Cross Border Tour 2009: Harbours, Memorials and a Zero Carbon Demand

Brussels, 13 December 2008 - Through this border crossing chain of events EGP supporters reinforce the common Green campaign message. Three promising plans were presented during our 7th annual Heerlen conference. They propose to replace competition of two of Europe’s biggest harbours by cooperation, will persuade the public of a need for a zero carbon future while traveling zero carbon, and promote the former Iron Curtain as landmark for soft tourism. Useful lessons were drawn from previous Iron Curtain experiences and the 2004 Obama campaign.

Report by Peter Alberts (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) and Greet Goverde(GroenLinks)

I Three Promising Plans

The Tour spots and promotes local events and initiatives in which Greens from two or more countries are involved. The events highlight local issues with a cross border dimension to show the public that Europe starts at your doorstep and local and European solutions often are complementary. Whenever necessary, a Heerlen coordination team helps to establish contacts, identify campaign issues and get publicity. Its volunteers may participate in the event and put the key information & the report online on www.greenyourope.net/crossborder. The site also is the main internal communications tool, through its forum on which participants and others can leave suggestions and comments.

Schelde/Rhine: a New Harbour Deal

A shift of paradigms offers the Green New Deal for the Schelde-Rhine Delta. In this document, to be published in early Spring, Green councillors from the region propose to stop the seemingly limitless expansion of the portal zones of Rotterdam, Antwerp, Zeebrugge and Terneuzen by replacing competition by cooperation and shifting towards more local production to avoid unnecessary transport.They suggest to use existing rail, road and water infrastructures more efficiently to limit new megaprojects – like the Iron Rhine and to gradually replace container transshipment by high quality jobs, preferably in sustainable sectors.

A proof that their alternative is feasible is given by the harbours of Gent and Terneuzen that cooperate in an ambitious recycling project. Because the harbour initiative could pave the way for tougher EU rules, the plans might be accompanied by several joint Flemish-Dutch actions during the European elections campaign.  

Iron Curtain Trail: soft tourism landmark

Author of this 6.800 km long cycleable trail along the former borders between East and West Europe is the German member of the European Parliament Michael Cramer. His trail serves a double purpose: preserving remnants of the wall as memorials for history, and creating a soft tourism and nature trail stretching from the Barentz Sea to the Black Sea.

The initiative, partly adopted by the Parliament in 2005 as part of a sustainable tourism directive, will be the background of a series of Green election events actions during the European elections campaign, just as it was in 2004. Thus Greens from Germany and neigbouring countries will show the public how the EU can turn borders into bridges. Cramer won’t try to have the entire trail cycled, but will ask sets of groups from adjacent countries to each cycle some 25 km on a given day, starting in the south in Spring and moving north.

Zero Carbon Caravan: far-going demand

The Caravan, conceived by Chris Keene from Norwich, delivers a clear demand: ‘a zero carbon world as fast as we can!‘. It does so by travelling zero carbon itself, from somewhere in England or Wales (the Centre for Alternative technology www.cat.org ) to the Continent. And it stops wherever it will be invited to co-organise zero carbon conferences and concerts with ‘most of the power provided by audience participation‘.

The European elections offer only one opportunity; the Caravan’s main target is the UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen at the end of this year. Keene’s plan is to travel by bike or any other means of transport that does not emit CO2, be it a horse-drawn wagon or sailing boat, solar vehicle or skates. Additional sugggestions: a solar ship visiting harbours and for land transport help from the Delft University department specialising in solar cars.

For the moment Chris is still a lone traveller – anybody who wishes to join him part of the trip, host an event or offer a way to cross the Channel without emitting CO2 please mail to chris.keene@zerocarboncaravan.net. See also www.zerocarboncaravan.net. Ideally the start would be on Spring equinox (March 21st), with as a first big stopover the EGP elections conference from 27-29 March in Brussels.  For zero carbon solutions see www.capanddividend.org, http://www.ecoequity.org

II. Practical Campaigning

The Obama experience

Rasmus Andresen, a Danish member of Bündnis 90/Die Grünen participated in Obama’s campaign in Columbus (Ohio). Obama’s success, he says, partly depended on thousand’s of volunteers canvassing door to door and phoning people from local offices, doing pep-talks and focussing on people who hadn’t yet made up their minds. Successful canvassers also brought more campaigners aboard. His european background gave Andresen an extra bonus, whereas he was hosted by an American couple happy to help the campaign in this way.

Would this campaigning method work in Europe? In England definitely. Participants from Brighton said they ‘already are phoning and knocking on doors to see our candidate MP Caroline Lucas (now an MEP) elected as the first ever Green Member of the British Parliament’. German Greens proved more sceptical, stating that one of their candidates got worse results ‘because people didn’t like such American methods’.

Iron Curtain Trail & Zero Carbon Caravan

Both initiatives involve a chain of events that form a chain both in space and time. But the Iron Curtain events are not necessarily linked by actual cycling, and therefore easier to organise. And the events are the most important part, whereas the Zero Carbon Caravan also might draw publicity by its way of travelling zero carbon. To get campaign events organised, the Caravan – and the Cross Border Tour as a whole – might profit from the Iron Curtain format used in 2004 campaign:

• spot an issue, a location and local Green groups interested in co-organising an event
• issue a first press release to find more local people to organise the activity
• issue a second press release to announce the event to public and press, making sure the message is received. And, suggested by the audience & Green and Social:
• persuade ngo’s active on a campaign issue to participate. Like Transition Towns (Zero Carbon Caravan).