Ecosocialism

Ecosocialism 2020

Ecosocialism 2020, an online conference to be hosted by Green Left on October 24-25, will look at capitalist globalisation, the ecological crisis and campaigning for an alternative ecosocialist future.

Green Left is publishing this Ecosocialist Manifesto for discussion and further development at a series of Ecosocialism conferences in several cities next month.

We've being advised by governments and health experts to engage in social distancing during the pandemic. But, as Hans Baer points out, this advice is not being followed by airline industry bosses, nor are they being penalised.

As the global climate emergency intensifies, this political ecological critique of the motor vehicle is timely and powerful, writes Andrew Chuter.

With sea level rise, superstorms, mega droughts, crop failure and mass species extinction, nature is forcing us to see what capitalism denies, the interconnectedness of all life on our ocean planet, writes Jess Spear. If we allow business-as-usual to continue, the impact on us will become greater and more severe.

The slogan ‘There’s no going back to normal’ has gained considerable popularity as governments are forced by social necessity to take emergency steps they would not normally countenanced. Peter Boyle looks at how we can keep and extend these measures to cope with the next crisis.

What’s stopping society from getting going on a serious global response to the climate emergency? What needs to be done to avert the threat to human survival? Peter Boyle and Pip Hinman look at the challenges and sketch some solutions.

Climate scientists and other observers often refer to various regions, such as the Arctic, low-lying islands, the Andes and Bangladesh, inhabited by Indigenous and peasant peoples as the canaries in the coal mine when it comes to the adverse impacts of anthropogenic climate change. But Australia is shaping up as one the canaries, writes Hans Baer.

Former metalworker Søren Søndergaard, who represents the outer Copenhagen electorate of Gladsaxe in the Danish parliament, has a long history in radical left politics.

In the 1980s, he was part of the leadership of the Socialist Workers Party, one of the three founding organisations of the Red-Green Alliance (RGA), known in Denmark as the Unity List — the Red-Greens.

On October 9, after many months of military build up and threats, the Turkish military began a new invasion of north-east Syria where, seven years ago, Kurdish freedom fighters established a federation of democratic self-governing cantons popularly known as "Rojava".

This attack came just days after United States President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of US military units from the area and gave an implicit “green light” for Turkey's invasion.

The global #ClimateStrike movement is more than just a call for genuine climate action. It is also a recognition that governments have failed to take the action that was both possible and necessary to avert catastrophe.

Ecology — together with democratic confederalism and women’s liberation — is an essential pillar of the Rojava Revolution. What is happening in Rojava is about more than just protecting nature by limiting damage to it; it is about reestablishing the balance between people and nature.