Making the European Green Deal Strong and Real: Harnessing the Power of community-led Initiatives and Local Governments

A follow-up to the “Beyond Growth Conference” (European Parliament, Brussels, May 2023) from a grassroots and local government perspective

The event is ECOLISE’s main policy event, co-organised by ICLEI–Local Governments for Sustainability and the European Economic & Social Committee (EESC)

Local levels and citizens – especially marginalised people in the global south – are most impacted by the planetary crisis. This is the case also in Europe: local governments and citizens are the ones that will need to change most to answer the planetary crisis, but also to live with the impacts that cannot be undone. At the same time, European local governments and community-led initiatives have a huge – largely untapped – potential for impact through radically changed lifestyles and collective sustainability action. 

Right now, the European Green Deal – Europe’s policy answer to the planetary crisis – has an ambitious systemic ambition across all sectors and industries, much needed for communities to thrive, but there are two big blind spots: 

• There is no clear plan on how to improve and make the European Green Deal a reality on the ground – for the most part, policies do not harness the power of collective action, driven by citizens, communities and local governments. 
• There is no political vision of what a good life beyond growth and within planetary boundaries could look like. 

The event will present a grassroots and local government perspective on the European Green Deal, with ECOLISE and ICLEI Europe sharing insights into the handprint of community-led initiatives and local governments in addressing the planetary crisis. We will discuss the need for radically different lifestyles and the political frameworks needed to ensure a good life within planetary boundaries for everyone. In deep conversations with policymakers, we will explore the systemic changes that are a prerequisite to harnessing the power of collective action and local governments, enabling local green deals that can lead to new socio-ecological contracts between citizens, local governments and nature.