Green left

The term Green left is used primarily to refer to a combination of environmentalism, feminism and socialism in countries where the term is used. It is primarily a social justice- and human rights-oriented ideology, with an expansion in focus to the rights of other species.

The name Green Left is also used by a variety of organizations which espouse socialist or Marxist principles but with a greater emphasis upon environmental preservation than previous iterations of socialism and communism.

Europe
In Europe, the green left arose partly out of the declining Eurocommunist tendency that has been mostly associated with various Communist parties in the continent; as a result, many former Communist parties and remnants of Communist parties were either reestablished or fused into existing green parties. These result in what are known as red-green alliances.

Far-left political parties or joint electoral lists have been formed over the years, most often between Marxists and radical greens. In the Netherlands, the GreenLeft party was formed in 1989 by a merger of a communist, pacifist, leftwing christian and green parties. In December 2007, an Italian electoral coalition of the radical left was formed known as The Left – The Rainbow, comprising Federation of the Greens, two communist parties and a small democratic socialist party.

Elsewhere
The green left has also been prominent in the green politics outside of Europe, especially in the United States, Australia and New Zealand, although these green parties may involve themselves in alliances with otherwise-conservative political organizations in Blue-green alliances.