PES Manifesto

manifesto2009 barometer: Save our planet

Published Thursday, February 28, 2008 at 12:26
by Editor in Save our planet (800 views and 1 comments)

We have seen a very lively debate about a number of relevant topics in the 'Save our planet' section of Yourspace. The contributions from bloggers and PES activists demonstrate a growing interest in climate change issues, and they offered important ideas for the PES to work on. Here are the highlights:

Biofuels
The pro’s and con’s of EU support for biofuels have been a hot topic with a big number of comments from our participants. Migeru, taipale and other users were sceptical whether the current generation of biofuels are really an answer to energy scarcity. Clearly, participants want a sustainable answer and not one, which threatens to add to environmental problems.

Encouraging greener life styles
What is your individual answer to climate change? The idea to calculate our individual contribution to climate change, the so-called carbon footprint, has been received with interest. Nanne from Berlin added an important point: this user called for political support and advice for a green life style. One option is the the so-called 'front-runner approach', an idea the PES can and should discuss intensely. Certainly fighting climate change needs transforming our way of living. Here, financial support for energy efficiency at home can be a way forward. carl0s summarizes the problem: "By devolving responsibility and lecturing people to spend more money on environmentally friendly goods, we don't address the issue of how an economy based on economic growth, based on oil, can adjust. Consumerism is not the way forward, but there is no easy escape route. Recessions force many people into a depression where they see others monopolizing wealth and opportunity for the good life. This only makes the affected want these things more."

EU climate package: good in theory, difficult in practice
EU policies have been subject to intense debate on Yourspace. In particular the Commission’s package for energy and climate change that was presented end of January 2008 was discussed by several participants. Already before the introduction of the new package, the willingness of member states to accept the consequences of the common commitment to produce substantial part of our energy from renewable sources was questioned by participants.

A new global climate deal
The UN climate conference in Bali has also been discussed widely. PES activist taipale from Finland presented an optimistic view way from Bali, where thousands of delegates discussed a global agreement which hopefully will finally replace the Kyoto Protocol. Taipale emphasized that the EU needs it own “roadmap” towards the next UN conference in Copenhagen, to make sure that the EU not only upholds but strengthens its position as the world leader in progressive and innovative climate policies. The PES will certainly do its part to achieve this. Delegates at the UN conference in Bali agreed on a global program against deforestation. PES activists and Yourspace users discussed this program together with a number of mechanisms under the Kyoto Protocol: The Clean Development Mechanism and the extension of the Emission Trading Scheme received critical comments. They remind the PES that these mechanisms have to serve a specific purpose: the effective reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Pay attention to social side effects!
The social implications of climate policies have been the topic of guest blogger Eric Sundström’s from Sweden. He has a clear messages for our readers: "the New Social Europe is also Green". In a comment larslinder argued that the social dimension of climate change is not only an internal affair in the developed world, but also has implications for the developing countries. The social dimension of climate change touches upon classical issues of social policies: how can we help poorer sections of our societies to participate in a cleaner lifestyle? How can we create higher employment by using the opportunities which adaptation to and mitigation of climate change open? ‘Green cities’ are one of the responses socialists and social democrats offer. Ilmar Reepalu, social democrat and Mayor of Malmö, gives a number answers.

What do you think – does this sum up the debate on Save Our Planet? Let us know in a comment. The Yourspace team looks forward to continuing the debate!

We will continue to ask you, our bloggers, what you think of our policies and what your proposals are for a modern social democratic environmental program for the next European elections in 2009.

The Yourspace Barometer
Over the next weeks the Yourspace team will take the temperature of the PES manifesto debate so far. A series of ‘Yourspace Barometer’ posts will give the highlights of the posts and comments we have had since the campaign start in October 2007.

Tags: barometer, biofuels, climate change, CO2, consumer, energy, environment