The Global Greens and European Greens Congress of 2017 (#Greens2017) kicked off yesterday in Liverpool, England, for the largest ever gathering of Greens.
As UK Greens leaders Caroline Lucas and Jonathan Bartley say, the rise of the Greens globally is the antidote to the rise of fascism and extremism.
As Global Greens ambassador Christine Milne put it in her opening speech:
After 30 years in Green politics, I cannot tell you how great it feels to be amongst such a dedicated group of Greens, of global citizens, representing the politics of hope, of unity and of love for humanity and the natural world.
Our politics of hope, unity and love stands in stark contrast to the politics of fear, disunity and hatred and utter disregard for people and the Earth our home perpetrated by those who exploit that fear and hate for political gain.
One of the main reasons that the Green Party is indeed the imperative for the 21st century is that the party represents a global uprising for peace, justice, and a sustainable future. As I argued:
As we enter more deeply into the Anthropocene — the geological epoch defined by the devastating human footprint on the planet — the increasingly global struggle to preserve and restore the living systems that we co-evolved with calls for a global political movement that is up to the task. That movement is represented most convincingly by the global green movement and Green Parties throughout the world. This international coalition for a unified people’s globalization is the single best hope there is for democratically taking the reins of power away from the politically corrupt and morally bankrupt ruling class dominating our shared planet.
As Jonathan Bartley put it above, “our time is now.”