Ecological Market Economy

On 23 Juni 2017 Ralf Fücks was given an official farewell after being chairman of Heinrich Böll Foundation for over 20 years. With Sergey Lagodinsky and Eva van de Rakt he speaks about his history and political developments.

A relationship with, not against, nature should be one of the core principles of ‘green growth’, argues Ralf Fücks. As Europe debates its economic direction, Fücks outlines the ’12 theses’ that should form the basis of a sustainable future for the continent.

The EU countries affected by the crisis find themselves in a dilemma. They have to ensure economic growth and employment while, at the same time, they need to reduce costs and save money through higher taxes. A new survey indicates: environmental taxes are the most effective tool in this context – and simultaneously conserve resources.

Large-scale wind farms and solar power plants are springing up everywhere one looks. That’s good for the climate, but small-scale farmers and the poor are becoming the pawns of hard-nosed business interests around the world.

At Rio+20, the concept of the "green economy" focuses on industrial production from biomass as one way to overcome fossil fuel dependency. The push for a bio-based economy comes with a call for market-based mechanisms for the financialization of the Earth’s natural processes, re-branded as ‘ecosystem services’, which also encourage land and water grabs. 

Green technologies in themselves will not bring about the change we need. Growth at any price must no longer be the paramount goal. Agriculture is one of the sectors in which reform is most urgent – and, at the same time, most difficult.  

In this essay, the president of the Heinrich Boell Foundation, Barbara Unmuessig, critically reflects on the opportunities for and the shortcomings of the concept of a "Green Economy" to influence economic policy making globally, its relationship to the paradigm of sustainable development and the need to rethink our understanding and focus on growth.

During the ongoing housing protests in Israel, the Green Movement just released the first draft of a Green New Deal. Two chairpersons of the Green Movement link their economic plan with the currrent protests for social justice.