Green Germany: Local Pathways to Global Sustainability

Germany is an environmental pathbreaker among industrial societies, maintaining its export-driven economy while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and committing to carbon-neutrality by 2045. Yet it was ordinary citizens rather than bureaucrats or industry who generated its most durable policy solutions. Drawing on a range of case studies from the twentieth century to the present, Carol Hager and Thomas M. Lekan show how local residents combined social and ecological agendas and often defied government officials or corporate interests. These citizens promoted renewable energy, accessible public transportation, sustainable housing, biosphere reserves, and urban green spaces. Each chapter advances a three-pronged understanding of Germany's sustainability culture anchored by a deep sense of place; a 'do-it-yourself' mentality; and the generative power of conflict. By showing how a highly industrialized country became ecologically wiser, this study seeks to re-energize conversations about climate action and green transitions in societies across the globe.