What Does it Mean to be Green?
Green has gone beyond simply being a colour. It has joined those colours that are emblematic of ideas. True Blue, One Nation British conservatism. Red, socialism. Green, environmental and social justice. But whilst blue and red remain opposite ends of a political spectrum, green has developed as a more nebulous concept.
There are green parties within political systems across the world. Some are more successful than others. All stand for the same values; social justice and respect for the planet. Laudable and distinct values. Because green values are widely seen as good, positive and of their time, they tend to get co-opted into other spaces you would not expect.
Businesses and organisations are keen to announce their green credentials through “sustainability” statements. Marketing messages work up green stories. Green is the gold standard and woe to anyone who falls short. Even British Petroleum (BP) adopted a new green branding and claimed that they were going “Beyond Petroleum”.
When an oil company starts to claim green credentials, it's time to take a step back and take a long hard look at what is going on. My curiosity about this idea was also piqued by a recent visit to Slovenia, a country that proclaims itself the greenest country in Europe.
Slovenia is able to make a very strong green claim. It has one of the highest levels of forestation in Europe. 61% of the land is covered in woodland. By contrast, the UK has 13% woodland. The capital, Ljubljana, is surrounded by densely wooded mountain slopes, so nature is readily accessible even by people in the capital city. Levels of biodiversity are high, there are populations of large mammals. Lakes and rivers are clean. Roads and public spaces are free of litter. There is a huge investment in cycling and waste recycling. Education focuses on the importance of nature and there is a national focus on the importance of land and nature.
At street level, the green investment is evident. Cycle paths are omnipresent in Ljubljana and well-used. Waste is carefully managed. Filling stations have electric car recharging points and the opportunity to buy coffee whilst your car charges. This is all very positive and I applaud it.
Yet Slovenia, in the urban sense, also looks a lot like other European countries. There is a lot of car use and the roads are well maintained. I stayed in an apartment in southern Ljubljana and could hear constant noise from the busy A2 motorway. There is plenty of consumption, classy town centre shops give way to suburban retail parks. Meat dishes dominate restaurant menus. All the trappings of modern life are here.
If modern life is the cause of our current climate and ecological emergency, this begs the question. If Slovenia is green, is green enough?
Green is essentially a reformist programme. It seeks to reform current practices to achieve environmental goals. The Slovenian government’s statement on net zero makes interesting reading.
“The vision of this strategy is to make Slovenia a climate-neutral and climate-resilient society based on sustainable development by 2050. It will manage energy and natural resources efficiently, while maintaining a high level of economic competitiveness”.
Net zero in 27 years, not that ambitious given that we are in an emergency. This is a modest response to the best-case scenarios of climate change. Other models predict widespread impacts and system collapse as early as 2040, only halfway through the Slovenian timescale.
The Slovenian authorities talk a good talk. In terms of infrastructure, they seem to be walking the walk as well. I suspect they will deliver on net zero by 2050. But net zero means no more harm, it doesn’t address the degraded state of nature or attempt to bring nature back to a decent and sustainable state. Slovenia is fortunate in that its nature is in a good place. Countries like the UK come from a much worse baseline. Achieving net zero in the UK would prevent things from getting worse, but things, as they are, are abysmal.
The more I think about the idea of “green”, the more slippery it becomes. Slovenia is green because it is working hard to deliver on its Paris 2015 commitments. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is green (self-certified) because he recycles. Because “green” means so many things to so many different people, it starts to look more like an identity than a project. Green is a costume that can be worn to suggest an identity, like a business suit or a football strip, but that doesn’t tell you anything about what is happening under the surface. The wearer of a business suit might be going to an interview for their first job out of university or they might be a successful business-person. The clues will be there but at first glance, these people will be similar. Likewise, claims of greenness will be made by disinterested British prime ministers and engaged East European countries but they will vary enormously in their content..
Identity is important. Slovenia is a young country that only appeared in its current state after the Balkans War. It’s not an economic big hitter, so creating an appealing identity matters as a way of gaining recognition. Being the greenest country in Europe is a unique selling point, so why not pursue the idea? In contemporary terms, Slovenia is doing a good job of preserving and improving its climate and environmental credentials. It may not be ideal, in that it doesn’t deliver the change that is really needed, but this sort of programme is much better than nothing. Green opens up a cultural space where questions of the environment, biodiversity, long-term thinking and damage reduction can be considered. Levels of engagement may vary, but the space is real and work can be done.
Rather than thinking that green is a good in itself, we should think of it as the beginning of a conversation. Espousing green values is positive and widely acceptable, but it must represent the beginning of a journey of understanding into the reality of what humans have done to this planet. No, Mr Sunak, you will not roll back centuries of damage by recycling your wine bottles. No, BP, just because you have repainted your filling stations you are not a force for good. You are still stealing the future.
Hey, Slovenia, good job presenting yourself as a green destination. But will you go further and start to embrace the more radical changes needed to save ourselves? Driving down consumption, moving away from red meat, abandoning the dream of endless growth, empowering citizens to grow their own food and reject industrial agriculture. Will you go further on the journey and will the rest of us follow you?
