An Analysis of the Climate Political Stances and Socio-Ecological Transformation of European Radical Left Parties
王聪聪:欧洲激进左翼政党的气候政治立场与社会生态转型探析
In recent years, capitalist countries globally have been universally experiencing socio-political crises. Multiple crises—economic crisis, climate crisis, democratic institutional crisis, regional conflicts—pose challenges to the capitalist system. The solutions to these crises vary according to differences in historical contexts, the depth of the crises, and social power relations across countries. For example, in most European countries and regions, political authoritarianism and neoliberalism have deepened further. The new global political and economic situation has also led to constant shifts in the political issues that European citizens focus on. Looking at the 2019 European elections, the development of the EU has shaped new areas of issue conflict among European party families. During the European debt crisis, issues such as economic recession, unemployment, and public finances were common political concerns for the public. After 2015, immigration and refugee issues gradually dominated elections in some countries. At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ukraine crisis, and climate change have highlighted the importance of issues such as public health, energy and security, climate and ecology, and digitalization. The recent electoral victories of European Green parties and their participation in government in Germany, Austria, Finland, and elsewhere also indicate, to a certain extent, that climate change and ecological issues have become salient topics on the political agendas of both the EU and individual European countries.
近年来,全球资本主义国家正普遍经历社会政治危机。经济危机、气候危机、民主制度危机、地区冲突等多重危机对资本主义制度体系构成挑战,而应对危机的解决方案也因不同国家历史情境、危机深度、社会权力关系的差异而不同。例如,在欧洲大部分国家和地区,政治威权主义和新自由主义得到进一步深化,全球政治经济新形势也导致欧洲民众关注的政治议题领域不断变化。从2019年的欧洲大选来看,欧盟的发展塑造了欧洲政党家族之间新的议题冲突领域。欧洲债务危机期间,经济衰退、失业、公共财政等问题曾是民众普遍关心的政治议题;而2015年之后,移民和难民问题逐渐在一些国家的大选中占据主导地位。与此同时,新冠疫情、乌克兰危机、气候变化也使得公共卫生、能源与安全、气候与生态、数字化等议题的重要性凸显。近期欧洲绿党的选举胜利及其在德国、奥地利、芬兰等国执政,也在一定程度上表明气候变化与生态环境议题已成为欧盟层面以及欧洲各国政治议程中的显著性议题。
Faced with the increasingly severe global climate crisis and ecological challenges, mainstream political parties in Western countries hold different political preferences regarding emission reduction and ecological issues. Taking Europe as an example, European Green parties have the most radical policies on emission reduction, energy transition, and ecological environmental protection. Center-left social democratic parties and center-right conservative parties are also usually committed to emission reduction and renewable energy policies. Relevant research shows that right-wing populist parties often hold a hostile attitude towards the climate agenda, with their leaders and supporters frequently expressing various forms of climate skepticism. How European radical left parties view the global climate crisis and ecological crisis, and what similarities and differences their political stances on climate change, energy transition, etc., have with other parties, are worthy of in-depth exploration.
面对日益严峻的全球气候危机和生态挑战,西方国家主流政党在减排和生态环境议题上有着不同的政治偏好。以欧洲为例,欧洲绿党在减排、能源转型、生态环境保护等方面的政策最为激进,中左翼的社会民主党和中右翼的保守党通常也致力于减排和可再生能源政策。而相关研究表明,右翼民粹主义政党往往对气候变化议程持敌视态度,它们的领导人和支持者频繁地表达各种形式的气候怀疑主义。欧洲激进左翼政党如何看待全球气候危机和生态危机,它们在气候变化、能源转型等方面的政治立场与其他政党有哪些异同,值得深入探究。
I. The Political Response of European Radical Left Parties to the Climate Crisis
一、欧洲激进左翼政党对气候危机的政治回应
In the field of party competition in Western countries, traditional materialist issues such as the economy and the welfare state often occupy most of the political agenda. Entering the mid-to-late 20th century, as Green parties emerged as new forces in party competition, they continuously promoted the politicization of "new politics" issues such as the ecological environment and climate change, making them one of the themes of party competition. The degree of politicization of green issues by parties and the political response of traditional parties to these issues vary significantly across different countries and periods. For example, compared to Germany and the Netherlands, pioneers in environmental policy, the politicization of environmental issues by parties in the UK has been relatively limited. From the perspective of party competition, traditional parties often initially chose to ignore "new politics" issues or attempted to downplay the importance of ecological issues. Over time, many established parties shifted to adaptive strategies, adjusting their environmental political stances by emphasizing different green policies. For European radical left parties, responding to the electoral competition of Green parties, securing potential political allies, catering to the public's green political demands, renewing political ideology, and reshaping party image are all important driving factors for their attention to "new politics" issues and their response to climate change and ecological crises.
在西方国家政党竞争领域,经济、福利国家等传统物质主义议题常常占据大部分政治议程。进入20世纪中后期,随着绿党成为政党博弈中的新生力量,它们不断推动生态环境和气候变化等“新政治”议题的政治化,使其成为政党竞争的主题之一。绿色议题的政党政治化程度和传统政党对该议题的政治回应在不同国家和不同时期都有着显著差异。例如,相较于环境政策先驱者的德国与荷兰,英国环境议题的政党政治化相对有限。从政党竞争层面看,传统政党最初经常选择忽略“新政治”议题或试图降低生态环境议题的重要性,而随着时间的推移,很多既存政党转向适应性战略,通过强调不同的绿色政策来调整其环境政治立场。对于欧洲激进左翼政党而言,应对绿党的选举竞争、争取潜在的政治盟友、迎合民众的绿色政治诉求、革新政治意识形态和重塑政党形象都是其关注“新政治”议题、回应气候变化和生态环境危机的重要促动因素。
(1) The Political Response of Radical Left Parties at the Organizational Level
(一)激进左翼政党在组织层面的政治回应
Faced with the competitive pressure from European Green parties and the increasingly prominent ecological issues in electoral politics, European radical left parties have responded more actively than social democratic and center-right parties. Starting from the 1970s, and especially after the 1990s, new left parties within the radical left party family, such as the Norwegian Socialist Left Party, the Greek Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA), the Portuguese Left Bloc, and the Swedish Left Party, were successively established. These parties tend to build more inclusive organizational structures, actively engage with new social movements, pay greater attention to issues such as environmental protection, climate change, energy transition, and feminism, and are inclined to form political alliances or coalition governments with Green parties and other left-wing parties. In the 2019 European Parliament elections, six parties—the Portuguese Left Bloc, Spain's Podemos, Denmark's Red-Green Alliance, the Finnish Left Alliance, La France Insoumise, and the Swedish Left Party—jointly established a left-wing progressive platform aimed at achieving a "red" and "green" Europe, called "Now, The People," and released a common electoral program, *A European New Green Deal Is Necessary*. This "red-green" program opposes tax havens and unequal trade, advocates for stopping the militarization of the EU and actively addressing climate change, aiming to provide an alternative to the EU's neoliberalism and right-wing nationalism. "Now, The People" proposes drafting a European climate law to ensure that survival takes precedence over the competition rules and economic freedoms of the EU internal market. Additionally, some radical left parties have created thematic groups or network platforms related to ecological protection, climate change, and energy transition. For example, the German Left Party, together with the Social Democratic Party and the Green Party during their governing coalition in Berlin, established the "Berlin Energy Platform."
面对欧洲绿党的竞争压力以及选举政治中日益凸显的生态环境议题,欧洲激进左翼政党比社会民主党和中右翼政党更加积极地进行政治回应。从20世纪70年代开始,尤其是90年代之后,激进左翼政党家族内部的新左翼政党,如挪威社会主义左翼党、希腊激进左翼联盟、葡萄牙左翼联盟、瑞典左翼党等纷纷成立,它们倾向于建立更具包容性的组织结构,积极介入新社会运动,更加关注环境保护、气候变化、能源转型、女性主义等议题,同时倾向于与绿党以及其他左翼政党组建政治联盟或联合执政。在2019年的欧洲议会大选中,葡萄牙左翼联盟、西班牙“我们能”党、丹麦“红绿”联盟、芬兰左翼联盟、“不屈法国”党以及瑞典左翼党六个政党联合成立了一个旨在实现“红色”和“绿色”欧洲的左翼进步平台——“现在,人民”(Now, The People),并发布了共同选举纲领——《欧洲绿色新政是必要的》(A European New Green Deal Is Necessary)。这一“红绿”纲领反对避税天堂和不平等贸易,主张停止欧盟军事化行动、积极应对气候变化,希望提供一个不同于欧盟新自由主义和右翼国家主义的方案。“现在,人民”倡议制定一部欧洲气候法,以确保生存优先于欧盟内部市场的竞争规则和经济自由。此外,一些激进左翼政党还创建了涉及生态环境保护、气候变化、能源转型等议题的专题小组或网络平台,例如德国左翼党与社会民主党、绿党在柏林市执政期间创建了“柏林能源平台”。
The European transnational party—the Party of the European Left—also pays considerable attention to climate crisis and ecological issues, with substantial discussions in its recent congress documents. For instance, at its Seventh Congress, the Party of the European Left elaborated on the current economic crisis, war crisis, health crisis, climate crisis, and democratic and political crisis facing Europe. It stated: "We are facing ecological challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss, which fundamentally question our modes of production and consumption. However, the EU and European governments are unable to adequately address these challenges: the measures taken to tackle the climate crisis are far from sufficient." The Party of the European Left has several working groups focusing on different issues. Among them, the Environment Working Group and the Energy Transition and Industrial Policy Network Working Group primarily concentrate on ecological issues, addressing climate change and energy transition. For example, they engage in critical reflection on the *European Green Deal*, actively discuss redistribution and democratization issues, and conduct strategic debates on energy transition in the industrial sector. The Energy Transition and Industrial Policy Network Working Group released its first working document, *The 2022 Energy Crisis*, at the European Forum in October 2022. The document criticizes the negative impacts of the liberalized European energy market, namely rising energy prices and increased energy poverty, and calls on the European left to confront the energy crisis and provide solutions.
欧洲跨国政党——欧洲左翼党也比较关注气候危机和生态环境议题,在近几年的党代会文件中均有较大篇幅的论述。例如,在其第七次代表大会上,欧洲左翼党着重阐述了当前欧洲面临的经济危机、战争危机、健康危机、气候危机、民主和政治危机。它指出:“我们正面临着气候变化和生物多样性丧失等生态挑战,这从根本上质疑着我们的生产和消费方式。然而,欧盟和欧洲政府无法充分应对这些挑战:为应对气候危机而采取的措施远远不够。”欧洲左翼党内部设有关注不同议题的多个工作组,其中,环境工作组、能源转型与工业政策网络工作组主要聚焦生态环境议题、应对气候变化与能源转型等议题领域,例如,它们对《欧洲绿色新政》进行批判性反思、对再分配与民主化问题进行积极讨论、对工业领域能源转型进行战略辩论等。能源转型与工业政策网络工作组在2022年10月的欧洲论坛上发布了第一份工作文件《2022年的能源危机》,该文件批评了欧洲自由化能源市场所带来的负面影响,即能源价格上涨与能源贫困增加,并呼吁欧洲左翼必须正视能源危机并提供解决方案。
Furthermore, the European United Left–Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) parliamentary group has also carried out much constructive work in the fields of climate change and energy policy. For example, in November 2019, it released the *European Green Social New Deal* and held seminars on topics such as energy transition, climate justice, socio-ecological transformation, and green transport. On December 11, the day the European Commission published the *European Green Deal*, the "Transform! Europe" network and the GUE/NGL parliamentary group held a seminar on a socialist green deal at the European Parliament. Radical left party members and left-wing scholars at the seminar pointed out that the *European Green Deal* notably lacks attention to the welfare state and trade union rights, and is also disconnected from the radical left's vision of eco-socialism and feminist socialism. At the same time, however, it provides important inspiration for left-wing parties in formulating climate and energy policies.
此外,“欧洲联合左翼—北欧绿色左翼”议会党团也在气候变化和能源政策领域开展了很多建设性工作。例如,在2019年11月出台《欧洲绿色社会新政》,举办关于能源转型、气候正义、社会生态转型、绿色交通等主题的研讨会等。12月11日,在欧盟委员会公布《欧洲绿色新政》的当天,“转变!欧洲”和“欧洲联合左翼—北欧绿色左翼”议会党团在欧洲议会举行了关于社会主义绿色新政的研讨会。激进左翼政党的议员、左翼学者在会上指出,《欧洲绿色新政》一方面明显缺失对福利国家、工会权利的关注,另一方面也与激进左翼对生态社会主义与女性社会主义的愿景无关,但同时,它也为左翼政党制定气候与能源政策提供了重要启发。
(2) The Political Response of Radical Left Parties at the Programmatic and Policy Level
(二)激进左翼政党在纲领政策层面的政治回应
A party’s program centrally embodies its political stance on relevant issues. Ecological and environmental issues, climate change, energy transition, and other green political content have become important components of the programs of radical left parties. Since the 1990s, the focus of the new round of programmatic readjustment and innovation among European radical left parties has been on cultural issues, but their willingness and ability to respond to left-liberal values or “new politics” issues remain divided, and their positioning on many political issues is influenced by social democratic parties and green parties. Since the working class was once the core electorate of left-wing parties, social democratic parties and radical left parties typically select the issues most concerning to the left-wing camp in their election manifestos, such as social justice, pensions and the welfare state system, minimum wages, and workers’ rights. At the same time, they also take into account issues of high concern to voters and those raised by other parties, such as climate change and refugee issues.
政党的纲领集中体现了其在相关议题上的政治立场。生态环境议题、气候变化与能源转型等绿色政治内容已成为激进左翼政党纲领中的重要组成部分。20世纪90年代以来,欧洲激进左翼政党新一轮纲领再调整与革新的重点是关注文化议题,但它们回应左翼自由主义价值观或“新政治”议题的意愿和能力依然是分裂的,在很多政治议题上的定位受到社会民主党、绿党的影响。由于工人阶级曾是左翼政党最核心的选民,社会民主党与激进左翼政党通常会在竞选纲领中挑选涉及左翼阵营的最为关注的议题,如社会正义、养老金和福利国家制度、最低工资和工人权利等。与此同时,它们也会兼顾选民高度关注以及其他政党提出的重要性议题,如气候变化、难民问题等。
Taking election manifestos as an example, climate change and energy transition issues were highly salient in the 2019 Spanish general election. In that election, the United Left and Podemos proposed achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 and 100% renewable electricity generation. After the election, they also formulated a sustainable transport plan in the governing program they agreed upon, aiming to increase public transport financing and economic subsidies for electric vehicles. Denmark’s Red-Green Alliance (Enhedslisten) makes radical social change and green change its core political pursuit, committed to building an equal, democratic, and sustainable socialist society. Socio-economic issues and climate politics are the most important issue areas in the party’s political program. For example, in the 2019 European elections, Denmark’s Red-Green Alliance pointed out that the EU’s current climate policy is insufficient to ensure its smooth fulfillment of the obligations of the Paris Agreement, and that more ambitious climate targets should be set, with Denmark as a pioneer needing to go further than the EU. Based on this, the Red-Green Alliance proposed that the EU’s 2030 carbon dioxide emission reduction target must be raised from 40% to at least 65%, and that zero carbon dioxide emissions should be achieved by 2040. Greece’s Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) also pays close attention to ecological and environmental issues and to emission reduction and energy policies at the European level. In the 2019 Greek general election, climate change and renewable energy were among the five major policy areas in SYRIZA’s election manifesto, and the party hoped to achieve the EU’s renewable energy targets through a radical green energy transition. In the 2019 European elections, Luxembourg’s The Left (déi Lénk) proposed building a more just, ecological, and united Europe, and emphasized the necessity and importance of an ecological transformation based on social justice. The Party of the European Left has also, in its successive congress documents and European election manifestos, proposed a vision of achieving an ecological and sustainable Europe, aiming to address climate change and ecological challenges through a new industrial model and development model, and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
以选举纲领为例,气候变化和能源转型议题在西班牙2019年的大选中具有较高的热度。在此次大选中,西班牙联合左翼和“我们能”党提出要在2050年实现碳中和,并实现100%可再生能源发电。大选后,它们还在达成的施政纲领中制定了可持续的交通计划,希望增加公共交通融资和对电动汽车的经济补贴。丹麦“红绿”联盟党将激进的社会变革与绿色变革作为核心政治追求,致力于建立一个平等、民主和可持续发展的社会主义社会,社会经济议题和气候政治议题是该党政治纲领中最重要的议题领域。例如,在2019年的欧洲大选中,丹麦“红绿”联盟指出,欧盟目前的气候政策不足以保证其顺利履行《巴黎协定》的义务,应该制定更加雄心勃勃的气候目标,丹麦作为先锋需要比欧盟走得更远。基于此,丹麦“红绿”联盟建议,欧盟2030年的二氧化碳减排目标必须从40%提高到至少65%,并在2040年实现二氧化碳零排放。希腊激进左翼联盟也高度关注生态环境议题和欧洲层面的减排政策、能源政策。在2019年的希腊大选中,气候变化和可再生能源是希腊激进左翼联盟竞选纲领的五大政策领域之一,该党希望通过激进的绿色能源转型来实现欧盟的可再生能源目标。在2019年的欧洲大选中,卢森堡左翼党提出建设一个更加公正、生态和团结的欧洲的倡议,并强调基于社会正义的生态转型的必要性和重要性。欧洲左翼党也在历次党代会文件和欧洲大选纲领中提出致力于实现一个生态的和可持续发展的欧洲的愿景,旨在通过新的工业模式和发展模式来应对气候变化和生态挑战,并在2050年之前实现碳中和。
Furthermore, many radical left parties have also issued thematic climate or energy reports to elaborate their climate stances. For example, Northern Ireland’s Sinn Féin issued a thematic report in 2021 titled “Solving the Climate Crisis: Sinn Féin’s Energy Policy,” which centrally elaborates the party’s ambitious “decarbonization” strategy for Northern Ireland’s energy system, namely achieving carbon neutrality by at least 2050 through a just transition. Norway’s Socialist Left Party also adopted a thematic report on “Climate Politics” in 2021, detailing the party’s climate political goals and implementation plan, namely committing to reducing Norway’s carbon dioxide emissions by 70% by 2030 and ensuring a just green transition. Denmark’s Red-Green Alliance has also formulated thematic programs on housing policy, feminist politics, green politics, EU policy, etc., among which the “Green Program” elaborates the party’s vision of a “red-green” social future, i.e., building a sustainable socialist society. The Red-Green Alliance is committed to transforming Denmark, within a few decades, into a country with minimal climate and environmental impact, enjoying welfare, equality, and a high quality of life, through a democratic, “red,” and “green” transformation. As an eco-socialist party, the British Left Unity party, in November 2021, jointly issued the “Eco-Socialist Alliance COP26 Statement” together with “Green Left,” “Resistance Against Capitalism,” and other organizations.
此外,很多激进左翼政党还出台了专题性的气候报告或能源报告,以阐述其气候立场。例如,北爱尔兰新芬党于2021年出台了《解决气候危机:新芬党的能源政策》专题报告,集中阐释了该党对北爱尔兰地区能源系统雄心勃勃的“脱碳”战略,即至少到2050年通过公正转型实现碳中和。挪威社会主义左翼党也于2021年通过了一份《气候政治》专题报告,详细论述了该党的气候政治目标及实施方案,即致力于到2030年将挪威的二氧化碳排放量削减70%,并确保公正的绿色转型。丹麦“红绿”联盟同样制定了关于住房政策、女性主义政治、绿色政治、欧盟政策等专题性纲领,其中《绿色纲领》阐述了该党的“红绿”社会未来愿景,即建设一个可持续的社会主义社会。丹麦“红绿”联盟致力于通过民主的、“红色”的和“绿色”的转型,在几十年内将丹麦转变为一个对气候和环境影响最小,享有福利、平等和高质量生活的国家。作为一个生态社会主义政党,英国左翼团结党于2021年11月联合“绿色左翼”“反资本主义抵抗”以及其他一些组织共同发布了《生态社会主义联盟COP26声明》。
II. The Socio-Ecological Transformation of the Radical Left and the “Red-Green” Political Vision
二、激进左翼的社会生态转型与“红绿”政治愿景
European radical left parties as a whole criticize the current EU’s neoliberal-tinged ecological transformation plan and the European Green Deal, proposing a Left Green New Deal based on left-wing traditions, prominently emphasizing the social nature, fairness, and people-centeredness of the ecological transformation. European radical left parties hope to systematically, fundamentally, and comprehensively restructure the economic development model through socio-ecological transformation, in order to achieve public ownership of the means of social production, and ultimately effectively address the climate crisis and economic crisis.
欧洲激进左翼政党整体上批判当前欧盟具有新自由主义色彩的生态转型方案和《欧洲绿色新政》,提出了基于左翼传统的《左翼绿色新政》(Left Green New Deal),突出强调生态转型的社会性、公平性和人民性。欧洲激进左翼政党希望通过社会生态转型对经济发展模式进行系统性、根本性和全面性重构,以实现社会生产资料的公共所有,并最终有效应对气候危机和经济危机。
The formulation of socio-ecological transformation theory represents the theoretical response of European left-wing party think tanks, such as the German Rosa Luxemburg Foundation and other non-governmental organizations, and critical scholars like Austrian professor of social-ecological critique Ulrich Brand, to Europe’s multiple crises. As a comprehensive theory, socio-ecological transformation theory explains the roots of global multiple crises from an emancipatory perspective, critically examines mainstream solutions to the crises and the development logic behind them, and proposes a strategic conception of a new political, economic, and cultural framework. The discourse of socio-ecological transformation theory has been adopted by many radical left parties and written into their party programs. The Party of the European Left, at its 6th and 7th Congresses held in 2019 and 2022 respectively, explicitly defined the radical left’s alternative as socio-ecological transformation. For example, at its 6th Congress, the party made socio-ecological transformation the core of the left-wing project, proposing that sustainable economic, ecological, and social development would replace capitalist competition and austerity policies; at its 7th Congress, it again emphasized that the key to building a democratic, social, ecological, and peaceful European project is socio-ecological transformation. The theoretical construction of socio-ecological transformation by radical left parties is mainly manifested in the following three aspects.
社会生态转型理论的提出代表着欧洲左翼政党智库,如德国罗莎·卢森堡基金会等非政府组织和奥地利社会生态批判学教授乌尔里希·布兰德等批判学者对欧洲多重危机的理论回应。作为一种综合性理论,社会生态转型理论以一种解放性的视野阐释了全球多重危机的根源,批判性地看待应对危机的主流方案及其背后的发展逻辑,并提出了全新的政治、经济和文化框架的战略构想。社会生态转型理论的话语被很多激进左翼政党采纳并写入政党纲领,而欧洲左翼党也在2019年和2022年分别召开的第六次和第七次代表大会上明确将激进左翼的替代方案定义为社会生态转型。例如,该党在第六次代表大会上将社会生态转型作为左翼项目的核心,提出经济、生态和社会的可持续发展将替代资本主义的竞争和紧缩政策;在第七次代表大会上,它再次强调,建立一个民主的、社会的、生态的、和平的欧洲方案的关键是社会生态转型。激进左翼政党对社会生态转型的理论构建主要表现在以下三个方面。
(I) Critical Reflection on the Roots of the Climate and Ecological Crisis
(一)对气候与生态危机根源的批判性反思
European radical left parties generally regard the capitalist system as the root cause of the climate crisis, believing that the capitalist development model, which aims at maximizing profits and unlimited growth, has led to serious social and ecological consequences. They argue that “green capitalism,” which seeks to repair the mechanisms of capitalist development and sustain the dominant daily practices of politics, economy, and culture, cannot truly address the root of the crisis. For example, the Left Party of Luxembourg holds that the main cause of the global climate and ecological crisis is the capitalist system, which, in pursuit of economic growth and profit targets, enslaves humanity and nature without limit. It views so-called “green growth” as merely a propaganda strategy serving multinational corporations and the super-rich. The Red-Green Alliance of Denmark, in its basic program adopted at the 25th Congress in 2014, pointed out that humanity is in the midst of systemic crises—financial, energy, food, climate, and environmental—and that capitalism is destroying the planet’s ecological foundations. It stated that capitalism’s growth-oriented economy is ecologically unsustainable and produces unequal social outcomes. On November 17, 2023, the “Now, the People” alliance, in a political statement titled “United for Solidarity, Climate, Justice, and Peace,” declared: “The impacts of climate change on Europe are becoming more evident, with a series of climate disasters… These crises once again demonstrate the absurdity and danger of the current European neoliberal treaties; the direction taken by the EU is leading us directly into a dead end.” They criticize the EU’s ultraliberal logic of placing corporate interests above the rights of people and workers, and call for an alternative project that genuinely combats global warming, protects nature, and safeguards the interests of the working class.
欧洲激进左翼政党普遍将资本主义制度看做气候危机的根源,认为以实现利润最大化和无限增长为目标的资本主义发展模式导致了严重的社会生态后果,而旨在修复资本主义发展机制和维系主导性的政治、经济和文化的日常实践的“绿色资本主义”并不能真正触及危机的根源。例如,在卢森堡左翼党看来,导致全球气候与生态危机的主要原因是资本主义制度,它为了追求经济增长和利润目标而无限度地奴役人类和自然,而所谓的“绿色增长”也只是一种宣传策略,服务于跨国公司和超级富豪。丹麦“红绿”联盟党在2014年第二十五次代表大会上通过的基本纲领中指出,人类正处于金融危机、能源危机、粮食危机、气候和环境危机等系统性危机之中,资本主义正破坏地球的生态基础,资本主义的增长型经济在生态上是不可持续的,产生的社会后果是不平等的。2023年11月17日,“现在,人民”联盟在题为《团结一致,争取团结、气候、正义与和平》的政治声明中指出:“气候变化对欧洲的影响变得更加明显,出现了一系列气候灾难……这些危机再次表明了当前欧洲新自由主义条约的荒谬性和危险性,欧盟所采取的方向正将我们直接引向绝境”。它们批判欧盟将企业利益置于人民和工人权利之上的极端自由主义逻辑,呼吁建立一个真正对抗全球变暖、保护自然,同时保障工人阶级利益的替代性项目。
Furthermore, based on their left-wing political stance, European radical left parties particularly emphasize that the climate change issue involves social redistribution among countries and between the Global North and South, and they advocate for climate justice. In the view of radical left parties, current global climate policies are failed and unjust. On the one hand, the consumption of Earth’s resources is spatially and socially unjust: wealthy regions consume more natural resources than poor regions, the rich more than the poor, and men more than women. On the other hand, the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation are uneven: those who contribute least to climate and ecosystem destruction and have the lowest capacity to withstand shocks are the most affected, with poor countries suffering more from ecological disasters than wealthy ones. The German Left Party points out that climate protection and social justice are inseparable: without social justice, a major transition to a carbon-neutral economy cannot succeed; without climate justice, there will be no social justice now or in the future, because the climate crisis first affects those in socially disadvantaged positions. Based on this, European radical left parties call on Europe to assume greater emission reduction responsibilities and obligations at the international level, becoming a leader in addressing climate change and achieving carbon neutrality. Both the European United Left–Nordic Green Left parliamentary group and the parties of the “Now, the People” platform call for Europe to enact a climate law that prioritizes survival over market competition rules, propose more binding emission reduction targets, and revise the emission reductions under “Nationally Determined Contributions” to align with the 1.5°C warming limit pledged in the Paris Agreement.
此外,基于左翼政治立场,欧洲激进左翼政党还特别强调气候变化议题是涉及各个国家以及南北之间的社会再分配问题,并主张实现气候正义。在激进左翼政党看来,当前全球的气候政策是失败的和不公正的,一方面,地球资源的消耗在空间上和使用群体上是不公正的,富裕地区比贫困地区、富人比穷人、男性比女性消耗更多的自然资源;另一方面,气候变化和环境破坏的影响是不平衡的,对气候和生态系统破坏最小、抵御冲击能力最低的人口受到的影响最大,贫穷国家受到生态灾难的影响比富裕国家更大。德国左翼党指出,气候保护和社会正义是不可分割的,如果没有社会正义,那么向碳中和经济的重大转型就不可能成功;如果没有气候正义,现在和将来都不会有社会正义,因为气候危机首先影响到那些处于社会弱势地位的人。基于此,欧洲激进左翼政党呼吁欧洲应该在国际层面承担更多的减排责任和义务,成为应对气候变化和实现碳中和目标的领导者。“欧洲联合左翼—北欧绿色左翼”议会党团和“现在,人民”平台的政党都呼吁,欧洲应该制定一部以生存优先于市场竞争规则的气候法,提出更加具有约束力的减排目标,修改“国家自主贡献”的减排量以符合在《巴黎协定》中承诺的1.5℃的升温限制。
(II) Construction of an Alternative “Red-Green” Future Vision
(二)对替代性的“红绿”未来愿景的构建
The most distinctive feature of the socio-ecological transformation proposals of European radical left parties is their aim to create a new model of prosperity and development that transcends the laws of capitalist development and the neoliberal energy model, based on meeting people’s actual needs, and thereby to create an attractive mode of production and lifestyle. In other words, the “transformation” from a radical left perspective has a different direction and logic: it seeks to resolve the series of problems arising from capitalism’s profit orientation and expansion. For example, the Red-Green Alliance of Denmark states that a socialist economy should not be profit-driven but should be based on common property, democracy, people’s actual needs, and production in a way that respects the global environmental space. The socio-ecological transformation proposals of European radical left parties emphasize the integration of ecological and social needs. On the one hand, from an ecological dimension, addressing the climate and ecological crisis necessarily requires profound changes to current modes of production and lifestyle, achieving ecological sustainability, economic fairness, and the democratic reconstruction of the relationship between nature and society. On the other hand, from a social dimension, the process of ecological transformation and the green industrial revolution also requires reshaping power structures, adjusting the distribution of social wealth, and comprehensively safeguarding individual and collective social rights.
欧洲激进左翼的社会生态转型方案,最显著的特征是旨在创建一种超越资本主义发展规律和新自由主义能源模式的、以满足人们实际需求为基础的新繁荣模式和发展模式,进而创建一种具有吸引力的生产方式和生活方式。也就是说,激进左翼视域下的“转型”拥有不同的方向和逻辑,即解决由于资本主义利润取向及其扩张带来的一系列问题。例如,丹麦“红绿”联盟党就指出,社会主义经济不应该以营利为目的,而是应该建立在共同财产、民主、人们的实际需要基础之上,并以尊重全球环境空间的方式而生产的。欧洲激进左翼的社会生态转型方案强调生态需求和社会需求的结合。一方面,从生态维度看,应对气候与生态危机必然需要对当前的生产方式和生活方式进行深刻变革,实现生态可持续性、经济公平和自然社会关系的民主重建;另一方面,从社会维度看,在生态转型和进行绿色工业革命的过程中,也需要重塑权力结构、调整社会财富的分配方式、全面保障个人与集体的社会权利。
First, a new model of economic development. European radical left parties seek to create a new development model that completely transcends the capitalist economic structure—a new industrial production model that meets human needs, is resource-efficient, and breaks free from dependence on fossil fuels. In the view of radical left parties, addressing the climate crisis, the depletion of natural resources, and ecological disasters requires fundamental social change and the reorganization of production and energy models. On the one hand, European radical left parties work to create environmental public services, develop free public transportation, strengthen public water resource management, and protect biodiversity. On the other hand, they aim to reduce energy use, improve energy efficiency, implement comprehensive energy transition strategies, gradually replace traditional fossil fuels and nuclear energy with renewable energy, and place the energy transition under public control. Comparatively, European radical left parties place greater emphasis on democratic planning and value orientation in ecological transformation, arguing that long-term environmental and social considerations should replace short-term profit and growth demands, and that public investment should serve public services and ecological interests rather than profit. For example, the Party of the European Left stated at its 7th Congress: “The Left Green New Deal requires strong public control over the banking sector to guide sustainable economic processes,” and “The European Central Bank must be placed under democratic control; public funds and super-profits must be redirected toward public services and ecological transformation.” In the 2022 parliamentary elections, the French Communist Party also called for making public services a lever for socio-ecological transformation and a tool for change promoting equality and liberation, hoping to challenge the dominance and hegemony of capital, build a fairer and more just tax system, and achieve ecological and social transformation through constructing a new production and consumption model. Overall, European radical left parties support green public investment plans, arguing that obstacles to green transition investment plans in the current EU economic governance mechanisms should be removed, the liberal logic of the European energy market should be overcome, and large-scale public investment in renewable energy projects should be launched.
第一,新的经济发展模式。欧洲激进左翼政党希望创建一种完全超越资本主义经济结构的新发展模式,一种能满足人类需求、资源效率高,且能摆脱化石能源依赖的新工业生产模式。在激进左翼政党看来,为了应对气候危机、自然资源枯竭和生态灾害,需要进行根本性的社会变革,并对生产组织、能源模式进行重组。欧洲激进左翼政党一方面致力于创造环境公共服务、发展免费公共交通、加强公共水资源管理、保护生物多样性等,另一方面希望减少能源的使用、提高能源效率、实施全面的能源转型战略,逐步实现可再生能源对传统化石能源和核能源的替代,并将能源转型置于公共控制之下。相比较而言,欧洲激进左翼政党更重视生态转型中的民主规划和价值取向,认为长期的环境和社会考量应该取代短期的营利和增长需求,公共投资应该完全服务于公共服务和生态利益而非利润。例如,欧洲左翼党在第七次代表大会上指出:“《左翼绿色新政》要求公众对银行业进行强有力的控制以引领可持续经济进程”,“欧洲央行必须置于民主控制之下,公共资金和超级利润必须重新转向公共服务和生态转型”。在2022年的国会选举中,法国共产党也呼吁让公共服务成为社会生态转型的杠杆和促进平等解放的变革工具,希望它能挑战资本的统治和支配地位,建设一个更加公平公正的税收制度,并通过构建一种新的生产模式、消费模式来实现生态和社会的转型。整体而言,欧洲激进左翼政党支持绿色公共投资计划,认为应该消除当前欧盟经济治理机制中对绿色转型投资计划的障碍,克服欧洲能源市场的自由主义发展逻辑,启动针对可再生能源项目的大规模公共投资。
Second, public ownership of energy. European radical left parties particularly emphasize the public character of natural resources and the public ownership of energy, oppose the privatization of renewable energy, and seek to achieve public control over energy production and energy supply, as well as the nationalization and socialization of energy companies, fully safeguarding people’s rights in the energy transition. From the perspective of radical left parties, the energy transition and green development should prioritize the realization of social justice, eliminate energy poverty, and ensure that all people can afford the price of renewable energy. This means that the energy transition should prioritize the interests of the people and workers’ rights, rather than prioritizing corporate interests or what is determined by market competition. For example, the United Left of Spain points out that the ownership and public management of strategic natural resources such as water, energy, air, and soil are crucial, and they must be prevented from becoming commodities. The Socialist Left Party of Norway believes that Norway’s energy policy should not be dominated by market forces; the energy sector should be subject to government governance and stronger democratic control. In the green transition, the state should seek more public ownership and public funds to ensure that sustainable investments benefit the people and society. Iceland’s Left-Green Movement also emphasizes sustainability, security, and responsibility in the energy transition. On the one hand, the primary task of all energy production is to take preventive measures and protect nature; on the other hand, the state must ensure fairness in the payment of energy costs, and electricity pricing must consider all costs and ensure reasonable energy prices for households and businesses.
第二,能源的公共所有权。欧洲激进左翼政党尤其强调自然资源的公共特性和能源的公共所有权,反对可再生能源的私有化,希望实现对能源生产与能源供应的公共控制,以及能源公司的国有化和社会化,在能源转型中充分保障人民权利。在激进左翼政党看来,能源转型和绿色发展应优先实现社会正义,消除能源贫困,保证所有人都能够承担可再生能源的价格。这意味着,能源转型应将人民利益和工人权利置于优先地位,而不是优先考虑企业利益或由市场竞争所决定。例如,西班牙联合左翼指出,水、能源、空气和土壤等战略性自然资源的所有权和公共管理至关重要,要防止它们成为商品。挪威社会主义左翼党认为,挪威的能源政策不应该由市场力量主导,能源部门应接受政府管治并接受更有力的民主控制,在绿色转型中,国家应寻求更多的公共所有权和公共资金,以确保可持续的投资造福于人民和社会。冰岛左翼绿色运动也强调能源转型中的可持续性、安全和责任,一方面,所有能源生产的首要任务是采取预防措施和保护自然;另一方面,国家必须保证能源费用支付中的公平性,电力定价时必须考虑所有成本并确保家庭和企业的能源价格合理。
Third, achieving a just transition. From the perspective of European radical left parties, addressing climate change inevitably leads to profound social change, and socio-ecological transformation must be both radical and fair. Therefore, they advocate for a just transition, meaning that while solving the climate crisis, social justice must also be achieved, and the burden of sustainable development must not be shifted onto relatively less affluent social groups. Radical left parties call on the European Union to adopt a just transition as a policy tool, to retrain workers through technical re-skilling, to address unemployment through training and education, and to formulate sustainable work plans adapted to the future. The Socialist Left Party of Norway points out that a people’s, fair green transition should be achieved, meaning that Norway’s green transition must be based on a strong welfare state, invest in more emerging industries, and redistribute funds to ensure that when the economy and society are restructured, job opportunities are provided for everyone willing to work, achieving shared development and sustainable development. The United Left of Spain and the Podemos party also call for the approval of climate change and energy transition laws, creating new job opportunities while achieving emission reduction targets in areas such as energy, transportation, industry, and cities. In their view, ensuring the fairness and justice of the transition from traditional energy to renewable energy models is particularly important, especially formulating comprehensive economic and social recovery plans after closing coal-fired power plants, promoting innovative investment and green technology investment, and conducting necessary labor skills training to meet the employment needs of affected regions. The Left Party of Germany is also committed to achieving a fair and just ecological transition, that is, in the green transition to renewable energy and a sustainable economy, ensuring that everyone has safe jobs and stable incomes in the process of achieving ecological mobility and climate protection.
第三,实现公正转型。在欧洲激进左翼政党看来,应对气候变化必然导致深刻的社会变革,社会生态转型必须是激进且公平的。因而,它们倡导公正转型,即在解决气候危机的同时也必须实现社会正义,不能将可持续发展的重担转移到相对不富裕的社会群体上。激进左翼政党呼吁欧盟将公正转型作为一种政策手段,对工人进行技术再培训,通过培训和教育解决失业问题,并制定适应未来的可持续工作方案。挪威社会主义左翼党指出,应实现人民的、公平的绿色转型,这意味着挪威在绿色转型中必须以强大的福利国家为基础,投资更多的新兴产业和重新分配资金,以确保经济社会重组时能够为每个愿意工作的人提供工作机会,实现共享发展和可持续发展。西班牙联合左翼和“我们能”党也呼吁批准气候变化和能源转型法,在实现能源、交通、工业和城市等领域减排目标的同时创造新的就业机会。在它们看来,保证从传统能源向可再生能源模式转型的公平公正尤为重要,尤其是要在关闭燃煤电厂后制定周全的经济社会复苏计划,促进创新投资和绿色技术投资,并进行必要的劳动技能培训以满足受影响地区的就业需求。德国左翼党也致力于实现公平公正的生态转型,即在向可再生能源、可持续经济的绿色转型中,在实现生态流动性和气候保护的过程中确保每个人获得安全的工作和稳定的收入。
(III) Building a Progressive Alliance for Socio-Ecological Transformation
(三)建立社会生态转型的进步联盟
A liberating social science usually has three basic tasks—systematic critique of the existing world, envisioning feasible alternative solutions, and understanding the obstacles to and possibilities for transformation. The socio-ecological transformation from the perspective of the European radical left also includes envisioning the steps for change to realize the “red-green” future vision. Its basic consensus is that without broad alternative participation, a liberating socio-ecological transformation will become a castle in the air. In their view, the main force for achieving socio-ecological transformation is a diverse political alliance centered on the green left. Therefore, its strategic core lies in building broad social movements and party alliances. On the one hand, radical left parties focus on government participation and intra-parliamentary struggle; on the other hand, they also value extra-parliamentary struggle, believing that the realization of radical left political goals must rely on trade unions, social mobilization by social movements, and mass participation in other fields. For example, the Left Party of Sweden points out that the success of left-wing strategy is inseparable from broad popular participation, thus supporting the unity and cooperation of all democratic left-wing forces both inside and outside parliament. To achieve socio-ecological transformation, the Left Party of Sweden needs to strengthen cooperation between the workers’ movement, trade unions, and environmental movements at both the national and international levels, conducting long-term social mobilization and public opinion propaganda.
一种解放性的社会科学通常有三项基本任务——对现存世界的系统性批判,对可行的替代性方案的设想,以及对转型的障碍与可能性的理解。欧洲激进左翼视域下的社会生态转型同样有对实现“红绿”未来愿景变革步骤的设想。其基本共识是,如果没有广泛的替代性参与,解放性的社会生态转型将成为空中楼阁。在它们看来,实现社会生态转型的主要力量是以绿色左翼为核心的多元政治联盟,因此,其战略核心在于建立广泛的社会运动和政党联盟。一方面,激进左翼政党注重政府参与和议会内部斗争;另一方面,它们也重视议会外部斗争,认为激进左翼政治奋斗目标的实现必须依赖工会、社会运动的社会动员以及其他领域的大众参与。例如,瑞典左翼党指出,左翼战略的成功离不开广泛的民众参与,因而支持议会和非议会的所有民主左翼力量的团结与合作,为了实现社会生态转型,瑞典左翼党需要在国家和国际两个层面加强工人运动、工会和环境运动之间的合作,进行长期的社会动员和公众舆论宣传。
To further strengthen the exchange and solidarity of progressive political, social, civic, and ecological forces at the European level and formulate joint initiatives, the Party of the European Left proposed at its Fifth Congress the establishment of an annual “European Forum of Left, Green and Progressive Forces.” As a platform for political dialogue and joint initiatives, this forum demonstrates the potential and possibility of uniting broad social forces to carry out alternative projects. At the same time, discussions on common policies also help strengthen left-wing forces in Europe. The 2023 “European Forum of Left, Green and Progressive Forces” was held in Spain in November, with discussions covering topics such as social progress struggles, feminism, peace, energy and climate change, and radical left ecological alternatives. The Party of the European Left calls for consolidating and expanding this forum through formulating proposals and specific action plans, and strengthening cooperation with social, green, feminist progressive forces and social movements. Furthermore, the Party of the European Left also advocates for launching specific rupture movements against the capitalism and productivism that dominate Europe, on the basis of respecting people’s sovereignty, social progress, and safeguarding the rights of all people in the ecological and energy transition, in order to achieve new integration and cooperation among European peoples and states, and to build a new social bloc and a new political majority.
为进一步加强欧洲层面进步的政治、社会、公民和生态力量的交流与团结,制定共同的联合倡议,欧洲左翼党在第五次代表大会上提议成立年度的“左翼、绿色和进步力量欧洲论坛”(European Forum of Left, Green and Progressive Forces)。作为政治对话和联合倡议的平台,该论坛展现出其联合广泛的社会力量开展替代性项目的潜力和可能性,同时关于共同政策的相关讨论也有助于加强欧洲的左翼力量。2023年度“左翼、绿色和进步力量欧洲论坛”于11月在西班牙召开,讨论内容涉及社会进步斗争、女性主义、和平、能源与气候变化、激进左翼的生态替代方案等相关议题。欧洲左翼党呼吁通过制定提案和具体行动路线等方式巩固、扩大该论坛,并加强与社会的、绿色的、女权主义的进步力量以及社会运动之间的合作。此外,欧洲左翼党还倡议在尊重人民主权、社会进步,保障生态和能源转型中所有人权利与和平的基础上,与主导欧洲的资本主义和生产主义开展具体的决裂运动,以实现欧洲人民和国家之间新的融合与合作,构建新的社会集团和新的政治多数
III. An Analysis of European Radical Left Climate Political Stances from a Comparative Perspective
三、比较视野下的欧洲激进左翼气候政治立场分析
Overall, the new left-wing parties within European radical left parties are highly concerned with ecological environment and climate change issues. They advocate for solving climate change problems through international cooperation in global climate governance and have proposed ambitious climate policy goals. From the perspective of European radical left parties, the European Green Deal has not broken free from the logic of neoliberalism and profit supremacy. Therefore, they hope to create a new development model to address climate change through socio-ecological transformation or by implementing a Left Green New Deal, achieving carbon neutrality through an energy transition that embodies social justice. As organizations with a strong historical political orientation, the ideology and organizational characteristics of parties guide their responses to new political issues. That is to say, the ideological models and party family traits rooted in political cleavages are the prisms through which we observe how parties handle new issues. The responses of European radical left parties to climate politics or green political issues are also constrained by their deep-seated ideologies and political tendencies, and they place greater emphasis on the social dimensions of emission reduction and energy transition. What are the similarities and differences between European radical left parties and European Green parties, social democratic parties, conservative parties, and far-right parties in terms of climate policy and energy policy? The following mainly takes radical left parties in Germany and Sweden as examples, examining the positioning and policy stances of representative parties on climate change and energy policy based on their latest election platforms.
整体而言,欧洲激进左翼政党内部的新左翼政党高度关注生态环境和气候变化议题,它们主张通过全球气候治理的国际合作来解决气候变化问题,并提出了雄心勃勃的气候政策目标。在欧洲激进左翼政党看来,《欧洲绿色新政》并没有摆脱新自由主义和利润至上的逻辑,因此它们希望通过社会生态转型或践行《左翼绿色新政》来创建一种应对气候变化的新发展模式,通过体现社会正义的能源转型以实现碳中和目标。作为历史性政治取向较强的组织,政党的意识形态和组织特征指引着它们对新政治议题的回应,也就是说,根植于政治分野的意识形态模式和政党家族特征是我们观察政党处理新议题的棱镜。欧洲激进左翼政党对气候政治或绿色政治议题的回应也受制于其根深蒂固的意识形态和政治倾向,它们更侧重于强调减排和能源转型的社会维度。欧洲激进左翼政党与欧洲绿党、社会民主党、保守党以及极右翼政党在气候政策和能源政策方面有哪些异同?以下主要以德国、瑞典两个国家的激进左翼政党为例,依据其最新的选举纲领来考察代表性政党在气候变化、能源政策上的定位和政策立场。
From the perspective of German left-wing parties, the Left Party, the Social Democratic Party of Germany, and the Green Party all relatively consistently support ambitious carbon neutrality targets and “decarbonization” goals, all hoping to expand the development of renewable energy and promote the utilization of hydrogen energy and climate-friendly transportation. Relatively speaking, the climate and energy policy goals of the Left Party and the Green Party are more radical than those of the Social Democratic Party. For example, the Left Party and the Green Party respectively propose achieving carbon neutrality by 2030 and 2040, while the Social Democratic Party sets this target at 2050; the Left Party and the Green Party hope to phase out coal before 2030, whereas the Social Democratic Party’s coal phase-out date is 2038. In terms of energy policy, the Left Party, the Social Democratic Party, and the Green Party all advocate accelerating the development of renewable energy and vigorously developing hydrogen energy. The Left Party and the Green Party respectively propose achieving 100% renewable electricity generation by around 2035 and 2040. The Swedish Left Party has a strong consensus on climate goals, all committed to achieving net-zero emissions in Sweden and breaking free from dependence on fossil energy. The Swedish Social Democratic Party proposes achieving net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2045, striving to build the world’s first fossil-free welfare state, hoping to lead climate change within the EU and globally. In terms of energy policy, the Swedish Left Party and the Swedish Green Party respectively propose transforming Sweden into a fossil-free welfare state by 2035 and 2030. From the perspective of the Swedish Left Party, a successful climate policy requires a fair perspective combining “red” and “green,” that is, a climate and energy policy that integrates climate and environmental efforts with social justice policies. Based on its left-wing political stance, the Swedish Left Party, on the one hand, calls on Sweden to financially help poor countries transition towards a more sustainable and climate-adapted society, and on the other hand, advocates for the state to implement large-scale green investment plans for fossil-free industries.
从德国的左翼政党来看,德国左翼党、德国社会民主党和德国绿党都较为一致地支持雄心勃勃的碳中和目标以及“脱碳”目标,都希望扩大可再生能源发展,推动氢能的利用与气候友好型交通的发展。相对而言,左翼党与绿党的气候与能源政策目标比社会民主党更加激进。例如,左翼党与绿党分别提出要在2030年和2040年实现碳中和目标,而社会民主党的这一目标设定是2050年;左翼与绿党党希望在2030年之前淘汰煤炭,而社会民主党的退煤时间是2038年。在能源政策方面,左翼党、社会民主党和绿党都主张加快可再生能源发展,并大力发展氢气,左翼党和绿党分别提出要在2035年和2040年左右实现100%的可再生能源发电。瑞典左翼党在气候目标方面有较强的共识,都致力于实现瑞典净零排放和摆脱对化石能源的依赖。瑞典社会民主党提出要在2045年实现二氧化碳净零排放目标,致力于建设世界上第一个无化石的福利国家,希望引领欧盟和世界范围内的气候变革。在能源政策方面,瑞典左翼党和瑞典绿党分别提出要在2035年和2030年将瑞典转变为无化石能源使用的福利国家。在瑞典左翼党看来,一项成功的气候政策需要一个“红色”和“绿色”相结合的公平视角,即气候、环境努力与社会正义政策相融合的气候和能源政策。基于左翼政治立场,瑞典左翼党一方面呼吁瑞典必须在财政上帮助贫穷国家向更可持续和适应气候变化的社会转型,另一方面也倡议国家对无化石产业实施大规模绿色投资计划。
The German center-right Christian Democratic Union (hereinafter “CDU”) and the Free Democratic Party (hereinafter “FDP”) are also committed to emission reduction and energy transition. The CDU hopes to achieve carbon neutrality by the middle of the 21st century, while also raising Germany’s 2030 national emission reduction target from 55% to at least 65% compared to 1990 levels. Comparatively, the CDU places more emphasis on carbon neutrality based on an ecological and social market economy, aiming to achieve coordinated development of climate environmental protection and the economy through technological innovation, thereby realizing climate prosperity. As representatives of liberal parties, the FDP shares similar climate and energy stances with the CDU, committed to achieving climate protection and energy transition through market mechanisms. For example, both call for extending the European carbon emissions trading system to all sectors and regions and strengthening the European aviation emissions trading system. In the field of energy policy, both hope to significantly reduce energy taxes. As a typical representative of far-right parties, the Alternative for Germany denies and doubts mainstream climate goals, hoping to terminate the Paris Agreement and opposing the German government’s goals and measures for carbon neutrality by 2050. From the perspective of the Alternative for Germany, the expansion of renewable energy is not only an economic disaster but also imposes a heavy burden on the nation, nature, and individual life. The German government’s carbon neutrality goal is leading to a thorough reorganization or major transformation of industry and society, which to a large extent threatens people’s freedom.
德国中右翼的基督教民主联盟(以下简称“基民盟”)、自由民主党(以下简称“自民党”)也致力于减排和能源转型。基民盟希望在21世纪中叶之前实现碳中和目标,同时将德国2030年的国家减排目标从1990年的55%提高到至少65%。相比较而言,基民盟更多强调基于生态和社会市场经济意义上的碳中和,旨在通过技术创新来实现气候环境保护与经济的协调发展,进而实现气候繁荣。作为自由主义政党的代表,自民党与基民盟的气候、能源立场相似,致力于通过市场手段来实现气候保护和能源转型。例如,二者都呼吁将欧洲碳排放交易机制扩展到所有行业和地区,加强欧洲航空排放交易体系建设。在能源政策领域,二者都希望大幅降低能源税。作为极右翼政党的典型代表,德国选择党对主流的气候目标持否定和怀疑立场,希望终止《巴黎协定》,反对德国政府关于2050年碳中和的目标及措施。在德国选择党看来,可再生能源的扩张不仅是一场经济灾难,也将给国家、自然和个人生活带来沉重负担,德国政府的碳中和目标正导致工业和社会的彻底重组或大转型,这在很大程度上威胁着人们的自由。
Right-wing parties in Sweden generally support emission reduction and EU climate goals. For example, the Swedish Centre Party and the Moderate Coalition Party respectively propose achieving carbon neutrality by 2040 and 2045. In terms of energy policy, since non-fossil energy currently accounts for a relatively high proportion of Swedish electricity production, both left-wing and right-wing parties hope that Sweden can continue to advance the energy transition and expand the use of renewable energy. However, there are clear policy differences among different Swedish parties on whether to support and continue using nuclear energy. The Swedish Left Party and the Swedish Green Party strongly oppose the continued use of nuclear energy. They argue that nuclear energy has long construction periods, is expensive, and poses significant safety risks; conversely, solar and wind energy are by far the cheapest and safest renewable energy sources. The Swedish Social Democratic Party points out that nuclear energy is an important component of Swedish electricity production, hoping to gradually phase out nuclear power under conditions such as continuously expanding the use of renewable energy, improving energy efficiency, and enhancing the flexibility of the power system. The Swedish Centre Party’s basic stance on nuclear power is that nuclear construction should not receive state aid; the market should decide whether to invest in new nuclear power, and enterprises must bear the costs independently. Right-wing parties in Sweden generally support the development of nuclear energy, especially the Swedish Moderate Coalition Party and the Sweden Democrats. From the perspective of the Moderate Coalition Party, Sweden’s long-standing low-emission electricity production benefits from hydropower and nuclear energy. Based on considerations of the security and stability of electricity supply, existing nuclear power should be retained and investment in next-generation nuclear power should be made. The Moderate Coalition Party suggests changing the goal of achieving 100% renewable energy use by 2040 to achieving 100% fossil-free energy, and creating long-term conditions for the development of nuclear power. Compared with the Alternative for Germany, the Sweden Democrats do not deny the impact of human activities on climate change and are confident in human innovation in managing and responding to climate change. At the same time, it points out the contradiction in Sweden’s climate policy—low carbon dioxide emissions and high costs—thus calling for the implementation of effective climate policy with a clear global perspective, meaning that exports must become a key focus area of Sweden’s climate strategy.
瑞典的右翼政党普遍支持减排和欧盟的气候目标。例如,瑞典中间党和温和联盟党分别提出要在2040年和2045年实现碳中和。在能源政策方面,由于当前瑞典电力生产中非化石能源占比较高,因而左翼和右翼政党都希望瑞典能继续推进能源转型,扩大可再生能源的使用。但在是否支持和继续使用核能方面,瑞典的不同政党存在较为明显的政策分歧。瑞典左翼党和瑞典绿党强烈反对继续使用核能,它们认为核能建设周期长、价格昂贵且存在较大的安全风险,相反,太阳能、风能则是迄今为止最便宜、最安全的可再生能源。瑞典社会民主党则指出,核能是瑞典电力生产的重要组成部分,希望在不断扩大可再生能源的使用、提高能源效率和电力系统的灵活性等条件下,逐步淘汰核电。瑞典中间党关于核电的基本立场是,核电建设不应该接受国家的援助,市场决定是否投资建设新的核电,企业必须独立承担成本。瑞典的右翼政党普遍支持发展核能,尤其是瑞典温和联盟党与瑞典民主党。在温和联盟党看来,瑞典长期以来以低排放为特点的电力生产得益于水力发电和核能,基于电力供应安全性和稳定性的考虑应保留现有核电并投资下一代核电。温和联盟党建议,将2040年之前实现100%可再生能源使用的目标改为实现100%的无化石能源,并为核电的发展创造长期条件。与德国选择党相比,瑞典民主党不否认人类活动对气候变化的影响,并对人类在管理和应对气候变化方面的创新充满信心。与此同时,它指出了瑞典气候政策的矛盾性——二氧化碳排放量少且成本高昂,因而呼吁以明确的全球视角实施有效的气候政策,即出口必须成为瑞典气候战略的重点领域。
From the comparative analysis of the climate policies and energy policies of the major political parties in Germany and Sweden, it can be seen that, along the left-right political dimension, left-wing parties show a higher degree of attention and goal pursuit in energy and climate policies than right-wing parties, and are more committed to climate governance cooperation at the EU or international level. Additionally, whether it is the center-left Social Democratic Party or the center-right conservative parties, they generally support emission reduction and energy transition, but their political stances are relatively moderate, usually aligning with national-level or EU-level carbon dioxide emission reduction targets or carbon neutrality goals. Within the camp of right-wing parties, energy policy is also a divisive issue. Not all far-right parties oppose the energy transition; they may adopt relatively moderate stances on the energy transition in specific contexts. The Alternative for Germany exhibits strong climate skepticism, holding opposing positions on greenhouse gas emission reduction, renewable energy development, and coal phase-out, whereas the Sweden Democrats generally support national climate goals but also support nuclear energy development out of considerations for maintaining energy security and national competitiveness.
从对德国、瑞典两个国家主要政党的气候政策、能源政策的比较分析可以看出,在左右政治维度下,左翼政党比右翼政党在能源和气候政策方面展现出更高的关注度和目标追求,更致力于欧盟或国际层面的气候治理合作。另外,无论是中左翼的社会民主党,还是中右翼的保守党,它们整体上都支持减排和能源转型,但它们的政治立场相对温和,通常与国家层面或欧盟层面的二氧化碳减排目标或碳中和目标保持一致。在右翼政党阵营中,能源政策也是一个分歧性议题,不是所有的极右翼政党都反对能源转型,它们在特定情境中可能采取相对温和的能源转型立场。德国选择党表现出较强的气候怀疑主义,对温室气体减排、可再生能源发展与退煤持反对性立场,而瑞典民主党整体上支持国家的气候目标,但出于维持能源安全和国家竞争力的考量也支持核能发展。
IV. Conclusion
四、结论
At the theoretical level, the socio-ecological transformation of the European radical left is a theoretical response to the representative green-left transformation discourse that has emerged in European and American academic circles in recent years. It focuses on the critique and reflection on the economic, political, cultural, social, and natural relations of the capitalist system, as well as the developmental logic and structural contradictions of capitalism, offering an alternative scheme and practical vision based on a green-left perspective that differs from mainstream neoliberal politics. As an explanatory and descriptive theory, the socio-ecological transformation discourse of the radical left helps us to more comprehensively and deeply understand the reality and limitations of the “green capitalism” [13]13 "European United Left–Nordic Green Left" (GUE/NGL) is a left-wing political group in the European Parliament, formed in 1995, comprising parties from across Europe that advocate for anti-capitalist, socialist, and ecological positions. dominated by European and American countries, as well as the systematic reflections of the European radical left on resolving the current climate crisis, economic crisis, and institutional crisis of capitalism. Political parties usually maintain relative
从理论层面看,欧洲激进左翼的社会生态转型是对近年来欧美学界颇具代表性的绿色左翼转型话语的理论回应,其聚焦于对资本主义制度的经济、政治、文化、社会、自然关系以及资本主义发展逻辑、结构性矛盾的批判与反思,提供了一种基于绿色左翼视域的不同于主流新自由主义政治的替代性方案和实践图景。作为一个阐释性和描述性理论,激进左翼的社会生态转型话语有助于我们更加全面、深刻地理解欧美国家主导的“绿色资本主义”的现实性和局限性,以及欧洲激进左翼对解决当前资本主义的气候危机、经济和制度危机的系统反思。政党通常会保持意识形态和核心政治议题的相对稳定,新的政党认同并不总是取代旧的认同,更多是基于旧认同叠加而成。在意识形态的重新阐释与政党形象塑造方面,一些新左翼政党较好地塑造了一种兼具生态主义和社会主义的“红绿”政党形象。欧洲激进左翼政党旨在塑造一种社会和生态可持续的新发展模式,在应对气候危机和解决生态环境难题过程中实现自然资源、可再生能源的公共所有和公正转型。除社会经济条件、民意诉求、政党体制等外部性因素外,欧洲激进左翼政党对气候生态危机以及绿色政治议题的回应明显受到政治意识形态、历史起源和文化遗产、党内派系和主导联盟、政党目标等内部因素影响。在左翼政治阵营内,欧洲激进左翼政党应进一步凸显“红绿”政治的特色,即如何区别于社会民主党与绿党的生态现代化方案和“绿色新政”方案,特别是在社会民主党实现部分“绿化”以及绿党努力展现其在经济领域的管治能力的背景之下。
From a practical perspective, although most radical left parties have already incorporated ecological environment and climate political issues into their political platforms or political agendas, and the "European United Left–Nordic Green Left" federal group has also issued a left-wing climate political declaration, overall, convincing the public of the socio-ecological transformation plans of European radical left parties still faces many difficulties and challenges. On the one hand, the specific proposals of various national radical left parties, the Party of the European Left, and other left-wing movements and political alliances on climate and energy issues have not achieved effective integration, and there are differences in the degree of attention and importance attached to climate political issues among different countries and different types of radical left parties; on the other hand, the influence of European radical left parties on mainstream politics and policy is relatively limited, and socio-ecological transformation plans require more practical testing. Therefore, European radical left parties need to further elaborate on the discourse of socio-ecological transformation based on a left-wing political stance and the "red-green" future vision, and on this basis formulate more pragmatic and consistent alternative plans to address the climate crisis, economic crisis, and political crisis.
从实践层面看,虽然大部分激进左翼政党都已经将生态环境和气候政治议题纳入政党的政治纲领或者政治议程,“欧洲联合左翼—北欧绿色左翼”联邦党团也发布了左翼的气候政治宣言,但整体而言,要让民众信服欧洲激进左翼政党的社会生态转型方案依然面临诸多困难和挑战。一方面,各国激进左翼政党、欧洲左翼党以及其他左翼运动和政治联盟关于气候、能源议题的具体提案未能实现有效整合,不同国家以及不同类型的激进左翼政党对气候政治议题关注和重视程度存在差异;另一方面,欧洲激进左翼政党对主流政治和政策的影响相对有限,社会生态转型方案需要更多实践检验。因此,欧洲激进左翼政党需要进一步阐释基于左翼政治立场的社会生态转型话语和“红绿”未来愿景,在此基础上制定更加务实、一致的应对气候危机、经济危机和政治危机的替代性方案。
Online editor: Tongxin
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Notes
- The "Now, The People" platform (2019) was an electoral alliance of six European radical left parties aiming to combine social justice ("red") with ecological sustainability ("green").
- The Party of the European Left is a pan-European political party founded in 2004, bringing together socialist, communist, and other left-wing parties from EU member states and beyond.
- The European United Left–Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) is a left-wing political group in the European Parliament, formed in 1995, comprising parties from the European left and Nordic green left traditions.
- "Transform! Europe" is a network of left-wing foundations, think tanks, and activists associated with the European left, focusing on critical analysis and alternative policy proposals.
- The European Green Deal is a set of policy initiatives by the European Commission with the overarching aim of making the European Union climate neutral by 2050.
- The Left Green New Deal is a political proposal by European radical left parties, distinct from the EU's official Green Deal, emphasizing public ownership, social justice, and a systemic break with capitalism.
- The Rosa Luxemburg Foundation is a German political foundation associated with the Left Party (Die Linke), engaged in political education and critical analysis from a Marxist perspective.
- Ulrich Brand is an Austrian political scientist and professor at the University of Vienna, known for his work on the "imperial mode of living" and socio-ecological transformation.
- The European Green Deal: A set of policy initiatives by the European Commission with the overarching aim of making the European Union climate neutral by 2050, launched in December 2019.
- Left Green New Deal: A policy framework proposed by some European left-wing parties, distinct from the official European Green Deal, emphasizing social justice, public ownership, and a break with capitalist growth models in the ecological transition.
- Party of the European Left: A European political party founded in 2004, bringing together socialist, communist, and left-wing green parties from across the European Union.
- The Paris Agreement is an international treaty on climate change adopted in 2015, aiming to limit global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels.
- "European United Left–Nordic Green Left" (GUE/NGL) is a left-wing political group in the European Parliament, formed in 1995, comprising parties from across Europe that advocate for anti-capitalist, socialist, and ecological positions. ↩
- The Party of the European Left (EL) is a pan-European political party founded in 2004, bringing together socialist, communist, and other left-wing parties from EU member states and beyond.