This paper analyses the development and variety of environmental policy responses advocated by parties on the Left of Germany´s political spectrum. It identifies differences between left wing policy approaches; looks at ideological ideas of economic system change to achieve social as well as climate justice; recognises policy communalities among ‘the Left’; and analyses strategic directions and priorities of Germany’s left on the environment.

Differing ideological foundations and electoral strategies - in government and opposition -can partly explain the diverging attitudes and varying programmatic policy priorities that have been developed. Additionally, SPD and Green programmatic positioning represents only one half of the debate, with two more left wing parties - the Left (Die Linke) and Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht (BSH) - representing additional contrasting and competing policy visions on the environment. By employing a methodology of analysing policy statements and debates, findings are expected to indicate a comparatively robust degree of divergence among Germany´s four political parties on the Left on their environmental policy priorities. The analysis of the distinctions of environmental policies among Germany’s left will enhance our understanding of the left and environmental policies when considering them within a wider European Left party perspective.

Portuguese left wing politics bore a mark of sinistrismo until very late, after the 1974 Revolution, and as a direct contradiction to the far right-wing imprint of the previous regime. The spectrum of left-wing political parties is therefore broad. For this study, the parties to be considered are those that have managed to win seats in Parliament, in a consistent way, i.e. for more than one legislature. Those parties range from radical left stances to social-democracy. Green politics, in turn, took time to land in Portuguese politics and were for a long period of time subsumed to the pre-electoral coalition between the Portuguese Communist Party and the Verdes (Green). More recently, however, other new parties emerged, which cover green politics topics (PAN, Livre), and even conventional centre-leaning parties (namely the Socialist Party) have adopted the green agenda.

The paper will therefore cover the present days programmatic options of these different groups, with reference to green politics and related policy options. A comparison will also be established between the perspectives of each of the parties with reference to environmental policies, and the ways these impact upon potential dialogue and alliances, or otherwise competition, between the parties.

Furthermore, the broader picture of European Union alignments, notably in the framework of the transnational European parties, will be analysed. The impacts upon pro-European vs. anti-European integration stances, as a result of environmental policy choices, will also be considered. As a whole the aim is to characterise the role of Portuguese left in environmental European politics.

Ireland has for a long time marketed itself as a green destination, but the Celtic Tiger growth has meant that the country’s environmentalist credentials have become more open to question. In particular, the environment has become much more of a political issue, with general public support for green policies running into increasing sectoral opposition from the farming community, from the transport sector, from the construction industry and others. This paper examines how parties of the left in Ireland have reacted to these developments. It begins with an overview of the rapidly evolving party system in Ireland, which has undergone a significant transformation since the 2008/09 financial crash and the subsequent bailout. There have been “earthquake elections” leading to a fundamental shift in the patterns of party politics in Ireland. The left has grown, but has also fragmented. The paper begins by outlining the recent evolution of the different strands of the left in Ireland – centre left (Labour Party, Social Democrats), green left (Green Party) and radical left (People Before Profit, Anti-Austerity Alliance and others), plus Sinn Féin (a nationalist party that has adopted a variety of left-wing stances). It then examines the development of the green policies and agenda in the positions of parties from each of those strands. There is a particular focus on the EU dimension of green policies of Irish parties. It is based on analysis of party documents and no interviews with party representatives.

Green ideology in Latvia started with environmentalist groups when the country was under the rule of the Soviet Union. Environmental advocacy later grew in national independence movement that led to liberation of the Northern European country. During the independence period and with the European Union membership green ideologies did not disappear and due to popular demand have had almost permanent parliamentary representation. On the other hand, while Latvian voters have strong option toward environmental issues, the levels of enthusiasm in fighting climate change are significantly lower. The few Latvian Left and Green political parties like “The Progressives” and the “Greens and Farmers Union” consequently find themselves in a conundrum on how to maintain their green policies at the time of climate change and European Green Deal with their voters unwilling and/or unable to cover the expenses of upgrading their lifestyle and technology to green solutions.

This research draws on multiple in-depth interviews with leaders of the Left political parties represented in ruling governments since adoption of the European Green Deal, document analysis and economic data analysis to conclude how their stances clash and contradict internally and on how the parties when in power are either stalling the implementation of policies against climate change or are seeking low-cost solutions that may be financially easier and hence more popular with the voters. The research concludes that the income levels in population and political survival instincts of parties push them to imitate implementation and de facto undermine green policies even if that is their core program.

Environmentalism and the political left in the Netherlands have historically been closely linked. In this chapter, we trace the positions and actions on green issues of the main parties of the traditionally fragmented Dutch left. Since the 1970s, the PvdA has been increasingly open to environmentalist policies. To its, left we found not just the PPR but also the Communist Party of the Netherlands (Communistische Partij Nederland, CPN), Pacifist-Socialist Party (Pacifistisch-Socialistische Partij, PSP) and the progressive Evangelical People’s Party (Evangelische Volkspartij, EVP). These formed the GreenLeft (GroenLinks, GL) in 1989, which explicitly combined left-wing and ecologist ideas. In 1994, left-wing populist Socialist Party (Socialistische Partij, SP) entered parliament. This party had a history of campaigning on the direct impact of environmental pollution. In 2023 the PvdA and GL ran a joint list under the leadership of former EU climate commissioner.

We explore how these parties have engaged with environmental issues in the last decades both nationally and in the European Parliament, to what extent environmental issues played a role in their cooperation and competition, and how party positions translated into voting behavior of these parties in parliament and government. We particularly focus on how environmental concerns are addressed by the Dutch left parties in the policy domains of agriculture, energy, transport, housing, industry and land and water management (the latter particularly relevant in a low-lying country in a period of climate adaptation). A specific attention is placed on how the positions and actions of the Dutch left parties has interacted with the European Green Deal framework.