For the ecological reconversion of the economy and society biosphere politics

We are men and women, we are citizens of this planet, we are aware that climate change must be a priority in the political action of each government and that changes to individual behaviour and bold policies are necessary if we want to guarantee a future for present generations and those to come.

For this reason, we want to pledge to innovate and strengthen an environmentalist project in Italy and promote the culture of change governance. Over the past twenty years, i Verdi (the Green Party) and the environmentalist movement, have been the cornerstone of battles in favour of the environment. But now, this project must endeavour to bring together an ever increasing number of forces such as associations, political personalities who are committed to environmental issues, peace movements, the many groups and committees which form the fundamental fabric of civil participation, businesses, trade unions, professionals and the most dynamic forces in our society.

Responsibility towards our planet, thus also towards our country, is the basis of our commitment. Society relies on the Earth’s natural resources, on its health and its resilience and the obligation towards future generations to protect this heritage falls upon us.

We strongly advocate the need to change the current model of economic and productive development, responsible for the ongoing changes in climate, and based on the use of oil and, more in general, of fossil fuels and on the unbridled consumption of natural resources. All this has generated poverty, imbalance, job insecurity, social conflict and wars. The future of energy cannot lie, as it does now, with nuclear power, because of the dramatic issues related to radioactive waste and safety. Nor can it lie with coal because of its damaging impact on the environment and on health caused by carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions and fly ashes resulting from its combustion process. A new energy policy must be based on renewable energy, starting with solar power, on energy saving and efficiency, on an intelligent energy network in order to reduce waste to a minimum, enhancing research and technological innovation which makes it possible to use hydrogen and short-cycle bioenergy. All this is vital in order to build a just, sustainable and war-free society. Such a challenge also makes it necessary to overcome the traditional way of measuring a country’s GNP through the introduction of indicators which evaluate development in terms of social and environmental sustainability. Thus, new economic policies will have to focus on quality rather than quantity, reducing and improving consumption by consuming less and better and, at the same time, paying increasing attention to the rights of citizens/consumers.

The centrality of environmental issues in Italy also means implementing new policies aimed at putting a stop to the depletion of our territory, at facing the problem of air pollution which has become a health emergency, at channelling investments towards public railway transport, at strengthening the safeguard of our landscapes in a country which has been abused and spoilt by unauthorised building but also by uncontrolled development, at promoting bio-building, at investing in the prevention of hydrogeological imbalance and developing waste disposal systems based on waste minimisation, resource recovery, waste separation and recycling. We are strongly involved in the safeguard of animal rights and the abolition of vivisection. Our commitment to water as a common good is a strategic element within the framework of a sound policy in favour of the environment and of human rights. We must protect bio-diversity and all living beings, by fostering quality bio-agriculture free from GMOs and safeguarding local traditions and specialities as well as our historic, archaeological and artistic heritage, our culture and all immaterial goods which can increasingly become opportunities for a sustainable future and new jobs. The right to the environment and the principle of precaution must be guaranteed by the Constitution, whereas our penal code must include adequate sanctions against ecocriminals.

Democracy must be protected from those who want to bend it in order to foster their own interests rather than those of the entire country and of our Planet. We want political and decision-making processes to be inclusive and participated, transparent and accessible to all. In this sense, the sharing of knowledge, the use of information technology and web communication, of open and shared software, is strategic. These instruments must not belong in the hands of few.

We also believe there is no Democracy without Justice. Environmentalist policies are rooted on the principle of justice, which requires the fair distribution of social goods, which, in turn, calls for a great attention for the weak. Environmental and social justice, gender-related justice and global justice are all linked to each other.

Social poverty and equity are strictly related to the uneven distribution of resources and to the effects of climate change. The poor and the lesser developed countries are the first to pay the price, and increasingly so, of climate change triggered by unsustainable, unequal growth. The economic and social costs of Global Warming are, by now, extremely high, even in our country. Thus, it is necessary to reform supranational bodies in order to achieve a governance of the planet which safeguards the right to life, eradicates poverty, protects common goods and counters climate change.

Diversity is the wealth upon which civilisations, societies and cultures have been built. Diversity is a safeguard against intolerance, extremism, totalitarianism and prohibitionism. Human diversity has many dimensions: social, cultural, gender and sexual orientation related, spiritual, religious, linguistic, economic, ethnic, regional… Defending diversity requires recognition and this is why we believe that, within the framework of our Pact for Action, commitment in favour of civil rights is fundamental. We are strongly committed to promoting the respect of human rights world-wide, to supporting the campaign for abolishing the death penalty and to achieving recognition of the safeguard of the environment as one of the fundamental human rights. We also pledge to promote a new perspective for an ethical welfare system, both for the entire human race and on a local scale, bringing together well-being, legality and justice, promoting the actual exercise of the right to life-quality for individuals as well as ensuring the implementation of the pact for constitutional civilisation for the “full development of human beings”.

Non-violence is part of our nature and is a fundamental aspect of pro-environment action since the birth of the environmentalist movement and of the Green party (Verdi). No solution to a conflict amongst individuals, social groups or countries can be imposed through violence. Violence – of which, today, war is the highest expression – must be condemned and contrasted in all its forms and it is the very antithesis of the ecological revolution necessary to save our Planet.

Cooperation amongst peoples must be promoted in order to extend a true solidarity network but also to contrast climate change through efficient environmentalist policies. Environmental refugees will be one of the first dramatic consequences of climate change. Millions of people will flee from desertificated areas in search of water and food. The first areas to suffer will be those in the “South of the world”. But cooperation between North and South cannot disregard the acknowledgement of ecological debt, that is to say the responsibility that industrialised countries have had in the pillage of the world’s natural and cultural resources.

Let’s give a future to the young and build new job opportunities in an ecological reconversion perspective of economies and through a labour and enterprise market which invests in new technologies, in knowledge, in research and in the professions which will help us to save the world. We have to restore to young people the capacity to plan and build their future.

We propose a pact for climate, addressed to single citizens, pro-environment and pro-animal associations, to those individuals who are committed to overcoming the current development model, to associations for the defence of human and civil rights, to consumers, to civic organisations, voluntary workers and social cooperation bodies, farm workers, fair trade enterprises, citizen committees, unions and the world of research, science, business, professions and culture. Let’s work together to achieve an ever increasing consensus around these proposals because, in Italy, there is a need for a wide, influential, pro-environment, pacifist, non-violent, autonomous and innovative political area which could pave the way to an important appointment, in 2008, to build an Alliance capable of facing the great challenge posed to the entire human race and to the whole planet by the ongoing climate change process, a challenge in the face of which we are all called upon to do our best.

go to the italian version to sign the pact