Climate Change the spur for green movement in Australia, UK, Germany
“There are growing numbers of young people reading and accepting the science of climate change.”- Adam Bandt, Greens MP
Green Party Assumes Pivotal Role in New Australian Government | SolveClimate.com, 7 Sept 10, Like the UK and Germany, a surge in popularity has given the environmental movement an unprecedented parliamentary presence in Australia this year, prompting suggestions that electorates are punishing mainstream parties for failing to act decisively on climate change.
In last month’s poll, the Australian Greens benefited from a bigger swing than any other party, picking up 11.7% of the vote and the first lower house seat they have ever won at a general election. In the upper house, the Senate, they will soon be in an even stronger position, controlling the balance of power with nine of the 76 seats.
Adam Bandt, the victorious Greens MP, believes there are wider global trends behind his party’s success.
“I think climate was the key issue,” he said in an interview with the Guardian. “It is very significant that a couple of unions swung behind me and against Labor.”
The change is enormous since the last poll in 2007, when Labor’s Kevin Rudd won on the back of a campaign to slash emissions. But neither he nor his successor Julia Gillard made legislative progress on the issue.
Using their new leverage in a hung parliament, the Greens – now the undisputed third party – promised to support Labor in return for a new initiative on climate change. Gillard agreed that if she were to return as prime minister, she would establish a high-level committee – including representatives from the Greens and the science community – to consider ways to put a price on carbon……..
There are strong parallels between Bandt’s victory in Melbourne and that of Caroline Lucas in Brighton during the UK election earlier this year. Both were breakthroughs for green candidates in progressive, urban constituencies in nations where the two major parties were unable to convince voters they were worthy of majority government.
Lucas telephoned the Australian Greens to congratulate them on election night. “We put it [Lucas’ call] on Skype and then broadcast it on a projector. The response was fantastic. The room went off,” Bandt said.
He sees an international dimension to advance of green parties. “There are growing numbers of young people reading and accepting the science of climate change. There is a large constituency that feels betrayed by the rightward move of social democratic parties over the past 30 years and there is a large group of professionals who see that the old parties are not taking rational actions because they are tied to the interests of the 20th-century economy.”
Green Party Assumes Pivotal Role in New Australian Government | SolveClimate.com
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