A time of “Yes and...”

The failures of our current extractive economic system are exposed for all to see, climate catastrophe, increasing inequality, finance flowing away from emerging economies to the small group of countries that founded the international financial architecture.

If you are committed to working towards justice - a fairer, greener, well being aligned future then, economic transformation must be on your agenda.

The time is now. Or is it?

Public polling over this year of elections tells us that globally people have an appetite for transformative change. For instance, in just two areas tax and climate change, we find strong and widespread support for some form of wealth tax, and a desire for ambitious climate action.

When thinking about climate change and protecting nature, 71% of people surveyed believe major action is needed immediately – within the next decade – to reduce carbon emissions. Higher carbon taxes, higher progressive taxation on income and higher tax rates for large businesses also receive support from a majority, to fund major changes to our economy and lifestyles. People want political and economic reform. Two in three people agree that the way the economy works should prioritise the health and wellbeing of people and nature rather than focusing solely on profit and increasing wealth.

Climate change is a top global issue too. A majority of respondents in most surveyed areas (103 out of 110) say climate change should be either a “very high” or “high” priority for their own governments. 80% of people globally said that they want their country to take action on climate change, while 72% of people globally said that they want their country to move away from fossil fuels to clean energy quickly.

Despite this popular demand, our political class have failed to seize this opportunity and have instead responded with incremental policies hopelessly inadequate to the challenge of a more just economy. In this year of elections, incumbents have struggled, populists have provided simplistic, false and discriminatory answers, and left-wing governments have failed to answer how they are going to pay for the inevitable transition to a low carbon inclusive economy.

Into this gap is a space that civil society organisations desperately need to fill to build societal demand for a green and fair futures. As our contribution to this challenge the Green Economy Coalition, Wellbeing Economy Alliance and Earth4All have come together with allied and diverse partners to share ideas, strategies and initiatives across our complementary work and explore the potential of greater convergence around a narrative of economic transformation across diverse movements.

Collaboration is a muscle

The conversation in New York suggested that we continue to facilitate a space for this ongoing convergence of narratives and movements, amplifying the influencing work we are all doing, seeking to engage wider audiences (notably from more grassroots levels) and mobilisation behind actionable change at key moments.

Those who participated said we should do this by keeping the space flexible, fluid and inclusive, informal, open to new interest and engagement, and systemic rather than more narrowly focused. It should be a jointly -owned space, and facilitation of the space can rotate. And while being more oriented to action and mobilisation, this would still be connected to the policy discussion spaces.

Yes and...

We are happy to continue to coordinate, connect, welcome and build bridges across these themes and organisations, this is core to the DNA of GEC. Though through out these conversations there were glimmers of demand for a wide, inclusive popular movement. While starting coordinating and complimenting there visions of a more ambitious stronger form of collaboration. One that connected different narrative communities, and that meets people where they are to encourage participation and engagement.

In New York there was energy around an idea of building a coalition that encourages inclusion, that is comfortable with difference, and that can champion a consistent idea in different spaces - because the change we seek requires all of us working together. We need to be more sophisticated than being insiders or outsiders, we all need to be in, together. We need to think about how we champion the local, and how to platform it at the international level, driving opportunities and resources to the grassroots. We need solidarity between different issues and agendas. If we are to build an alliance strong enough to transform the current economic system, we need to move to more inclusive paradigms - perhaps like the three horizons framework outlined above.

Saying all of this, we can only move as fast as trust. So if you are interested in joining, sharing and coordinating on this agenda do get in touch.

- Jean McLean, Green Economy Coalition