Environment and nuclear debate in spain

DECISION MAKING PROCESSES

Mateo Gallego

Topic: Environmentalism in Spain and the nuclear debate vs. the German case

INTRODUCTION 2

1 Environmentalism and nuclear energy debate in Germany and in Spain 3
1.1 Germany 3
1.1.1 The fall of the iron curtain 3
1.1.2 Alliance 90/Greens 3
1.1.1 The German nuclear debate 3
1.2 Environmentalism in Spain 5
1.2.1 Thebeginning of a new era 5
1.2.2 The emergence of Environmentalism in Spanish politics 5
1.2.3 The Spanish nuclear debate 7

2 Conclusions and Recommendations 9

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES 11

Annexe: The Origins of Environmentalism 13

INTRODUCTION

Problematic

Decision-makers in general and politicians in particular, as country governors, take decisions according toprinciples and ideologies, but also according to their interests, pressures, lobbies or conjuncture circumstances. Environmentalism is nowadays acquiring an increasing relevancy in global decision-making processes, especially during the last years, in which environmental change has resulted in a growing preponderance.

Purpose of this essay

This study will try to show how the increasing relevancyof Environmentalism is affecting the composition of the Spanish political spectrum, the relation of forces between the policy-makers and the decision-making processes. As Environmentalism emergence is tightly tied to antinuclear claims, this essay will be focused on the nuclear debate.

Structure of the essay

The first block includes two parts: a previous analysis of the historicaltrends of Environmentalism in Germany, probably one of the main references in Europe in terms of Environmentalist political representation (if not the main one), and a comparative analysis of the Spanish particular case, focusing in both cases on the evolution of the nuclear debate.

This state of the arts will allow us to extract in the second block a short list of comparisons and conclusions,which will eventually lead us to set up a series of recommendations.

Environmentalism and nuclear energy debate in Germany and in Spain

1. Germany

1 The fall of the iron curtain

In 1983, a relatively new party, the Greens (Die Grünen), got 5.3% of the votes (above the minimum required of 5%) and entered the Bundestag in the RFA. The Green movement had been gainingimportance since the 70s, and had already been represented by the end of 1982 in six of West Germany’s eleven Länder parliaments. By that time, the Greens claimed against nuclear energy and against the stationing of the USA intermediate-range nuclear weapons in Western Europe. Since then, the Greens have spread their success. The importance of environmental awareness across the political spectrumhas been increasing gradually.

On the other side, before the fall of the iron curtain, 40 years of socialist economy in the former GDR let massive environmental damage happen. By the reunification, in 1990, the environmental legislation of the Federal Republic of Germany was extended to the GDR, at the same time as the economic, monetary and social union took place. This allowed therehabilitation and development of the new Länder.

2 Alliance 90/Greens

Alliance 90, the eastern counterpart of the West German Greens, which was composed largely of former dissidents, had a fundamental role in the fall of the iron curtain, demonstrating high support of human rights against the communist system; this allowed them to have great success in the Eastern territories. However, neitherthe Greens, nor Alliance 90 (Buendnis 90), though about unity with each other in 1989.

At last, both groups, aware of the potential of their unified influence, merged in 1993 as a unique group, Alliance 90/Greens (Buendnis 90/Die Gruenen) -informally called the Greens-, in order to compete in the elections in 1994. The group became the third strongest party in the federal parliament[1]....