Introduction
At our 2nd Global Green Congress held in Sao Paulo between the 1st and the 4th May 2008, Greens from all over the world hereby reaffirm our commitment to overcome the ecological and social crisis humanity and our planet are facing. Climate change, poverty, and over consumption, uncontrolled population growth, water shortages, rising oil prices, food scarcity and food prices, flooding of coastal regions, increasing prevalence of environmental refugees, increasing tension and conflict between communities and the emergence of new failing states, together with increasing tension in relation to access to raw materials, are just some of the most urgent problems that threaten our future and that of future generations. We are aware that we do not have much time to find solutions. Business as usual would lead to a catastrophe.
The following “21 points for the 21st century” reflect the priorities the Greens intend to tackle and bring forward at different levels of political action. We will focus our action on:
1. Promote radical reform of the present dominant economic model in order to establish a new sustainable development model
Greens will work to replace the western economic model, which is fossil fuel based, car-centred, energy inefficient, encourages a throwaway society and [often] socially unjust, because it is not viable any more. Markets need to be regulated in order to reduce the environmental footprint of our economies. Prices have to reflect the real costs including the social and ecological costs. Income taxes need to be lowered and replaced by taxes on pollution and environmentally destructive activities. This will lead to a reduction in labour costs while protecting the environment.
Emission cap and trade schemes and eco-bonuses are good instruments to complement eco-taxes. Environmentally damaging subsidies have to be replaced by investment in low carbon solutions and renewable energy production. The use of non renewable raw materials has to be replaced wherever possible by renewable ones.
Traditional economic growth measured in terms of GDP has to be replaced by more integrated and comprehensive indicators that show the economic dynamic in terms of sustainable development, for example the Genuine Progress Indicator(??) . Industrialized countries have a special responsibility to include additional indicators.
Comment from Louise: this is really the biggest issue of all, and has almost the least discussion, and few concrete proposals.
2. Promote a radical reduction of CO2 emissions by 25 to 40% by 2020 and
by 80% by 2050
( This part will be complemented with a summary of the Post Kyoto Declaration coordinated by Christine Milne to be adopted in Sao Paolo)
Greens in all developed countries, ask our governments to apply the proposal by the Stern Review that at least 1% of national GDP should be invested to stop global warming (amendment Ecolo Japan – Shuji Imamoto).
To realise the target, Greens ask all industrialized countries to introduce countermeasures and policies, such as the introduction of a carbon tax or emission trading system, and promotion of renewables, energy saving and efficiency, without developing nuclear power. (amendment Ecolo Japan- Shuji Imamoto)
(Here we have to take into account also the proposal of Margaret Blakers on Solar energy – see her amendment)
3. Improve water management and increase the efficiency of its utilisation
One of the most dramatic and recent developments of modern times is shown by falling water tables and its impact on agriculture and farmers. Urban water stress goes hand in hand with frequent droughts, rivers running dry and lakes and reservoirs with less and less water. Competition for water between the needs of urban areas, industry and farmers is increasing. Over 1,1 billion people are still denied access to safe drinking water and more than double this number do not have access to sanitation.
Increasing temperatures cause the melting of glaciers and high mountain ice transforming perennial rivers into seasonal rivers. Over-pumping of aquifers has become a problem for most of the bigger grain-producing countries.
Greens reaffirm the view that beyond the technical solutions that help to improve water management and increase the efficiency of its use, water is a public good and not a commodity comparable to others. For Greens, water access is a human right.
Adequate management of water requires coordinated policy making at all levels. The participation of those directly affected in decision making, particularly women, is a key component of establishing an integrated water management strategy.
Cross-border dialogue and agreements on water management are necessary to build trust and avoid water–related political tensions or conflicts. We have to do everything possible to avoid the demands for water resources leading to political or even military conflicts.
Irrigation efficiency in agriculture, reuse and recycling in the industrial sector, better indoor and outdoor water management in urban areas would create very large savings. Increasing the efficient use of water is a key aspect of green politics.
Greens will work to strengthen global and local efforts to monitor and prevent water originated tensions as one of the key aspects of our commitments in the coming decades.

4. Tackle the food price explosion and make food available for all
The widening gap between demand and supply of grain is leading to an explosion of the prices of basic food products. Higher global temperatures and water scarcity, increased food demand from newly emerging economies like India and China, explosion of oil prices as well as an increasing allocation of farmland for the production of crops for agro-fuels has led to scarcity of grains and food. The results are higher food prices and reduction of reserves at an extremely rapid rate.
We need to increase food grain harvests. Extending the amount of farmland allocated to food grains and improving irrigation technologies has become an urgent need.
More and more there is a need to promote the conversion of land assigned to produce non-essential, non-food products to food production. Crop lands now used to produce agro-fuel appropriate crops need to be reconverted to produce grain. Set aside farmland in some cases can be included again in the farmed surface. In some extreme cases we will have to consider taking back land where tobacco is grown and even farmland allocated to other crops so that grain can be grown there. Higher taxes might be necessary to encourage farmers to replace livestock production by grains. At the same time, a more restrictive allocation of land for private transport, and better urban planning, can make farmland available for additional production.
Parallel to these rather middle and long term measures to increase production of grains we need urgent and concerted action in order to avoid starvation and increasing political insecurity in poorer countries. Dramatically rising food prices are harming the capacity to react of the international aid organizations. For example the U.N. World Food Program faces a funding gap which is increasing daily. The international community, particularly the Bretton Woods institutions, have to take their share of responsibility.
Greens will promote policies that both improve the long term conditions and at the same time provide adequate financing for emergency aid.
5. Respect and preserve biodiversity in all its dimensions including defence of natural forests
Legal as well as illegal destructive logging needs to be stopped. Industrial logging concessions must subject to clear environmental impact assessments. Management of virgin forests needs to be improved by involving the native populations who traditionally interact in a sustainable way with the forests in and from which they live. The increasing encroachment of farming into forest areas must be urgently restricted.
We need to combine import restrictions on unsustainably harvested timber in the industrialized countries with export restrictions in developing countries. A global fund has to be created to compensate the loss of income for the resulting reduction in income from trade. This is the only way to comply with the Rio 1992 mandate to “promote a form of tropical forest management that reconciles conservation constraints with the social and economic development needs of tropical countries”.
Only eco-labelled timber by recognized certification organizations should be admitted into the market of the industrialized countries.
Greens strongly support measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by avoiding deforestation. At the same time we stand for the promotion of reforestation worldwide. We promote the establishment of a Global Forest Action Plan that should include a long term vision for an increasing amount of strictly protected areas mainly of primary forests.
Greens urge consideration of the social and economic dimensions of the expropriation and trading of natural genetic resources on a global scale. The problem of how to achieve a fair and equitable sharing of the benefits obtained from the preserved biodiversity will not be reached until and unless we have a set of rules that end bio-piracy by safeguarding the rights of indigenous and local populations . Patenting of living organisms should be forbidden while exclusive use rights should be time-limited.
In line with the UN principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, protection of biodiversity in developing countries should be compensated by developed countries that have been systematically destroying their own bio-diversity for centuries and are responsible to a large extent for the loss of bio-diversity in developing countries. Financial means need to be created for the protection of bio-diversity. Preservation of forests and reforestation should be an essential aspect of this effort.
(This point has to be revised and worked out in accordance with the Declaration on Biodiversity to be adopted in Sao Paulo.)
6. Urge the international community to achieve the Millennium Goals agreed to by the United Nations in 2000
Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality and empowering women, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health and combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases are crucial targets that become even more urgent in the context of worsening climate conditions.
Greens will use our influence to promote the Millennium Goals and to get the international community to fulfil the promises made in the biggest ever General Assembly of Heads of States held by the UN in the year 2000. The funds to finance the implementation for the Millennium Goals should be provided by grants rather than loans, and not include the classic conditions that have produced such bad results in the past.
Donor countries should substantially increase their aid flows for programmable multilateral and bilateral aid to at least 0.7% of the GDP, particularly for the least developed countries, so that all countries are able to reach the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, in particular halving of poverty levels of their populations, primary education for all boys and girls, and universal access to health services and clean drinking water.
The required additional $50 billion required annually could be financed by a Tobin or similar kind of tax. In this context we Greens stick to our commitment to the cancellation of developing country debt especially in the poorest countries. At the same time we should state clearly that the Millennium Goals are just a first step and that we strive for elimination of poverty by 2030.
7. Establish a global partnership for development including the introduction of a Tobin tax as a source for financing development
Greens will be active in promoting the introduction of a Tobin/Spahn type Tax on cross border speculative currency exchanges. This will have a positive effect, by helping to control the volatility of the financial markets, giving national governments a stronger say on the fixation of internal taxes and at the same time creating a fund of between 100 to 300 billion dollars that can be used to finance development projects including helping to finance the implementation of the Millennium Goals.
Greens all over the world commit themselves to pushing their respective parliaments and governments to enact the Tobin Tax domestically as a first step to enforce the required multilateral cooperation. The potential funds should be allocated to help turn the tide towards a global solution for the problems of the 21st century. The financial resources generated should be mobilized as mentioned to comply with the Millennium Goals, to fight against diseases and poverty as well as to adapt to and mitigate the effects of global warming.
8. Promote fair trade as an alternative to the present international trade patterns
Greens commit to replacing development policies which link aid to free trade with programs aimed at retaining added value locally, by supporting basic infrastructures of education and health, and by preserving policy space for communities to decide themselves on their specific way of achieving sustainable development.
International trade rules, as embodied by a significantly reformed World Trade Organization (WTO), should be made fair and respectful of the higher goals of a truly sustainable global development (including social rights, environmental sustainability and consumer protection). In particular:
• International Commodity Agreements which stabilize the prices of the most volatile agricultural export goods should guarantee a fair and stable return especially to small producers, and involve producers and consumers along the entire supply chain.
• Imports into the OECD from countries who have not ratified international climate agreements or do not abide by it or which do not implement ILO’s core labour standards should be subject to border tax adjustments in order to restore a level playing field.
• Internationally certified Fair Trade products should get greater access to OECD markets, by mandating public entities to discriminate positively in favour of Fair Trade products in their procurement policies, by exempting such products from tariffs at OECD borders, and by requiring large retailers to offer Fair Trade products in their stores.
• The WTO should be radically reformed to reflect the democratized UN system. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) should also reform their decision-making processes to adequately reflect the voices of developing countries.
• International trade rules should allow for the constitution of regional economic areas.
• The corporate patents of products which are crucial to fight global diseases and climate change should be subject to mandatory licensing taking due account of the costs incurred in their development.
9. Support for socially and ecologically inspired scientific and technological progress
Greens often are often accused of being critical of scientific research and technological progress. This is a stereotypical vision of our positions. While it is true that Greens uphold the precautionary principle, a movement born in times of astonishing innovative breakthroughs in the most diverse areas, such as renewable energies for example, which has at the same time grown up fighting against nuclear energy and genetic manipulation, will have a more differentiated view of technological innovation than other political forces.
The 21st century will continue the rapid technological innovation of the preceding century. We will certainly face further steps in biotechnology including genetic engineering and cloning; in communication, computing and artificial intelligence; in energy technologies, development of new materials, nanotechnologies, transport including space transport, and in many other fields.
Greens will always assess technological progress from the perspective of its social, ethical and environmental impact, and in the light of the precautionary principle. And we will promote a direct dialogue between scientists and the public.
Greens support basic scientific inquiry, but social and environmental considerations should have an even stronger role. Research efforts to improve clean and renewable energy production, to increase the productivity of organic agriculture or to develop pollution-free engines, can count on our full support.
Massive funding should not go exclusively to pharmaceutical development and other "end of the pipe" treatment while precautionary research is marginalised. Public health and preventive medicine need much more funding for toxicological and epidemiological studies on the complex causes of many "modern" industrial diseases. Pandemics and illnesses that affect children worldwide and especially poorer countries should be funded more generously.
[Climate change, the study of crop predators, social issues such as poverty, cultural clashes, conflict prevention, pandemics, and a lot of others issues largely neglected by the present scientific policies should be up-graded and receive more investment .]
Greens will work to promote the creation of an Independent Multidisciplinary Global Research Council that should operate in the framework of the UN, in consultation with UN-organisations and NGOs, and prepare regular recommendations to be taken into account by decision-makers when devising policies in the field of scientific research and technological development.
10. Tackle the impact of increasing prices of raw materials.
The increasing prices of oil, gold, and silver but also of copper, iron ore, lead, tin, bauxite and other raw materials seem to be related to the increasing financial speculation in commodities and futures. In a context in which all kind of funds, including hedge funds, are looking for new speculation options, commodities and futures become an attractive alternative. Nevertheless everything indicates that the behaviour of the financial world is just the tip of the iceberg.
In reality our global throwaway economy is in collision with the earth’s geological limits. This is not just in the case of oil that according to different analysts is approaching the so called “Peak Oil”; the point in time when the maximum level of global petroleum production is reached, after which it will enter a terminal decline. If global consumption is not reduced before the peak is reached, an energy crisis will develop as the availability of conventional oil drops and prices rise dramatically. This also applies to many other raw materials. According to the US Geological Survey, if we assume an economic growth of 2% yearly, we have 17 years of exploitable reserves of lead, 19 years for tin, 25 years for copper, 54 years for iron ore and 68 years for bauxite.
Beyond the possibilities to extend mining activities to remote and less productive options, the key question is about how far the development of new materials, recycling techniques and product adaptation will be able to compensate for the limited resources available. Even if new synthetic substitutes are developed we will have to ensure that economic growth is increasingly decoupled from raw material needs.
Greens will work to promote an improvement in resource productivity and the development of substitute products. The working life of products will need to be prolonged and much more sophisticated recycling techniques will be needed.
Louise: Minerals are the basis of most manufactured production. We need to emphasise reduced consumption as one solution to this issue
11. Help to establish and strengthen democracy and democratic institutions including steps to overcome the international democratic deficit.
Greens reaffirm our condemnation of all dictatorships and regimes which deny human rights, regardless of their political ideology or affiliation.
Greens work to establish democracy where it does not exist yet, promote its consolidation where it is still fragile and develop it where democracy already exists. Greens strive for a strong participative democracy.
Greens are in favour of full citizenship rights that include universal and secret voting rights and the existence of a directly elected parliament based on a multiparty system; with a clear division between executive, judicial and legislative powers.
Greens support a political system that is characterized, among other things, by regular competitive elections, a meaningful range of political parties, the existence of a consistent and lively civil society, regular alternative governments and an independent and diversified media.
To overcome international democratic deficit is one of our long term targets. This implies a democratization of the Breton Woods’s institutions and further reforms of the UN.
Among these reforms, Greens join the call for the establishment of a UN- Parliamentary Assembly as a parliamentary body within the UN system. As a first step it should be composed by representatives of national parliaments but we should strive for a directly elected body. The UNPA is to be seen as a complement of the UN General Assembly (based on amendment of Didier Coeurnelle- Ecolo).
At the same time we favour an increased role for civil society and increased access of NGOs to the UN System.
Greens favour the creation of a council of ethically and morally outstanding personalities as an advising body on the UN level
12. Develop a World Environment Organization
Greens will promote the creation of a UN. World Environmental Organisation by combining the United Nations Environment Program(UNEP), the United Nations Development Program(UNDP) and the Global Environmental Facility (GEF).
13. Reinforce the UN Human Right Council (UNHRC), the International Court of Justice and achieve a universal ban of the death penalty
For Greens, human rights are universal, indivisible and inalienable. [For Greens these are not just noble sounding words. We have proved this through our daily action worldwide.] We do not hesitate to condemn violations of human rights wherever they occur : there are no exceptions. [Human right violations are as unacceptable in China as in the US, in Uzbekistan as in Nepal, in Chile as in Russia, in France as in Cuba, in Egypt as in North Korea or Australia.] Our efforts to promote human rights are based on international human rights law and the different legal instruments adopted in the countries and regions where we are active.
This is why we condemn equally the violation of the right of free expression in Syria or Zimbabwe and the violations committed by the US or other European countries through counterterrorism measures. Political violence used to intimidate opponents by a dictatorial regime is to be condemned as strongly as torture, illegal imprisonment, uncontrolled personal data disclosure or extraordinary rendition by western governments. [We Greens are committed to ensuring respect for all human rights, from freedom of expression to violence against women and children, from free movement to equal rights for women, men and for all kind of minorities, from indigenous people to homosexuals, from special ethnic groups to elderly people.]
We need to put an end to the trafficking of women and children and slavery of all kinds. This includes fighting against child misuse, children soldiers and illegal organ trafficking.
Greens commit ourselves to ensuring that the ban of the death penalty is applied worldwide.
We Greens will work to ensure free internet access everywhere.
Greens will be active to promote freedom for journalists as a key aspect of our fight for human rights.
While in some aspects there have been improvements, we are far from achieving equal participation of women and men in governing institutions nationally and internationally. Greens will continue to promote greater participation of women in political and social life.
We acknowledge positively the work being done by the UN Human Rights Council in providing a unique platform for strengthening human rights protection and promotion within the UN framework. At the same time we insist that the credibility of the UNHRC rests on the implementation of the reforms required to strengthen its ability to address human rights violations. The role of NGOs has to be strengthened.
In this context we urge the international community to include in all international treaties and agreements a strong human rights clause.
14. Promote the recognition of ecological refugees
According to the Geneva Conventions, every person who needs shelter must have access to a fair asylum procedure as. a basic human right.
[Greens urge the recognition of gender-based reasons to escape the country of origin like genital mutilation, oppression, and religious persecution because of gender, ‘honour crimes’, rape, forced abortion or sterilisation ant therefore will work to get these conditions accepted as grounds for asylum.
Asylum seekers fleeing a conflict should be granted protection, with minimum rights, such as family reunification and access to the labour market. If the conflict they fled is still going on after several years, they should be granted a permanent residence permit.] Louise: these clauses are not about recognition of ecological refugees
There are now more and more migrants, displaced persons and their families, who must leave their land because of environmental disaster. [As a result, inhabitants are unable to live in a safe or sustainable way in their immediate environment.] The concept of refugee must be extended to those who are forced to migrate because of climatic change and other environmental threats.
Greens will work to introduce and promote the recognition of environmental human rights. We will work for the inclusion of the environmental rights in the third generation human rights and promote their inclusion in the Geneva Convention, through the adoption of an additional Protocol. We will promote a 3rd international Covenant that codifies the right to a healthy environment as well as the right to access to a minimum of natural resources and the respect of intergenerational equality.
15. Call for the intensification of relations among the bigger cities and a stronger cooperation among them.
Greens support the development of stronger cooperation among cities on a wide range of issues including exchange of best practices, mutual exchange of civil servants, common cultural projects and creative city initiatives, improving low carbon mobility schemes, reducing CO2 emissions as well as health, water provision and waste management.
(this paragraph will reflect the action initiatives proposed in the declaration to be adopted in Sao Paulo on Cities)
16. Promote sustainable cultural policies
Greens support the development of the highest level of cultural diversity. This ranges from the preservation of different languages and cultural traditions to the most diverse range possible of cultural, visual, musical, written and oral expressions. We will promote a permanent and active dialogue among the different cultures. We support multicultural activities that lead to improved mutual understanding and communication among people coming from different cultural backgrounds.
Greens will work to enhance the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions approved by the General Conference of UNESCO in October 2005.
However the UNESCO Convention is a toothless tiger compared with the WTO and the TRIPS agreements [. Not only that the WTO prevails over the UNESCO because the hierarchy of norms is not established but also] because the WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism (DSM) gives the priority to the legal framework of the WTO.
We will work [to reverse the hierarchy of norms,] to promote the creation of a Dispute Settlement Mechanism that gives the UN Conventions priority over WTO and TRIPS agreements. Cultural goods (films, books, music, etc) can’t just be dealt with from a pure market approach. We are in favour of a multilateral approach instead of a pure bilateral one. Property rights need to be kept in balance with the conditions to assure diversity and a rich and varied creativity that reflects this cultural diversity. To achieve this the UNESCO Convention must become robust enough to gain legal primacy over WTO rules.
[MAY BE WE SCHOULD INCLUDE A SENTENCE ON SPORT AND HUMAN RIGHTS]

17. Support an open and structured dialogue among world religions including atheists
Greens call on the leaders of the main religions as well as the representatives of agnostic, secular and atheist citizens to deepen the dialogue among them with the aim of overcoming hate and misunderstandings in order to reduce the conflict potentially related to religious intolerance. We support the efforts made in the context of the Parliament of the World’s Religions.
18. Reinforcing and improving the rights of the youth
Young people are the future of the planet, but they are too often rejected of the politic. We have to leave to young people initiatives a significant place.
We Greens support our youth movements in all their form and leave a specific place in our parties to the young people.
Young people and children have specific rights, especially :
- Access to adequate education and training
- Free use of public transport until a certain age
- Access to jobs
- Access to sexual and reproductive rights, including education and protection
- Young women’s rights
- Switch military service to civil service
- Non discrimination
- free access to information
- Space for youth
- Possibility to participate in politics including voting rights

We will work to promote an organized exchange of young people that will allow young people from one countries to visit for a certain time (6 months or more) an educative establishment from other country ) or to make a civil service with a NGO or other youth organization. The participating young people should share the results of their acquired experience in their country of origin.
19. Facilitate access to medicines to deal with pandemics
Greens will work to ensure access to medicines to fight against pandemics is made available to poor countries beyond the restrictions of the patenting systems. As mentioned above, the patents of private firms which are crucial to the fight against global diseases and climate change should be subject to mandatory licensing taking due account of the costs incurred in their development.
Greens favour the recognition and the establishment of a legal status for complementary medicines and practices, and recognise their role in preventing and alleviating pains and illnesses, as well as therapies that work alongside allopathic treatments.
20. Promote peace, conflict prevention and disarmament.
Greens support a peace policy for the 21st century which focuses on providing security for all human beings. At a first glance, the major risks to general security are linked with terrorism, regional military conflicts, nuclear weapons proliferation, state failure, access to raw materials and organised crime. But this is an incomplete analysis of the potential causes that are behind the eruption of violence and military conflicts.
A peace policy for the 21st century can succeed only if security policy takes into account also the tensions created by environment problems, climate change, agriculture shortages, water stress, depletion of fisheries, destruction of biodiversity, social injustice, and last but not least violation of human rights. One increasingly dramatic cause of destabilisation is linked with higher oil prices.
In this context Greens are not embarrassed to say that Green politics is a policy for peace. Our strategy of moving away from oil and gas and against nuclear energy responds also to concerns regarding security of energy supply and therefore has a conflict prevention character. [The same can be said for our unconditioned promotion of democracy and human rights.] Our understanding of “human security” condemns the deployment of armed forces to safeguard raw materials. At the same time we reject the renaissance of nuclear power among other arguments because there is no wall between peaceful use of nuclear energy and its military use.
The failure of disarmament initiatives in 2005 at the UN Millennium Summit and the NPT Review Conference was shameful. Greens call for nuclear disarmament all over the globe in full respect of the NPT Treaty. Greens will work to promote the proliferation of nuclear-free zones, and a strict ban of chemical and biological weapons.
Greens are concerned that worldwide arms exports have increased by 50% from 2003 to 2007. [We want to slow down arms production and international arms export.] We are in favour of a global Code of Conduct that prevents the supply of arms to crisis regions. Cluster bombs and depleted uranium ammunitions mut be banned together with white phosphorus and anti-personal and anti-vehicle mines.
Non – military instruments must be the mains means of overcoming political tensions. Conflict prevention, reconciliation and civilian crisis intervention must be fostered including by financial means. Greens will work for the development and reinforcement of civil Peace Corps.
The responsibility to protect populations against genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing was clearly and unequivocally acknowledged by the UN member states at the 2005 Millennium Summit. It becomes an international responsibility only in case of failure of the nation state. It comprises the duty to exhaust all preventive means before deploying the military as an ultimate step to prevent genocide. Humanitarian intervention mandated by the UN Security Council must always remain only the last resort.
21. Work to convert the 21st Century into a Green Movement Century
Greens engage ourselves to reinforce and strengthen the Green Movement all over the world. We engage ourselves to make the 21st century the century that will see the Greens taking political responsibility in leading positions in different countries and continents. A strong Green movement, able to take governmental responsibilities at the national as well as at the international level, is urgently needed to create a more socially and environmentally sustainable, peaceful and democratic international order that at the same time respects the rights of future generations. We will work to convert the 21st century into a political green century.