Global Green Deals Forum

What would a good life for everyone look like? One which is democratic and self-determined for both young and old, in the city and in the countryside, in the global South and North and is independent of income and social background now and in the future? And how can all of this be achieved while respecting the ecological limits of our planet? Like digitalization, climate change is forcing us to confront the fundamental question about how we want to work, live and do business in the future. For social democrats and trade unions, this presents an opportunity to combine core concerns such as digitalization, decent work, social cohesion, economic development, innovation policy and preserving the natural foundations of life into a new social and environmental progressive project.
The massive climatic upheavals that we are already experiencing show that it is no longer a question of whether there is a social-ecological transformation. For quite some time we have been trying to get to grips, politically, socially and economically with the how of the impending transformation. And a large majority of the population expects concrete solutions that go beyond the old juxtapositions of environment versus work or climate protection versus prosperity.
The various Green Deals currently being discussed and negotiated in the EU, in municipalities in Latin America and southern Germany and in numerous companies and social movements around the world can contribute to providing answers. At stake are new mobility concepts and how to make cities and communities livable, to secure a clean and decentralized energy supply, to promote good nutrition and protect the landscape, but also how to foster communal participation, workplace codetermination and new global partnerships.
A social-ecological transformation offers many opportunities for a socially just transformation of society. For some, however, it also harbors risks and thus gives rise to new lines of conflict that cut across the traditional political camps. Instead of accepting social upheavals, we must negotiate and shape “just transitions.” This concerns not only the national and European levels. The transformation process is a global challenge. Its complexity involves taking into account the everyday realities of people in highly diverse countries and contexts and formulating offers that lead to a just balancing of interests and concerns throughout the world.

Objective of the Forum
We invite everyone interested to a political debate on the practical design of the social-ecological transformation. We aim to develop attractive and tangible visions of the future that demonstrate the viability of democratic and socially just change and offer the prospect of a better life for all. The goal of our public debate is also to introduce this claim into the Green Deals currently under negotiation and ensure that it receives a hearing.

Target Group
We are reliant on broad social alliances in order to project the tasks that lie ahead. In addition to our traditional social democratic partners and the trade unions, we therefore also want to work with other progressive parties, environmental movements, climate activists and science on the progressive project “social-ecological transformation.” To this end, we will focus on the municipal and communal level as well as the national, European and global levels.