Facing our future

The text asserts that the climate imperative requires a new system of governance and production, positioning political ecology as the framework to achieve this. It calls for Green parties to move beyond electoral niches and the middle class to build an inclusive narrative of social justice and non-material freedom. The author critiques 'green growth' and the European Green Deal as insufficient, advocating instead for a comprehensive industrial and geo-economic response rooted in European cooperation but distinct from current institutional agendas.

• The author argues that traditional Western modernity is unable to resolve the connection between three centuries of linear material progress and the resulting irreparable damage to earth systems, as the model is hindered by divides between nature and culture, the individual and the collective, the environmental and social, and the national and planetary.
• Green parties are urged to transition from being opposition forces in electoral niches to central governing players by broadening their appeal beyond the middle class and addressing urban-rural geographic inequalities to counter far-right resentments.
• The document identifies two primary challenges for progressive Green parties: a 'diluted environmentalism' characterized by green growth that preserves an unjust status quo, and a populist, authoritarian wave driven by inequality.
• While Europe is viewed as the most appropriate scale for action due to principles of cooperation and reconciliation, the author dismisses the European Green Deal as a 'belated attempt at greenwashing' and argues that a true ecological transition requires a real industrial and geo-economic response.

APA

Standaert, L. (2020). Facing our future. Green European Journal. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/facing-our-future/

Chicago

Standaert, Laurent. Facing our future. Green European Journal, 2020. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/facing-our-future/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Standaert |first1=Laurent |title=Facing our future |publisher=Green European Journal |date=11 March 2020 |url=https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/facing-our-future/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{standaert2020facing, author = {Standaert, Laurent}, title = {{Facing our future}}, publisher = {Green European Journal}, year = {2020}, month = mar, url = {https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/facing-our-future/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }