Why is green politics turning into a swear word in the West?

 

"In Lithuania, rowanberries ripened in the middle of July and the gladiolus, which we associated with the first of September, began to bloom. I am not talking about the fact that I have already eaten a tomato from the greenhouse, we dug potatoes for the first time at the beginning of June, and in the garden quite large watermelons, melons, pumpkins are already ripening. If I were a child if I suggested planting watermelons and melons in the village... everyone would have laughed.

 

Only urbanites who grew up in apartment buildings, bought tomatoes only from the store, can say that climate change is not happening. Or people who benefit from climate change denial.

 

Why, then, do green politics and the "New Green Deal" become a popular target of criticism in the West, while radical political forces associate it with European dictatorship, gays and vaccinations?

 

Why is the green politics becoming less popular in the West?

 

First of all, this is because people are starting to associate the green politics with a higher cost of living.

 

This is a huge failure of the politicians, because the very idea of ​​the Green Deal is that while we fight climate change we also fight unemployment and social problems.

 

 When it comes to green, we hear from politicians about fuel excise, car taxation, restrictions on agriculture. Politicians want 'pollution' to not pay, often unwilling to see people unable to afford 'clean' alternatives.

 

The Green Deal was conceived as a political program consisting of clear parts. But in Lithuania and Europe, without the goals to reduce CO2 emissions by such and such a year or completely abandon them, we never heard what the green course is for us. What decisions make it up? What areas will it affect? What positive social outcomes await us? How many and where will new jobs be created? What investments will reach us? How will this boost our economy? We do not have and have not clearly presented this program to the public.

 

Without a clear whole, it seems that the Green Deal is only about machinery and agriculture. And rising prices.

 

What pollution are we not talking about?

 

Another problem that people often complain about is that the areas where we fight climate change are chosen rather vaguely. And in some areas where society would see clear benefits, very little is being done.

 

First of all, the renovation of apartment buildings comes to mind here. Although the various sources vary slightly, heating and electricity use are often cited as some of the biggest sources of pollution, with some sources ranking it as the No. 1 problem overall. Home renovations and maintenance of electrical networks would be an area where people would feel obvious benefits. Where does it fit into our green course? It's hard to say because we don't really know what it is. The only thing that is clear is that the renovation of houses is at a standstill, and Soviet apartment buildings in general have started to fall apart. In Vilnius, only 12 percent of them have been renovated or are being renovated.

 

Another area that is generally not talked about in Lithuania is clothing. This is because the production of clothes requires a lot of water, and they themselves are mostly made from petroleum products. In addition, at the lowest estimate, more than half of all textile products are thrown away in the same year. According to various sources, this industry is the Top 3 polluter in the world. Let me remind you that we don't talk about this in Lithuania at all, because we are focused on cars and farmers.

 

Cosmetics

 

Some solutions have been taken on food waste and the construction sector, but these too often seem socially insensitive.

 

The possibility of reducing the value-added tax on vegetables and fruits, which would potentially reduce the consumption of meat without making food more expensive, has not been seriously considered, and would positively affect not only the environment, but also public health. And this, in turn, would allow savings in the field of health care.

 

Instead of really strengthening the use of local agricultural products, we are still in the practice of catering competitions in education and health care being won by big sandwich companies.

 

And so on...

 

If the new Lithuanian government elected in autumn wants to implement a real green course, and not shove it down the throat of the public, it will be necessary to seriously work on it as a whole and its social dimension. But all possibilities are there, all you need is desire and imagination."