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Feb 15 2021
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Making the City Green with Civil Society

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Making the City Green with Civil Society: Roundtable Meeting Report of IMM-Civil Society Relations within the Framework of Green City Practices

 

This report is prepared on the basis of the outputs of the Green Cities Workshops organized under the Cities as Places of Hope Project. The Cities as Places of Hope Project has been carried out by the Green European Foundation with the support of green organizations from all over Europe; Spain (Transición Verde), Catalonia (Nous Horitzons), Croatia (The Institute for Political Ecology-IPE), Belgium (Oikos), Northern Macedonia (Sunrise) and Turkey (Green Thought Association). This project was launched in 2019 focusing on progressive city networks, a key factor in developing a positive narrative about Europe’s future. Within the scope of the project, it is aimed to bring together the progressive and transformative local and international city networks, to provide cooperation, to facilitate the exchange of information, and to contribute to the creation of a positive narrative about the future of Europe with the activities carried out in 2020.

 

Also available in Turkish

Feb 15 2021
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Blockers and Enablers for Decarbonising the Dutch Chemistry, Refinery and Basic Metals Industries

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This report is part of the Green European Foundation’s Transnational Climate Emergency Economy project. The project explores the challenge of decarbonising ‘harder to abate’ sectors, such as the chemistry, basic metals and refinery industries and international trade. Wetenschappelijk Bureau GroenLinks, Green House Think Tank and Green Foundation Ireland each focus on a specific part of a climate emergency economy. This particular report was written by WBGL and focuses on Dutch energy-intensive industries.

Feb 10 2021
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The Economic Model in Tourism Monoculture

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EL MODEL ECONÒMIC DEL MONOCULTIU TURÍSTIC

 

As this project developed in 2020, COVID-19 wrestled hold of Europe and devastated tourism industries across the continent. With the streets and beaches empty, people and governments have been forced to look at the economic sustainability and the environmental impact of the sector; our project has been holding up a magnifying glass, allowing them to look more closely.

In this publication (EN/CAT) we analyse the sun and beach tourism model, and draw conclusions that may help  us find alternatives.

 

This publication is a summary of the workshop “The economic model of monoculture tourism: 4 perspectives of the problem after COVID” that took place on 3 December 2020 in the frame of the GEF (Green European Foundation) project “Fair and Carbon Free Tourism”. Different green foundations collaborate in this transnational project that will work for three years on different aspects of sustainable tourism.

More information: Fair and Carbon Free Tourism

Jan 11 2021
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Just Transition Framing Paper

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This paper is part of the Green European Foundation’s Just Transition transnational project. The project looks into the question of transforming from an extractive to a regenerative economy in a just and equitable way to find the necessary support among the population. The project is focused on collecting and sharing insights on the development of future-proof politics and policies, developed in a sensitive way that keeps in mind local specificities. The project is on behalves of GEF coordinated by OIKOS (Belgium), with as project partners Green House Think Tank (UK), Institute for Political Ecology (Croatia); Sunrise (North-Macedonia), Transicion Verde (Spain), Networked and Federation of Young European Greens (FYEG) and Networked (Serbia). In the course of the project, the partners will implement activities in their countries to increase awareness of the importance of a Just Transition all over Europe. Eventually, the partners will compile a book on the subject to be published September 2021.

 

You can also read this publication in:

 

 

Jan 05 2021
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Infrastructure Requirements for Zero Carbon

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About the report

This report explores how incompatible our society’s current and planned infrastructure is with the rapid decarbonisation of the UK economy needed to deliver on the climate emergency. It focuses on three key sectors: freight transport, aviation and steel, and considers what changes are required to bring these into line with zero carbon goals, using the ‘blockers and enablers’ toolkit introduced in Green House’s August 2020 report, Trade and Investment Requirements for Zero Carbon.​
Jonathan Essex, one of the report’s authors, said:

Much of our existing industrial infrastructure, such as fossil fuel power stations and steel blast furnaces, is incompatible with zero carbon. Similarly, planned new transport infrastructure is still taking our economy in the wrong direction. The climate emergency means we must make different infrastructure choices. We need to manage down demand for energy and materials, and install renewable energy infrastructure faster. And we must reverse out investment in expanding road networks, ports and airports and make better use of what we already have. A climate-proof infrastructure investment strategy will be one that drives a change to smaller, circular economies that fit within environmental limits […].

 

This report is part of a wider project led by the Green European Foundation exploring what a ‘climate emergency economy’ would look like through a rethinking of trade, industry and infrastructure investment. The project involves Greenhouse Think Tank in the UK alongside Groenlinks in the Netherlands and Green Foundation Ireland.

 

Sep 10 2020
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Trade and Investment Requirements for Zero Carbon

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As moves are being made to introduce a Climate & Ecological Emergency Bill in the UK, and a new Trade Bill is progressing through parliament post-Brexit, it’s an important time to be considering the implications of zero carbon for global trade and investment decisions. This report proposes a much-needed toolkit to help policy makers face up to climate reality and address the wider environmental impacts and the imbalances of power and wealth that underlie our global trade.

Download the technical annex here.

Mar 11 2020
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social security

Basic Social Security 2030

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This GEF report uses the case of Finland to investigate challenges in current social security models, and provides a reform roadmap to a new basic social security system, with basic income as a central element.

This report is an edited version of the Finnish Green Think Tank Visio’s report ‘Perusturva 2030,’ published for international readers. The report looks at the challenges faced by the Finnish system as well as the principles for solving these challenges, and offers proposals for action for the parliamentary term 2019-2023 and further into the 2020s. While the focus is on Finland, the principles for a better social security system are applicable to any so-called developed country, and the concrete stepping stones and microsimulations work as examples on how to find solutions regardless of the current system in a given country.

This translation was realised by the Green European Foundation as part of its transnational project on Basic Income, a topic that will be further explored in the 2020 project Change of Mindset – Civil Society dialogue around UBI, Social Justice and Climate Impact.

Dec 02 2019
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System of (Im)Mobility – Movements of Asylum Seekers and Holders of International Protection Within the Schengen Area

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The contributions contained in this booklet are dedicated to analysing current European legislation, as well as the possibilities of reforming it, with reference both to the entry of non-EU citizens into the Schengen Area, and to their opportunities to move around by themselves or to be joined by family members.

They have been presented by the authors at a conference in Milan on 2nd December 2019, organised by GEF and with support of its partner organisations.

This publication has been realised by the Green European Foundation with the support of those partners Alexander Langer Foundation, Associazione per gli Studi Giuridici sull’Immigrazione and Open Society Foundations.

Please find the Italian version of this publication available to read here. 

Nov 04 2019
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A Charter for the Smart City

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People make technology, but technology in turn influences our lives, our societies and even our ethics. The development of new technologies therefore cannot be left to engineers and managers; it requires public debate and democratic control.

This Charter for the Smart City was produced as part of the project of the same name, and puts the values of democracy, connectedness, human dignity, privacy,  sustainability, and equality at the heart of smart cities. Local politicians and active citizens who share these values may use the principles in this Charter as starting points for democratic debate and informed moral judgment on technological innovations in their communities.

The Charter was developed through a series of roundtable discussions that took place in cities across Europe, as well as from online consultation, involving over 100 experts, (local) politicians and activists who shared their ideas.

 

Please find the Dutch version of this publication available to read here. 

Please find the French version of this publication available to read here. 

Please find the German version of this publication available to read here. 

Please find the Czech version of this publication available to read here. 

Oct 29 2019
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Hold Your Local Hackathon on Social Rights

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This guide has been created for those who wish to organise a hackathon on social rights, based both upon best practices from the world of tech and the experiences of the authors in running the more rights-based hackathon that took place in Serbia, Summer 2019.

Hackathon on Social Rights is published by the Federation of Young European Greens and is a result
of the Reclaim Your Social Rights! project.

The project is supported by the European Youth Foundation of Council of Europe . The Summer Hackathon is organised by the Green European Foundation with the support of the Federation of Young European Greens and with the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation. The Council of Europe or the European Parliament are not responsible for the content of this project.

 

Download

Available in Greek

Jun 26 2019
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Climate Refugees and Climate Migration

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The effects of climate change and consequential natural disasters is causing the mass displacement of peoples across the world, a phenomenon that will only be exacerbated as the climate crisis continues.

A response to this global challenge and a clear legal framework to recognise and protect climate refugees on an international, regional and national level are urgently required.

This working paper aims to serve as a basis for debate and exchange on the matter, exploring controversies around and difficulties in pinpointing this phenomenon to better understand how to respond it.

Mapping the state of discourse on climate migration on the international and European levels, the Green European Foundation hopes to foster a more constructive debate and increase awareness.

This paper has been published as part of the GEF project Environmental Migration and Climate Refugees.

Jun 18 2019
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Fair and Healthy Food

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This discussion paper, written by Kati Van de Velde & Dirk Holemans from GEF partner Oikos, has been published as part of the GEF transnational project Fair and Healthy Food.

The paper explores the failings of the current agricultural and food system, and the possibilities for a transition to a sustainable and fair system, one which revaluates food as a human right, a public good and a commons.

Download the publication in Turkish and Serbian.

Mar 19 2019
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Creating Socio-Ecological Societies Through Urban Commons Transitions

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This framing paper is the closing publication of the Green European Foundation’s transnational project Creating Socio-Ecological Societies Through Urban Commons Transitions, which focused on urban spaces as a driving force towards socio-ecological societies and as a hub of transformative policies.

Written by Dirk Holemans & Kati Van de Velde from GEF partner Oikos, this paper explores the new roles of cities in our society and their potential for collaboration as urban commons.

The work of GEF on Urban Commons will continue with the 2019 transnational project Cities as Places of Hope in the European Union.

Feb 18 2019
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European Green Perspectives on Basic Income

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Throughout 2017 and 2018, the Green European Foundation transnational project Basic Income for all EU Citizens? focused on basic income and investigated the proposal’s potential in relation to employment, the recognition of work beyond paid work, and the gendered division of labour.

This collection of articles brings together experts on basic income from all across Europe, to debate and clarify different aspects of the topic and help develop proposals. The aim of the publication is to inspire the next steps in promoting the basic income discussion, one which encompasses some of the biggest challenges faced by society today.

In 2019, GEF will continue its work on basic income and contributing to transnational discussion with the project Basic Income – European Public Debate. 

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Available in Spanish

 

Feb 08 2019
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Real Democracy in Your Town: Public-Civic Partnerships in Action

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Real Democracy in Your Town: Public-Civic Partnerships in Action explores the potential of public-civil partnerships (as opposed to the conventional public-private partnerships), as an opportunity to provide basic public services within societies without the privitisation of public goods and making them subjects of the free market.

It particularly focuses on the power of municipalist and local citizens’ movements and highlights successful case studies in Europe from which to draw inspiration from.

Download your copy here. 

This publication is also available in Serbian, Hungarian & Spanish.

 

Jan 24 2019
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Citizens Energy: Making Energy Democracy Happen

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This publication has been produced as part of the GEF transnational project Energy Democracy: Changing the Energy System.  

In this project, Green foundations from the United Kingdom, Greece, Macedonia and Belgium share their experiences and ideas and develop policy proposals to enable a transition to a renewable and democratic energy system.

The publication, written by Dirk Holemans and Kati Van de Velde from Flemish think tank Oikos explores the concepts of a democratic energy regime, drawing from examples in Germany and Denmark, and cooperation between citizens and local governments, focusing on case studies in the UK and Belgium.

Download your copy here. 

This publication is also available in Serbian, Portuguese, Spanish, Macedonian & Turkish.

 

Dec 11 2018
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Unlocking the Job Potential of Zero Carbon – Summary

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This publication is the summary of the full report “Unlocking the Job Potential of Zero Carbon”, which is the result of the Green European Foundation transnational project “Strengthening Climate Targets, Creating Local Climate Jobs”, conducted with its partners Green House Think Tank (United Kingdom), Ecopolis (Hungary) and Green Foundation Ireland.

Meeting the challenge of climate change requires structural changes to the economy so that it is no longer dependent on fossil fuels: we need to reduce overall energy use and ensure that all the energy that we do use is from renewable sources. This will require the creation of a large number of new jobs.

The Green European Foundation, with the support of Green House Think Tank, has developed a model to estimate the number of jobs that would be created in key sectors of the economy, to not only demonstrate that a transition is achievable but to also show where those jobs will be.

This model has been applied to the United Kingdom,  as well as to Ireland (with the support of Green Foundation Ireland) and Hungary (with the support of Ökopolisz Alaptivány). The methodology used in that work and its results are presented in this report.

Download your copy here.

Dec 11 2018
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Unlocking the Job Potential of Zero Carbon – Full Report

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This report is the result of the Green European Foundation transnational project “Strengthening Climate Targets, Creating Local Climate Jobs”, conducted with its partners Green House Think Tank (United Kingdom), Ecopolis (Hungary) and Green Foundation Ireland.

Meeting the challenge of climate change requires structural changes to the economy so that it is no longer dependent on fossil fuels: we need to reduce overall energy use and ensure that all the energy that we do use is from renewable sources. This will require the creation of a large number of new jobs.

The Green European Foundation, with the support of Green House Think Tank, has developed a model to estimate the number of jobs that would be created in key sectors of the economy, to not only demonstrate that a transition is achievable but to also show where those jobs will be.

This model has been applied to the United Kingdom,  as well as to Ireland (with the support of Green Foundation Ireland) and Hungary (with the support of Ökopolisz Alaptivány). The methodology used in that work and its results are presented in this report.

Download your copy here.

This publication is also available in Hungarian, which can be read here. 

The appendix can be accessed here.

A summary of the report can also be found here. 

Following on from the work conducted for this report, GEF’s partner Green House Think Tank conducted further research into climate jobs modelling for regions in the UK, which can be found on their website here.

 

Nov 19 2018
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Handbook on Organising European Green Activists Training Programmes

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In 2015, GEF and its partner Green foundations from Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic and Finland organised for the first time a project entitled “European Green Activists Training”. In the course of the project, the five partner organisations planned and organised trainings which explored the history, functioning and institutions of the European Union in a Green context. The training programme at the national level was complemented by a common European study tour to Brussels in spring 2016.

Considering the unique character of the European Green Activists Training programme, the project coordinators have decided to develop this handbook, disseminating good practice for future editions of the training within their own foundations, as well as among other organisations interested in training programmes for young activists. This publication is aimed at all organisations involved in educational activities for Green actors, such as Green foundations, Green parties, Green youth organisations and Green study centres in European countries, who are interested in discovering practical tools and tips on organising trainings which empower young people with the ambition to change Europe for the better.

The handbook has been updated in 2018, with a new design, and now features testimonials from previous participants on their experiences. It also includes tips from course coordinators on how to keep participants engaged after the training and on developing an alumni network to exchange ideas and knowledge.

Through this instrument, we mainly address those organisations which have little or no prior experience of organising European activist trainings, but we think that more experienced organisations can also find useful tips and tricks that may inspire their future educational projects.

Download your copy here!

Nov 16 2018
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Community Energy in the UK

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This report is part of the Green European Foundation project, Energy Democracy, Changing the Energy System. It tells the story of people in the UK who have attempted to gain ownership of the bits of their energy system available to them – to meet the challenge posed by climate change – and to help people struggling with the cost of the energy needed to keep themselves warm and healthy.