Open Access

Dietmar Süß

• The term “climate solidarity” has been one of the new key concepts of global environmental movements since the 2010s. UN Secretary-General Guterres made the term popular in March 2023 in his call for a Climate Solidarity Pact. In the political language of climate diplomacy, “climate solidarity” and “climate justice” are often used interchangeably; however, the idea behind the former refers more strongly to the social connectedness of the various actors and the political traditions found in social movements. The article extrapolates the ambivalences inherent in today’s notion of (global) climate solidarity, as they are based not only on the plurality of different notions of solidarity as a political evocation and a social practice but also on a contentious relationship between social-democratic thought and modern environmentalism. The article commences by retracing—reflecting on West German debates since the 1970s—the history of solidarity-based ideas, before teasing out lines ofThe term “climate solidarity” has been one of the new key concepts of global environmental movements since the 2010s. UN Secretary-General Guterres made the term popular in March 2023 in his call for a Climate Solidarity Pact. In the political language of climate diplomacy, “climate solidarity” and “climate justice” are often used interchangeably; however, the idea behind the former refers more strongly to the social connectedness of the various actors and the political traditions found in social movements. The article extrapolates the ambivalences inherent in today’s notion of (global) climate solidarity, as they are based not only on the plurality of different notions of solidarity as a political evocation and a social practice but also on a contentious relationship between social-democratic thought and modern environmentalism. The article commences by retracing—reflecting on West German debates since the 1970s—the history of solidarity-based ideas, before teasing out lines of conflict between the newly emerging environmental movement and Germany’s established Social Democrats. Expanding the perspective to include German intellectuals’ engagement with what were then called “Third World countries,” the article also includes debates about “alternative economies” and the future of Fordist forms of production, as they have also been discussed within the political left since the 1980s. Ultimately, this contribution argues, the debate on notions of progress and growth has decisively shaped current thought processes on climate solidarity and its embedded ambivalences.…