A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Green party platforms typically embrace social-democratic economic policies and form coalitions with other left-wing parties. Green parties exist in nearly 90 countries around the world, many of which are members of Global Greens. Definitions There are distinctions between "green" parties and "Green" parties. Any party, faction, or politician may be labeled "green" if it emphasizes environmental causes. In contrast, formally organized Green parties may follow a coherent ideology that includes not only environmentalism, but often also other concerns such as social justice, consensus decision-making and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation for world peace. The best-known statement of the above Green values is the Four Pillars of the Green Party, adopted by the German Greens in 1979–1980 (but forsaken since), and the American Greens. The Global Greens Charter lists six guiding principles which are ecological wisdom, social justice, participatory democracy, nonviolence, sustainability and respect for diversity. History Political parties campaigning on a predominantly environmental platform arose in the early 1970s in various parts of the world. The world's first political parties to campaign on a predominantly environmental platform were the United Tasmania Group contested the April 1972 state election in Tasmania, Australia, and the Values Party of New Zealand, which contested the November 1972 New Zealand general election. Their use of the name 'Green' derived from the 'Green Bans': an Australian movement of building workers who refused to build on sites of cultural and environmental significance. The first green party in Europe was the Popular Movement for the Environment, founded in 1972 in the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel. The first national green party in Europe was PEOPLE, founded in Britain in February 1973, which eventually turned into the Ecology Party, and then the Green Party. Several other local political groups were founded in beginning of the 1970s and Fons Sprangers was probably the first Green mayor in the world, elected in 1970 in Meer, and active until 2020 for the Flemish Greens. The first political party to use the name "Green" seems to have been the Lower Saxon "Green List for Environmental Protection", founded on 1 September 1977. The first Green Party to achieve national prominence was the German Green Party, famous for their opposition to nuclear power,