HOW TO THINK ABOUT IT

What will they do? Among the policies Green parties are expected to push for with the more mainstream centrist parties are tougher curbs on greenhouse gas emissions: The Green manifesto calls for 100 percent renewable energy use by 2050, while the EU target is currently to reduce emissions by at least 80 percent. Other climate priorities include swiftly phasing out coal in favor of renewables — coal still generates 20 percent of Europe’s energy — and promoting climate-friendly economic initiatives. The Greens could even push to control the agenda on a major issue like energy.

Led by Germany. Green parties made big strides across Northern Europe in last week’s contest. The Greens have never had much of a foothold in France but are now the third-largest party in France’s EU representation. Other sudden green strongholds include Belgium, Finland and Ireland. Meanwhile, in Germany, an estimated 30 percent of young voters supported the Greens, making it the country’s second-biggest party in the European election. But the Greens' newfound power means they could influence policy and regulation across the EU — even in the Eastern bloc of countries where they haven’t made much of an electoral dent.

Rallying cry. Before the European elections, former far-left Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis said in an interview that as much as far-right parties have found solidarity by embracing anti-immigration policies, progressive parties can coalesce around green policies. Varoufakis isn’t the only progressive taking up the green cause: Some factions of the U.K. Labour Party, which lost nearly half its seats, are pushing for a program similar to the Green New Deal set forth in the U.S.

Side by side. Far-right parties also saw gains in this election. But while many of their radical anti-immigrant positions are unpalatable to more centrist parties and voters, Greens are unlikely to turn off centrists in the same way. Still, some far-right positions have migrated to the mainstream as centrist parties struggle to retain voters — Brexit, for example, began as the pet issue of the far-right U.K. Independence Party.

WHAT TO READ

We Shouldn’t Be Surprised Renewables Make Energy Expensive Since That’s Always Been the Greens’ Goal, by Michael Shellenberger in Forbes
“For as long as Greens have been advocating renewables they have viewed their high cost as a feature, not a bug.”

Climate Change Threatens the West’s Far-Right, by Ishaan Tharoor in The Washington Post
“In recent months, massive demonstrations over climate change have rocked European capitals, dwarfing the mobilizations of the continent’s far right.”

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