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Call for Action to Policy Makers and Pioneers of Change

ADOPTED BY

INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAUREATES, European Environment Foundation

15 MARCH 2013

FREIBURG, GERMANY

We are greatly alarmed to be witnessing the development of several closely related, mutually compounding crises as a result of the global spread of materialism: a great imbalance in wealth and poverty, hunger and malnutrition, climate change, biodiversity losses, resource use and other ecological crises, financial crises, excessive military expenditure, public debt in many countries, and high (youth) unemployment.

Environmental degradation can now be increasingly observed in emerging economies, closely paralleling unsustainable developments in the industrial nations in the last century. This classic growth model based on excessive consumption has no future – neither globally nor for established industrialised countries. The development of a sustainable society must be our common goal. Based on the efficient use of energy and resources, the expansion of the education and knowledge sectors, green jobs (including low budget jobs), sustainable technologies and social innovations focusing on the common interest of people, this aim would meet people’s essential needs and safeguard prosperity worldwide, protecting the environment.

Any future for human civilization will build on justice as well as social and technological innovation. The current way that development and dissemination of technology is governed needs to change, to build on the basic tenet that everyone on the planet, not only today but including future generations, should have access to technology which enhances the quality of life.

Progress in international negotiations which aim to improve global conditions is, unfortunately, unsatisfactory and painfully slow. Nonetheless, these international processes must continue. Due to the worsening of climate change and the growing frequency and intensity of climate-related disasters, the international community needs to reach an agreement that will provide for effective measures of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to meet the agreed 2°Cmax goal before 2015 and implement it before 2020. The requisite instruments for tracking compliance are available now. The negotiations have long been generating important impetus for local; regional, national and international initiatives, and individual technological developments, but have not yet achieved global consensus. Parallel to the international negotiations, technological and action programs can and must be initiated at local, national, bilateral and international level.

The major opportunities afforded by a sustainable economy and the transformation of energy systems have still not been fully recognised. We call on governments and enterprises around the world to adopt strategies to improve energy efficiency, resource recovery and increase the share of renewable energy and implement renewable technologies in rural and remote areas.

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We urge governments, enterprises, local authorities and individuals to take immediate action and to become pioneers of change and successful social innovation, and to galvanize younger generations, encouraging them to strive for their present and future rights.

We place our hopes in Coalitions of Winners. Such coalitions will

 inspire equitable and informed societies and stimulate carbon-neutral economies

 formulate positive goals towards a sustainable future,offering enough for all for ever,

 set targets and provide focused support for technical and social innovation towards a sustainable future,

 ensure that funding is channelled towards future-oriented markets,

 utilise innovation to support sustainable livelihoods,

 increase energy efficiency, drastically reduce fossil fuel and stop nuclear energy use and reduce greenhouse gas emissions through these endeavours,

 introduce adequate legal and economic instruments to prevent ecological destruction and penalize overconsumption.

We propose the following specific strategies:

1. Universal access to modern energy services and formulation of positive targets for energy efficiency and renewable energy use -at least doubling the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency and doubling the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix by 2030the United Nations’ initiative on “Sustainable Energy for All” (SEFA) has proposed, or earlier.The progress should be monitored by an international agency.

2. Accelerated development and use of sustainable innovations of global significance in the sector of energy efficiency and renewable energies. Examples are highly energy-efficient buildings, electrical equipment, solar-powered cooling systems, solar-powered drinking water desalination, efficient public transport systems, zero-emission vehicles, high-efficient, low-cost renewable systems and storage technologies, especially products adapted to the needs of poor communities (e.g. simple renewable energy and water purification systems). Possible measures include the launch of international business competitions (a good example is Golden Carrot in the US, with awards and innovation targets, quality standards, environmental goals, maximum prices and minimum sales volumes) and highly effective market-stimulating feed-in tariffs started in Germany and adopted in more than 60 countries worldwide.

3. Funding and incentivizing innovation and infrastructural development using the following measures: abolition of environmentally harmful subsidies such as fossil fuel subsidies, implementation of financial transaction tax and green taxation (such as a CO2-tax), which must be accompanied by assistance for poor households, reductions in military spending including the abolition of nuclear weapons, and an exclusive focus on sustainable innovations and infrastructure in future economic stimulus programmes.

4. The acknowledgement by the planet’s leading corporations of the environmental and social impacts of their business practices, and their subsequent adoption of the systems and technologies necessary for a sustainable and equitable future.

We see the current critical situation as a failure of imagination. It is not the dream of a sustainable society that is unrealistic, but the blind belief that the status quo can be prolonged with marginal adjustments. Our call for action is about creating an inspiring future that is more ecologically secure and socially just than current policies can produce.

We therefore welcome the strongly increasing civil society initiatives. It is up to each and everyone to create the world that we are proud to pass on to future generations.

Call for Action to Policy Makers and Pioneers of Change

bicycles, Other

Environmental laureates from 44 countries demand urgent change in global environmental and climate protection

Press Release

Freiburg, Germany, 16 March 2013

Two-speed model instead of search for the lowest common denominator within the international community

Freiburg, Germany, 16 March 2013 – Until this coming Sunday, the 2nd International Convention of Environmental Laureates is being staged by the European Environment Foundation (EEF) in Freiburg, Germany. Today a declaration in which the participating environmental laureates urge a fundamental change in environmental and climate policy was signed. The constant search for the lowest common denominator within the international community must be replaced by a two-speed model. The participants at the convention specify four concrete fields of action in their declaration.

What distinguishes the EEF International Convention of Environmental Laureates from other conferences and summits is the diversity of its participants. Eighty winners of internationally renowned environmental prizes have come together from 44 countries. The conference delegates cover a wide spectrum, from scientists to environmental and civil rights activists, from successful ecological entrepreneurs to publicists and critics of capitalism. The EEF is convinced that such a broad base is necessary to put global environmental and climate protection on a new, workable footing.

The EEF does not see its convention as a contrary model to the major international environmental and climate summits. The laureates are of the opinion, however, that developments have reached a point at which the field should no longer be left entirely to career politicians. “The environmental and climate summits in the international political arena scarcely go beyond mere bartering over emission limits and volumes”, explains Eicke Weber, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the EEF and Head of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE). As Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker, Member of the Board of Trustees of the EEF and Co-President of the Club of Rome points out, “These international negotiations must continue, however, since they have indeed long been generating important impetus for initiatives in individual countries, bilateral agreements and vital technological developments. If we continue in this way, though, we are unlikely to succeed in finding the lowest common denominator within the international community on the subject of global environmental and climate protection.”

In their declaration, entitled “Call for Action to Policy Makers and Pioneers of Change”, the participants at the convention express their alarm in the face of the current accumulation of crisis situations. These, in their opinion, are closely related on various levels and mutually detrimental. They are the imbalance in wealth and poverty, the problem of hunger and malnutrition, climate change and other ecological crises, financial crises and excessive debt in many countries and, finally, high unemployment particularly among young people. According to Rainer Grießhammer, Member of the Board of Trustees of the EEF and Head of the Institute for Applied Ecology in Freiburg, “These undesirable global trends can no longer be tackled in isolation. The current standard growth model does not deliver the necessary control information and impetus for a sustainable future.” The participants at the Freiburg convention are suggesting concrete solutions and fields of action. Their assumption is that the search for the lowest common denominator on the subject of global environmental and climate protection has brought us to a virtual standstill. The environmental laureates advocate a two-speed model in their declaration. “The pioneers in global environmental and climate protection should not wait, but rather press ahead and demonstrate to the international community the economic benefits of the sustainable use of natural resources”, says Peter W. Heller, Member of the Board of Trustees of the EEF and Head of the Canopus Foundation.

With its convention, the EEF has created a platform to make successfully implemented solutions to environmental and climate protection problems more widely known and accessible. “An important objective of the EEF, and a key factor in the success of our cause, is the creation a network of these highly successful laureates from the most varied fields”, explains Chairman of the Foundation, Bernd Dallmann. “In this respect, the International Convention of Environmental Laureates is a unique global event.”

The declaration specifies four concrete fields of action:

  1. Universal access to modern energy supplies in conjunction with the formulation of positive targets for energy efficiency and the use of renewable energies, such as the doubling at least of the proportion of renewable energies in the global energy mix and a significant increase in energy efficiency. Progress should be monitored by an international agency.
  2. Accelerated development of sustainable innovations in the fields of energy efficiency and renewable energies which have global significance, in other words, those which are relevant to people. The technologies in question are generally already in place, for example, energy-efficient buildings and electrical appliances, solar-powered cooling systems, solar-powered desalination facilities for the production of drinking water, efficient public transport systems, zero-emission vehicles, highly efficient and economical renewable energy systems and storage technologies. First and foremost, these are products which are targeted at the needs of poorer regions, such as simple power supplies and water purification systems. The convention cites international business competitions such as the “Golden Carot” program in the US and highly effective market-stimulating feed-in tariffs started in Germany and adopted in more than 60 countries worldwide as positive and particularly successful examples of suitable incentive programmes.
  3. Financing of innovation and infrastructure development by the abolition of environmentally harmful subsidies, the introduction of financial transaction taxes and green taxation such as a CO2-tax, reductions in military spending including the abolition of nuclear weapons, and an exclusive focus on sustainable innovations and infrastructure in future economic stimulus programmes.
  4. The acknowledgement by the planet’s leading corporations of the environmental and social impacts of their business practices, and their subsequent adoption of the systems and technologies necessary for a sustainable and equitable future.

The environmental laureates participating at the convention see the current critical situation as a failure of imagination. It is not the dream of a sustainable society that is unrealistic, but the blind belief that the status quo can be prolonged with marginal adjustments.

About the European Environment Foundation
The European Environment Foundation founded in 2011 intends to provide new impulses for environmental and climate policies. It has set the aim of promoting communication and professional exchanges between society, politics, research and business across the globe and across all disciplines. The founders and chairmen of the Foundation are Dr. Bernd Dallmann and Dipl.-Ing. Rolf Hiller. The Board of Trustees of the Foundation is composed of 13 well-known persons from the sectors of environmental and climate protection. The Chairman of the Board of Trustees is Prof. Dr. Eicke R. Weber, director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE. The Foundation headquarters are located in Basel, Switzerland.

About the 2nd International Convention of Environmental Laureates:
The EEF’s 2nd International Convention of Environmental Laureates from 14 to 17 March 2013 will bring together winners of prestigious international environmental prizes in Freiburg im Breisgau. More than 80 laureates from 44 countries have confirmed their attendance. The convention has as its motto “New Coalitions – To Address Limits to Growth”. Key themes are sustainable jobs through sustainable policies, a two-speed model with individuals, regions and countries acting as environmental and climate protection pioneers and an update on the report to the Club of Rome on limits to growth. The convention initiated by the EEF is intended to be an international platform for the exchange of experiences and concrete proposals for solutions. 2nd International Convention of Environmental Laureates 2013

Other

Our Revolving Fund System

Explaining in detail how Pedals for Progress works isn’t always easy. The simple version is we collect used bikes and ship them overseas to partner organizations who then distribute them within their communities. And really, this is all there is to it. However, the logistics of this are much more involved, and, of course, nothing moves anywhere without money paying the way.

So, early on, Pedals for Progress innovated a revolving fund system that jump starts our overseas projects. Then once it’s off the ground, it stays in operation for as long as the project needs bikes. For some of our partners this has been nearly as long as we’ve been around.

The concept of our revolving fund system is simple: let the bicycles pay their own transportation. However, the first container of bikes we ship to an overseas partner is on us. We fund this initial shipment by raising a minimum of $20 with each bike at our collections, which essentially pays for processing the bikes for shipment and storing them in inventory. To then ship the bikes from our storage facility to our partner organization overseas requires an additional $20 to $30. We raise this money in a variety of ways—fundraisers, mail solicitations, grants; sometimes we’re fortunate enough to get a program sponsored. But this first shipment is the most critical, because it provides the financial means for our partner to get started and keep their project going. It’s the linchpin of our revolving fund system.

Once our overseas partner receives their first shipment, they then distribute these bikes among their community. This is usually arranged before the bikes even arrive. In many cases, financial assistance and small loans are provided so the poorest people can afford what are already modestly priced used bikes. And usually from 450 to 550 bikes arrive per shipment. But the bikes are never given away, and for good reasons.

First of all, selling these bikes gives them a nominal value, so recipients are more apt to value them, rather than treat them as handouts that can easily be replaced. (Most of us tend to care for things we pay hard-earned money for.) Selling the bikes also generates much needed income for our partner organization. After all, they have to keep the lights on, maintain a payroll, and pay rent and phone bills. So bike sales provide important operating capital.

Most of all, bike sales secure funding for our partner’s next shipment, typically defraying at least a third of the shipping cost, and sometimes nearly all of it. Subsequent shipments keep the revolving fund going, and that keeps the bikes flowing into our partner organization’s community. Getting more and more people in a community on bikes also generates more business for the local bike shop. Naturally, when a thousand or two thousand bikes arrive in a given community, they’ll need service. And often with the first shipment of our bikes, a bike shop is created, providing stable permanent jobs. In some cases, successful bike shops have even provided the revenue to start up other businesses.

Having a large percentage of a community’s adult population on bikes is critical to both a project’s success and ours. One shipment is not enough—our programs can’t end there. Apart from funding the next shipment, the benefits of more bikes are many. To begin with, bike recipients start earning more money almost immediately. They’re more able to find work, create businesses, or even get the education necessary to land higher-paying jobs. As they earn more money, and more bikes arrive, the next recipients begin to earn more money. The community begins to thrive. This inspires entrepreneurship, and when new businesses succeed, they can then advise and even fund other enterprises.

The ultimate goal of our revolving fund system looks well beyond providing the first “free” shipment of bikes. Once bicycles get a foothold, they help the local economy bubble up rather than trickle down. Because our program doesn’t simply provide hand-outs, recipients of our bikes understand it’s up to them to make the most of owning a bike. And our experience has shown that that’s exactly what they do.