Why the Green Party admitting the limits of its power could aid the fight for climate justice
This article first appeared on Compass here.
The July 4 general election results were nothing short of extraordinary for the Green Party. As someone who has been deeply involved in this movement for many years, I cannot express how overjoyed I am at the success we achieved. Yet, even amidst this celebration, we must confront a sobering truth: our remarkable victories still fall far short of granting us real power at Westminster.
Despite our stunning success, the Green Party will not have enough time in this ‘critical decade’ to make everything okay, even if we maximise our gains in future elections. We might have made a significant impact had we achieved the early ambitions of pioneers like Jonathon Porritt and formed a government by 2000. But it’s 2024, and as things stand we have…four MPs.
Imagine we quadruple that at the next election: that’s 16. And quadruple again in 2034: that’s 64.
That would be utterly inspiring. But…we would still have less MPs and probably less power than the Lib Dems do now.
While continuing to pursue the best outcomes via the ballot box, we need to prepare for an additional, crucial role. The unique power of the Greens lies in our unwavering commitment to the climate and ecological cause. We are the trusted voice in the electoral sphere for this defining issue of our time. What if, paradoxically, the most powerful action we can take now is to admit a kind of defeat?
Words are deeds. By openly acknowledging, with emotional sincerity, that we are in the midst of a historic failure involving the citizenry and elites worldwide — including ourselves — we can unleash a tremendous latent emotional energy. This energy is currently held back by a dam of fake optimism. Once this dam bursts, the resulting deluge will be immense.
Admitting our entanglement in this vast failure is the first step. Manifesting and mobilising this emotional energy can transform the current state of climate politics, which is still dominated by toxic optimism. By acknowledging that the ‘safe zone’ is now in the rearview mirror, Green leaders can undertake their historic task with a new sense of urgency and authenticity. And they can do it now from a position of emerging strength: it sounds much less like sour grapes, if we admit that our strategic electoral success still does not amount to any license for voters to project onto us the responsibility for saving the world.
To step into our full power, we must let go of what are completely forlorn hopes now for a smooth, orderly transition and of the illusion of remaining within the climatic safe zone. Society must shift from one where most politicians shy away from necessary changes to one where they actively pursue them. Those changes crucially include getting absolutely serious about preparedness for and adaptation to the coming unprecedented climate impacts. Such readiness and preparedness-building should be led by Greens. And: It will never happen unless we admit just how bad things actually are and are going to get.
This shift begins with the bravery of admitting our incapacity. Our theories of change have not, in the big scheme of things, got us anywhere much, relative to the scale of the coming cataclysm. Our grand strategy has always presumed a parliamentary route to saving the world. The message has been that electing Greens would eventually ‘solve’ the ‘problem’.
The honesty around tax that was part of our successful general election mission needs to be matched by honesty about climate and ecological decline. We must take a cue from Churchill’s unambiguous warnings during the early stages of wartime: the path forward is one of toil, tears, and sweat.
This shift would take concrete shape in Greens calling for a national plan for climate resilience. This would be a massive, community-involving effort to brace for impacts, prepare, and transform how we interact with nature. We must grow both inner and outer resilience.
No one expects the Green Party to take such a risk as I am proposing in this piece — to seemingly jeopardise our reputation, morale, and funding. However, this is where we can channel what Vaclav Havel called ‘the power of the powerless.’ Havel, along with other East European dissidents, demonstrated that the truthful admission of a profound limit to one’s power can actually bring fabulous respect, and resonance.
Thus when we achieve such authenticity we step into a new realm of power. Citizens can no longer outsource the responsibility (of solving our predicament) to us. They must face it alongside us. The extraordinary paradox is that by admitting some of our hopes have died, we can generate a new, radical, and believable hope.
We must acknowledge that some parts of the world, especially oil-producing countries and non-democracies, will continue to exacerbate our climate predicament for some time. Getting more Greens elected is no longer about making everything okay in the early stages; it’s about making the best of a bad situation.
We must also let voters know unambiguously that climate breakdown is here and it’s too late to prevent it. Our focus must now be on coping with it and preventing it from worsening. This prepares the population for the painful process of disillusionment following the defeat of the Conservatives — and the actions of the new Labour Government. We all know already that, due to its timidity, backtracking, and half-measures, the new government will prove insufficient in dealing with the emerging climate breakdown.
It is crucial that we Greens, not parties like Reform, benefit from the coming disappointment. To do so, we must seize the agenda and make it meaningful for the average voter. By way of talking plainly, of backing an agenda of transformative adaptation, and by majoring on the co-benefits in terms of addressing cost of living. Beginning, that is, with no-brainers like insulation, and localised accessible food-growing and water storage.
Yes, we are so proud of our election success. But because we achieved our aims, we can now say: none of this is enough. Our civilization is on course for a great humbling. Climate breakdown will even make parts of the world unlivable.
The most powerful thing the Green Party can do now is to confess that it’s too late to arrest climate breakdown entirely and admit things will get worse before they get better. The ultimate reason to elect more Greens is that we are best equipped to help the country and the world navigate the terrible, unknown impacts beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius. We are brave enough to tell this whole truth — even if it means no longer posing as electorally-deliverable saviours.
