Definition of internet transmission of the parliamentary meetings: a sustainable step in the fight against climate change despite loss of transparency?

Definition of internet transmission of the parliamentary meetings: a sustainable step in the fight against climate change despite loss of transparency?

parliamentary meetings from the Zehlendorf town hall are not transferred on the Internet and it is completely dispensed with on parliamentary television à la Südwest. At first glance, this may be seen as a step in the fight against climate change or as a consistent approach to dealing with the screen time. However, this decision also has an impact on the transparency of local political processes.

An argument that is often brought to the Internet against the transfer of parliamentary meetings is the ecological aspect. The streaming of videos causes a high output of CO₂. This "CO₂ eater" is thus counteracted by dispensing with the transfer of sessions. The idea behind it is that this waiver saves energy.

However, the question arises whether this step really contributes to sustainability. On the one hand, energy and emissions are saved, but on the other hand, the transparency of political decision -making processes is lost. The citizens therefore have fewer opportunities to find out about the work of their parliament and to pursue them. The meetings are not made accessible to you, which does not meet the principle of democratic participation.

The trend towards more transparency and participation in politics has been clearly recognizable in recent years. More and more parliaments are transferring their meetings live to the Internet or providing records afterwards. As a result, citizens can actively participate in the political processes and contribute their voice.

The question arises as to whether the waiver of the Internet transmission of parliamentary meetings is really in the interests of the citizens. In times when information is easily accessible and digital technologies determine our everyday life, this step could be regarded as a step backwards.

It should therefore be thought about alternatives. One option would be, for example, to record the parliamentary meetings in a compressed form and to provide online platforms. In this way, energy and emissions could be saved without restricting the transparency and participation options of the citizens.

It remains to be hoped that local politicians develop awareness of the importance of transparency and participation and find alternative solutions that make both ecologically and democratic sensible. Because ultimately it is the citizens who benefit from an open and transparent politics and thus strengthen trust in the decision -making processes.