Green conservatism

Green conservatism is a combination of conservatism with environmentalism. Environmental concern has been voiced by both conservative politicians and philosophers throughout the history of modern conservatism. The philosophical founder of modern conservatism, Edmund Burke, in his Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790), quoted as saying: "The earth, the kind and equal mother of all ought not to be monopolised to foster the pride and luxury of any men." The distinguishing feature of green conservatism is the adherence to market-based policies to address environmental concerns, rather than centralised planning. Individual and local empowerment is preferred over top down control. Where solutions to problems are global, such as climate change, green conservatives believe the government's role "is to empower individuals, entrepreneurs, and philanthropists to collaborate and come up with innovations that will solve climate change." The National Ecologic Party had ties to the Assemblies of God, the largest evangelical denomination present in Brazil, and upheld green conservatism but it has now changed its name to Patriota and renounced its green and pro-ecologist policies in favor of its conservative and nationalist policies; it has maintained and strengthened its religious opposition to abortion, same-sex marriage and other left-wing policies. In Canada, the term "green conservatism" was popularized in 2006 by Preston Manning, former federal opposition leader and founder of the Reform Party of Canada. Specifically, Manning started developing the idea as a way to find common ground between younger and older voters. He has specifically talked about using water pricing in the Oil Sands to make oil producers more efficient. In 1988, then-graduate student Stephen Harper, writing in the Blue Book, which influenced the Reform Party principles, argued for an environmental policy that supports and protects the environment but reduces bureaucratic control.