Yesterday the UK Government approved plans to build a third runway at Heathrow airport, and the Young Greens of England & Wales are standing strong and transparently against this decision. We are being sold the myth that a third runway is a necessary feature of growth in our country, but like with so many of…
Category: Green
The story of Emilio: how volunteering changed his life from passion into action
When we face the toughest challenges of the society, it may seem that our small actions can hardly have great impact. However, this is not the case of Emilio Beladiez, a Spanish – young – vegan – social entrepreneur that will inspire our curious minds. It could not be otherwise, I met him at…
Basic Income and User-Centered Design
In Finland, the discussion around basic income has become serious during the last year, as Prime Minister Juha Sipilä’s government has an explicit intention to implement a basic income experiment during its period of rule. If the experiment will be implemented successfully, it can mark the way for using social experiments as a part of…
The Current Environmental Crisis
There is no doubt that we currently face the widespread destruction of the environment. Today, humans have massively been caught in social as well as environmental destruction as they are at the core of the problem. It is clear that the contemporary environmental crisis is worth considering as it has threatened us over the last…
World Economic Forum: Are the leaders working for us?
Time to rethink our political and economic system I am an environmentalist, but this label has never sat well with me. The term “environmentalist” is of limited use and those who worship at the altar of limitless growth struggle to see past the label – as if being “green” was no more than a fashion…
FYEG at COP21: Paris Agreement – An Ambitious Disaster?
On the 12th of December 2015 evening a story, ongoing for 21 years, ended. This was the evening when nearly 196 countries agreed to have the first legal treaty, applicable to all, that tries to combat climate change. Unlike it’s predecessor, the Kyoto Protocol which only asked developed countries for emissions reductions, this agreement expects…
FYEG at COP21: Too big to fail – Analysis of the second draft
Last night, a new text was released in the negotiations halls of Paris. The first important thing to note is the kind of text. It is a proposal by the President of the COP and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of France, Laurent Fabius. This means that the new text is not the final text…
FYEG at COP21: A new draft agreement reached
Yesterday, there was a new historical moment for the on-going climate negotiations: We finally have a draft agreement! This new text saw a reduction from 21 to 14 pages, and we have a broad overview of what is in the draft and what isn’t. Firstly, the text still has the form that would be needed…
FYEG at COP21: Gender, working methods, and the Adaptation Fund
Today’s theme was gender, thus several events focus on showcasing women’s initiatives and voices as well as calling for the inclusion of all gender equality in the agreement article 2. Many organisations also called for improved accessibility of climate finance for local solutions because these measures target women in particular. This week it is the…
FYEG at COP21: Show me the money, Saudi Arabia the blocker, and Loss & Damage
Today the negotiations went into their final stage: The ministers arrived. There is still an optimistic atmosphere in the hallways of Le Bourget, where the negotiations take place, in the hope to reach an agreement. The discussions about finance are at a starting point. The already provided climate finance is, according to certain figures, around…