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.

One of the achievements of the UNFCCC negotiations in Cancun was the decision to establish a Green Climate Fund (GCF). This paper highlights design issues of the Fund and describes their implications. 

How can we assure, that tax money used for public climate change finance are used as fairly, efficiently and effectively as possible? A study suggests principles and criteria that the public sector should take into account in the allocation of funds for urgent action in developing countries to adapt and reduce emissions.

It is customary to divide society into three sectors, and what we want to show is how the new peer to peer dynamic unleashed by networked infrastructures, changes the inter-relationship between these three sectors. 

This conference report summarizes the key debates of the two-day conference "The Great Transformation - Greening the Economy". Additionally audio recordings of all sessions are available as well as video recordings of several key notes.

The international conference deals with the political framework, regulatory instruments, as well as leading technologies, key projects and new alliances for the economic-ecologic turnaround. On May, 28-29 a live-stream will be available.

Analyses of the crisis are likely to show that the response redistributed wealth upward. The social, economical and ecological challenges are enormous and demand a broader analysis and a different kind of public debate that reaches beyond the classical economic thinking.

For too long the international climate and trade policies have pursued conflicting objectives. It is high time to confront both policies, so Tilman Santarius, in his study, published by the German NGO Forum on Environment and Development in Bonn and the Heinrich Böll Foundation.

Europe should recognize the U.S. coming on board finally with relatively ambitious 2020 targets (compared to the status quo), but has to push for further acceleration on efforts of the U.S.

The monstrous sums governments spend to boost the economy must be used to create a sustainable economy and society. This appeal is not just directed at governments and parliaments. We need a great social awakening in order to reform capitalism and improve the world.

The debate on a transatlantic Green New Deal takes place just in time. The economic tsunami which, today, is devastating the world economy marks the end of an old model for economic growth and the beginning of a new era, a historical turn to sustainable growth: Green is the new red, white, and blue.

This Policy Briefing Paper aims to provide a concise background on the Arctic region offering a succinct analysis of the situation and a set of recommendations for the European Union.

The ecological transformation of the market economy can not be achieved with a solely top-down approach. To deliver it has to be counter-balanced by a bottom-up ecological dynamic, one that includes eco-farmers and high-tech companies, inventors and investors, environmental organisations and enlightened consumers.