and must never
depend on markets. This applies especially in the cases of housing, health,
education, food, and transport.
In order to reduce the impact of the economy on the environment, it is also
important to question the never-ending globalisation* of our economy.
Globalisation has both social and environmental consequences and favours major
companies over small businesses. We support relocalising* the economy, starting
with the production of essential goods such as food and medicine. The goal of
economic policy should not be to boost exports at all costs but rather to
improve resilience and reduce imports, dependency on single actors, and
environmental impacts. Shorter supply chains should be encouraged. The
introduction of not only carbon but also of social border taxes could be one of
the ways to encourage the relocalisation of the economy.
c. A sustainable economy
Transforming our economy into a green economy also means reducing consumption
and pollution. The Earth cannot possibly sustain today’s levels of consumption.
Therefore, challenging consumerism should be at the centre of a just transition.
We want to turn the linear economy*, which is based on a “take-make-waste”
model, into a fully circular economy*. In a circular economy, products and
materials are used over and over again instead of being discarded. We believe we
can shift from a linear economy to a circular economy based on the following
principles: minimising the usage of energy and resources; preserving value in
the economy; preventing waste, toxic materials and pollution; keeping goods and
materials in use and in closed loops; ensuring human health; and encouraging the
prevention of waste.
For consumers to be able to play an active role and change their buying habits,
we defend the right to access more detailed, harmonised, and reliable
information on the social, environmental, and climate impacts of goods and
services over their lifecycle, including durability and repairability*. We also
emphasise the need for change in relation to product-related greenwashing* and
false environmental claims. We support stronger requirements on the
repairability of goods: producers must ensure that their products can be easily
repaired, and that spare parts will remain available for at least 20 years.
Today, most items and packaging are meant to be used once and discarded. This
creates vast quantities of pollution and waste materials. As landfills exceed
capacity and micro-plastics pollute the whole planet, there is a substantial
need for change. We support a move towards a zero-waste society, phasing out
single-use plastics and encouraging the development of bulk buying.
Consumption is influenced by an ever more visible advertising presence. We
support regulation in advertising, including a ban on advertising the most
polluting products and behaviours (e.g. car and air travel, meat consumption).
We support a ban on targeted advertisement that uses people’s personal data to
influence their behaviours. We also think the environmental and visual impact of
advertisements should be addressed, for example by limiting the size of
advertising billboards in cities, making sure they are not illuminated at night,
and banning digital advertising screens..
d. Fiscal policy
Taxation is needed to fund public budgets, maintain quality public services and
welfare states, and fund investments needed for a just transition to a zero-
carbon economy. We oppose the austerity policies* that have been put in place
across Europe,. Massive investments into social and weurban infrastructure, health systems, education and fighting climate change are needed for the young generation. Young people do not need a balanced state budget, but decent jobs, health care, free public transport and a livable planet. We demand fair taxation and a stronger fight against fiscal
fraud. Taxation can also be a powerful tool in itself, reducing inequalities,
redistributing wealth, and contributing to changing behaviours.
We defend the introduction of a European common taxation policy in order to
fight tax avoidance* and tax havens*, both inside and outside the EU. A baseline
20% EU corporate tax* should be introduced to reduce the attractiveness of tax
avoidance. Part of that corporate tax should automatically feed into the EU
budget.
Taxation should be used to reduce inequalities. We support progressive income
taxation*, with higher taxation for the richest taxpayers. We also support the
introduction of a wealth tax* on multi-millionaires, possibly at the EU level.
Finally, we believe a higher taxation on inheritance is key to reducing the
transfer of inequalities from one generation to the next.
The Federation of Young European Greens also believes that taxation can help
support positive behaviours and discourage harmful behaviours. Behavioural taxes
such as a carbon tax, the taxation of meat products, the taxation of single-use
plastic items, and the taxation of polluting cars, among others, can be powerful
tools to encourage change. Those taxes should be implemented fairly to avoid
overburdening citizens already living in precarious situations. Their revenue
should be redistributed and help support a just transition.
e. Financial markets
More than a decade after the global financial crisis, financial markets and
banking systems remain dangerous and flawed. Financial markets continue to cause
systemic instability and social inequality. Investments continue to flow to
unsustainable, carbon-intensive* industries. Banks still ignore the damage their
investments are causing to societies and the environment.
We need to change finance. We cannot make the transition to a fairer, greener
future economy without a global financial system that can allocate capital to
where it is needed, drive sustainable investment, and manage risk equitably. The
financial system must serve the needs of society, not the other way around. To
achieve this, transparency, fairness, and sustainability are key. The taxation
of financial transactions* is an important tool to fight short-term and instant
transactions. We support its introduction at the EU level.
We need a global banking system – and a system of banking regulation* – that
responds to today’s needs and prioritises the public good. It needs to encourage
productive investments in the local green economies of today and tomorrow,
rather than propping up polluting industries or encouraging dangerous
speculation. It needs to address inequality, both globally and locally, rather
than entrenching it. And it needs to be responsive to society, rather than
lawless and deregulated.
f. The digital economy
The digital economy is becoming a central part of the economy. It has the power
to change our society – for the better or for the worse. We need to act quickly
to ensure that the development of the digital economy is not used to attack our
rights and privacy (see chapter 2), or to bypass social regulations as in the
case of platform workers* (see chapter 5). We need to make digitalisation an
opportunity for our society and ensure that regulations are creating a level
playing field* for all actors, as well as improving training on digital jobs.
The size and influence of some of the big digital companies raise legitimate
concerns. We support dismantling tech giants* and de-monopolising* digital
offerings.
Europe’s physical communications infrastructure* must be built, owned, operated,
and maintained on a non-profit basis as a common resource. This allows faster
expansion, with more people gaining access at a lower cost.
While digitalisation can be used to tackle climate change, the biodiversity
crisis, and pollution, we must not forget that digitalisation itself is not a
climate-neutral activity. From web servers and cables to antennas, phones and
computers, digitalisation relies on infrastructure that consumes large
quantities of energy and therefore contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. It
also requires the use of many rare earth elements, the extraction of which
causes serious harm to the environment.
The premature obsolescence of digital products and the never-ending race towards
better products, higher resolution, bigger screens, and smaller computers
exacerbates this phenomenon, as well as generating large quantities of
electronic waste that is not properly recycled and therefore contributes to
water and soil pollution.
A lot more needs to be done to ensure the sustainable implementation of
digitalisation. We must remember that digitalisation is a tool to achieve our
wider goals and not an end in itself.
From line 126 to 128:
carbon economy. We oppose the austerity policies* that have been put in place across Europe,. Massive investments into social and weurban infrastructure, health systems, education and fighting climate change are needed for the young generation. Young people do not need a balanced state budget, but decent jobs, health care, free public transport and a livable planet. We demand fair taxation and a stronger fight against fiscal fraud. Taxation can also be a powerful tool in itself, reducing inequalities,
4. The Green Economy
The Federation of Young European Greens identifies the root causes of the social
and environmental crises as lying within the current economic system. We believe
that this capitalist system, based on unrestrained competition, consumerism, the
exploitation of workers, and profit maximisation* is unsustainable and
incompatible with our planet’s limited resources and the goal of an economy that
benefits all. This system deliberately imposes social and environmental costs on
low-income countries, future generations, and other species. It creates extreme
inequalities and excludes most people from decision-making processes concerning
how and what is produced in an economy. We are deeply interconnected, with each
other and with the rest of the planet. The crises we are facing are the result
of the system we have created that is disrupting human well-being and destroying
our collective resilience, and which represents an existential threat to
humanity.
FYEG sees an urgent need for a new vision of progress that is fit for the
century ahead of us. In order to bring an end to environmental destruction and
human deprivation, it is crucial to change the way our economies are built and
defined. We need to shift from economic growth* to human and planetary well-
being. We need to go beyond indicators such as gross domestic product (GDP)* and
start taking into account matters such as quality of life and environmental
well-being when judging our economic performance. We believe the technological
shift to a zero-waste industry and economy is not enough. The green economy we
want to build implies a radical change in the democratisation of the economy,
the redistribution of wealth, and a just transition.
a. Alternative models to unlimited growth
Economics should not prioritise economic growth, profit, and consumption, but
rather human well-being and welfare. The indicators currently used by economists
fail to take social and environmental factors into account. We therefore think
it is time to develop new indicators which factor in environmental degradation
and economic inequality. The genuine progress indicator (GPI)*, for instance,
measures overall quality of life rather than just economic progress, and takes
into account the needs of individuals and their environment.
A market model creates privately owned and monopolised resources while
alternative economic models, such as “doughnut economics”*, degrowth*, and the
Economy for the Common Good*, provide a system which is sustainable, fair, and
just.
We need to look at the economy in a new way, dismantling the myth of unlimited
growth, putting an end to excessive capital accumulation, and prioritising a
redistribution of wealth and production factors. We strive to use the European
Green Deal to recover from the current crisis in a sustainable way: to foster a
circular economy, economic security and certainty, and gender equality, and to
bring about the destruction of the gendered division of labour.
Intergenerational and intragenerational equity are also fundamental social
values for a green economy.
For governments, economic policies must be guided by the goals of the Paris
Climate Agreement and the UN’s 2030 Agenda* for Sustainable Development, not by
the pursuit of endless economic growth.
b. Economic structures
The current structure of the economy is a source of injustice, inequality, and
environmental destruction. The monopoly some international companies hold
prevents the entrance of new actors onto the market. It is more and more
difficult for states and citizens to hold companies accountable for their
actions. These companies are the gatekeepers for change. FYEG believes that in
order to create a more sustainable and fair approach to the economy, our
economic system has to change. It must serve people, not billionaires.
It is time to rethink how we do economics.
Many economic challenges come from large companies who seek profit at all costs.
They undermine workers’ rights and environmental standards as well as small
local businesses and worker cooperatives. They often avoid paying taxes,
compromising the ability of the state to provide public services. We therefore
call for the economy to be structured differently. Companies that are too big to
fail* or hold monopolies should be split up. Small and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs)* should have more opportunities to run their businesses without facing
the threat of multinational corporations. Enterprises that serve goals other
than maximising profits, who operate simply in order to provide services or
create jobs, are a solution.
We believe workers themselves can take a more active role in shaping the
economy. We demand that businesses be governed by the people that work in them.
One important step towards this goal would be the occupation of at least 50% of
seats on company boards by employees. Another tool is the cooperative business
model* as it helps to democratise the economy and shift the focus to placing
people over profit and building a more inclusive economy. Mechanisms should be
put in place to make it easier for workers to transform their companies into
cooperatives, especially when the original owner is planning to close the
company.
A green economy rejects the commodification and privatisation of the commons.
Basic human needs and social rights should always be guaranteed and must never
depend on markets. This applies especially in the cases of housing, health,
education, food, and transport.
In order to reduce the impact of the economy on the environment, it is also
important to question the never-ending globalisation* of our economy.
Globalisation has both social and environmental consequences and favours major
companies over small businesses. We support relocalising* the economy, starting
with the production of essential goods such as food and medicine. The goal of
economic policy should not be to boost exports at all costs but rather to
improve resilience and reduce imports, dependency on single actors, and
environmental impacts. Shorter supply chains should be encouraged. The
introduction of not only carbon but also of social border taxes could be one of
the ways to encourage the relocalisation of the economy.
c. A sustainable economy
Transforming our economy into a green economy also means reducing consumption
and pollution. The Earth cannot possibly sustain today’s levels of consumption.
Therefore, challenging consumerism should be at the centre of a just transition.
We want to turn the linear economy*, which is based on a “take-make-waste”
model, into a fully circular economy*. In a circular economy, products and
materials are used over and over again instead of being discarded. We believe we
can shift from a linear economy to a circular economy based on the following
principles: minimising the usage of energy and resources; preserving value in
the economy; preventing waste, toxic materials and pollution; keeping goods and
materials in use and in closed loops; ensuring human health; and encouraging the
prevention of waste.
For consumers to be able to play an active role and change their buying habits,
we defend the right to access more detailed, harmonised, and reliable
information on the social, environmental, and climate impacts of goods and
services over their lifecycle, including durability and repairability*. We also
emphasise the need for change in relation to product-related greenwashing* and
false environmental claims. We support stronger requirements on the
repairability of goods: producers must ensure that their products can be easily
repaired, and that spare parts will remain available for at least 20 years.
Today, most items and packaging are meant to be used once and discarded. This
creates vast quantities of pollution and waste materials. As landfills exceed
capacity and micro-plastics pollute the whole planet, there is a substantial
need for change. We support a move towards a zero-waste society, phasing out
single-use plastics and encouraging the development of bulk buying.
Consumption is influenced by an ever more visible advertising presence. We
support regulation in advertising, including a ban on advertising the most
polluting products and behaviours (e.g. car and air travel, meat consumption).
We support a ban on targeted advertisement that uses people’s personal data to
influence their behaviours. We also think the environmental and visual impact of
advertisements should be addressed, for example by limiting the size of
advertising billboards in cities, making sure they are not illuminated at night,
and banning digital advertising screens..
d. Fiscal policy
Taxation is needed to fund public budgets, maintain quality public services and
welfare states, and fund investments needed for a just transition to a zero-
carbon economy. We oppose the austerity policies* that have been put in place
across Europe,. Massive investments into social and weurban infrastructure, health systems, education and fighting climate change are needed for the young generation. Young people do not need a balanced state budget, but decent jobs, health care, free public transport and a livable planet. We demand fair taxation and a stronger fight against fiscal
fraud. Taxation can also be a powerful tool in itself, reducing inequalities,
redistributing wealth, and contributing to changing behaviours.
We defend the introduction of a European common taxation policy in order to
fight tax avoidance* and tax havens*, both inside and outside the EU. A baseline
20% EU corporate tax* should be introduced to reduce the attractiveness of tax
avoidance. Part of that corporate tax should automatically feed into the EU
budget.
Taxation should be used to reduce inequalities. We support progressive income
taxation*, with higher taxation for the richest taxpayers. We also support the
introduction of a wealth tax* on multi-millionaires, possibly at the EU level.
Finally, we believe a higher taxation on inheritance is key to reducing the
transfer of inequalities from one generation to the next.
The Federation of Young European Greens also believes that taxation can help
support positive behaviours and discourage harmful behaviours. Behavioural taxes
such as a carbon tax, the taxation of meat products, the taxation of single-use
plastic items, and the taxation of polluting cars, among others, can be powerful
tools to encourage change. Those taxes should be implemented fairly to avoid
overburdening citizens already living in precarious situations. Their revenue
should be redistributed and help support a just transition.
e. Financial markets
More than a decade after the global financial crisis, financial markets and
banking systems remain dangerous and flawed. Financial markets continue to cause
systemic instability and social inequality. Investments continue to flow to
unsustainable, carbon-intensive* industries. Banks still ignore the damage their
investments are causing to societies and the environment.
We need to change finance. We cannot make the transition to a fairer, greener
future economy without a global financial system that can allocate capital to
where it is needed, drive sustainable investment, and manage risk equitably. The
financial system must serve the needs of society, not the other way around. To
achieve this, transparency, fairness, and sustainability are key. The taxation
of financial transactions* is an important tool to fight short-term and instant
transactions. We support its introduction at the EU level.
We need a global banking system – and a system of banking regulation* – that
responds to today’s needs and prioritises the public good. It needs to encourage
productive investments in the local green economies of today and tomorrow,
rather than propping up polluting industries or encouraging dangerous
speculation. It needs to address inequality, both globally and locally, rather
than entrenching it. And it needs to be responsive to society, rather than
lawless and deregulated.
f. The digital economy
The digital economy is becoming a central part of the economy. It has the power
to change our society – for the better or for the worse. We need to act quickly
to ensure that the development of the digital economy is not used to attack our
rights and privacy (see chapter 2), or to bypass social regulations as in the
case of platform workers* (see chapter 5). We need to make digitalisation an
opportunity for our society and ensure that regulations are creating a level
playing field* for all actors, as well as improving training on digital jobs.
The size and influence of some of the big digital companies raise legitimate
concerns. We support dismantling tech giants* and de-monopolising* digital
offerings.
Europe’s physical communications infrastructure* must be built, owned, operated,
and maintained on a non-profit basis as a common resource. This allows faster
expansion, with more people gaining access at a lower cost.
While digitalisation can be used to tackle climate change, the biodiversity
crisis, and pollution, we must not forget that digitalisation itself is not a
climate-neutral activity. From web servers and cables to antennas, phones and
computers, digitalisation relies on infrastructure that consumes large
quantities of energy and therefore contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. It
also requires the use of many rare earth elements, the extraction of which
causes serious harm to the environment.
The premature obsolescence of digital products and the never-ending race towards
better products, higher resolution, bigger screens, and smaller computers
exacerbates this phenomenon, as well as generating large quantities of
electronic waste that is not properly recycled and therefore contributes to
water and soil pollution.
A lot more needs to be done to ensure the sustainable implementation of
digitalisation. We must remember that digitalisation is a tool to achieve our
wider goals and not an end in itself.