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Welcome to the latest edition of the World Future Council Newsletter:
Success for WFC Co-Founder in South Australia: Parliament adopts Feed-in-Tariffs
At the Third International Solar Cities Congress in Adelaide, Australia, 500 delegates from 30 countries spent five days in February discussing renewable energies. The keynote address on Solar Cities of Tomorrow was held by WFC Co-Founder and internationally recognized urban ecologist Herbert Girardet from Germany. During the conference, Mike Rann, Premier of South Australia, emphasized Herbert Girardet’s crucial role in passing a Feed-In-Tariffs law in South Australia this February. Girardet served as a “Thinker-in-Residence” in Adelaide, where he relentlessly publicized the importance of Feed-In-Tariffs.
World Future Council Chair Bianca Jagger speaks at Preparatory Conference for the establishment of an International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)
At the invitation of the German Federal Government, representatives of 60 countries met in Berlin in April at the Preparatory Conference for the Foundation of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Bianca Jagger, Chair of the World Future Council, delivered a dinner speech at the event, calling the establishment of IRENA “both necessary and urgent”.
IRENA will constitute an independent driving force behind renewable energy and help to create a level playing field for renewable energy development in the Global South. The Agency intends to become instrumental in encouraging research and development to facilitate its affordability and implementation.
"Germany has shown great leadership and vision in spearheading the renewable energy revolution,” Bianca Jagger said. “We must grasp firmly the hand that is being offered to us and embark upon this revolution to prevent a global climate disaster.”
The Founding Conference of IRENA will take place in autumn 2008.
Read the speech here.
Read the article on Renewable Energy World Online here
WFC invites Californians to discuss Future Justice
“How to protect the Rights of Future Generations.” This was the topic at a WFC-organized public symposium at the University of California, Santa Barbara, on April 11th.
Council members such as WFC Chair Bianca Jagger, the founder of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation David Krieger, former Vice Chair of the International Court of Justice retired judge Christopher Weeramantry, Director of the International Center for Sustainable Development Law Prof. Marie-Claire Cordonnier-Segger, former President of Trinidad and Tobago, the Hon. Arthur Robinson and the Dean of the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, Santa Barbara, Prof. Dr. Ernst Ulrich von Weizsaecker discussed how international law can protect the needs and rights of future generations.
In addition, WFC founder Jakob von Uexkull and council members such as Dr. Scilla Elworthy, Prof. Dr. Hans-Peter Duerr, Prof. Stephen Marglin, Count Hans von Sponeck und Dr. Rami Mani discussed the systemic changes necessary to achieve sustainability and safety for future generations.
The public event was followed by the first official meeting of the newly founded Expert Commission on Future Justice. Members discussed such topics as laws, cases and strategies to further and protect the rights of future generations. This was followed by an award dinner for retired International Court of Justice Vice President Christopher Weeramantry.
KidsCall-Team Returns Home After Successful World Tour
The World Future Council's KidsCall-Team has returned home after a six-week world tour taking in seven countries across three continents. From India to the US via Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Japan, Australia and Canada, the KidsCall-Team has been listening to and collecting the views of young people concerning climate change. The WFC will ensure that these hopes and fears for the future are heard by the world's leading decision-makers at the G8 conference in July.
"Let's just do it!"
In her message to G8, Suraiya Mahbuba from Dakar, Bangladesh said “we are an underdeveloped country and I think that developed countries should impose something that is beneficial for us.”
Kritika from New Delhi was one of thousands of pupils from the Montessori school who flocked to take part in KidsCall workshops. Her main concern was the vital issue of technology transfer in combating climate change. “All the technology in our country is very expensive. To have a water harvesting system in your house is something most people cannot imagine because it is much more than the salaries. We would really request for people who are able to do so, to make technology cheaper so that people in my country can use them and we can start saving our resources,” she said.
The message from young people around the world was clear: Act now! Kanae Nakamura from Hiroshima, Japan for example said “My dream is to build a society where everyone can live in a healthy environment, so lets co-operate all over the world and just do it!”
Bianca Jagger, Chair of the World Future Council and patron of the KidsCall-Project said “It is time for the decision-makers of today to listen to the decision-makers of tomorrow. We have betrayed future generations by failing to protect the planet. Now it is time to listen to their concerns. KidsCall gives a voice to future generations.”
For more messages, pictures and videos please visit the gallery section of the KidsCall website.
Bianca Jagger Testifies in front of US Congress
WFC Chair Bianca Jagger testified in front of the US congress on the need for renewable energies. To the Select Committee for Energy, Independence and Global Warming Bianca Jagger said:
“The threat of a global climate disaster is no longer up for debate. The majority of scientists are in agreement. Governments have previously been reluctant to accept this reality. However, notwithstanding all this sobering information, the agreements reached in Bali were extremely weak and inadequate.” In the name of the World Future Council, Bianca Jagger urged the United States to adopt Feed-In Tariffs as a significant way by which to accelerate the introduction of renewable energy.
You can watch Bianca's testimony here.
WFC at WIREC
Together with US Congressman Jay Inslee (D-Washington), the World Future Council presented the US with concrete measures to increase renewable energy deployment, create thousands of jobs and improve energy security. In an official side-event at the Washington International Renewable Energy Conference, the WFC showcased a Feed-in Tariff system tailor-made for the US market.
World Future Councillor Hermann Scheer was present at WIREC and said: "Through its three basic elements – guaranteed grid access, fixed fees, no capping – Feed-in Tariffs have led to investment autonomy through operators who are independent of the power supply industry. New players have stepped into the market who now no longer have to ask the established energy providers for permission to access the grid."
An article in Renewable Energy World praised the involvement of the WFC saying: "Talk about FITs seemed to be everywhere at WIREC, a policy-oriented event sponsored by the U.S. government. Helping drive the discussion was an entourage of FIT supporters from the World Future Council who are doing everything in their power to spread awareness about the law."
Asia's Future in a Hotter World
Together with the e-parliament, the WFC hosted an international parliamentary hearing on climate, energy and forests in Asia. The event, which took place in Taipeh, was attended by 25 prominent parliamentarians from around the world. The hearing involved working groups, presentations and action plans on protecting Asia's forests, the risks climate change poses for Asia, solar-, wind-, and thermal energy. WFC Climate Energy Director Stefan Schurig gave a presentation on policy tools to promote clean energy industries.
World Future Councillor and e-parliament founder Nick Dunlop chaired the hearing, which was for the first time open to spectators. Around 100 experts were present to follow proceedings. The event was covered by the China Post and the Taipeh Times and you can read those reports in the news section.
The World Future Council has established itself as a leading authority on Feed-in Tariffs to such an extent that the Council is now providing advice to the Philippine government on their renewable energy policy.
WFC on Shaping Asia's Cities
Climate Energy Director Stefan Schurig also represented the World Future Council at the City-to-City conference in Yokohama, Japan.
Around 100 representatives of Asian city authorities, private companies and NGOs met to clarify the role of local governments in greenhouse gas emission reduction, identify tools and technical assistance to help local governments take meaningful actions and promote partnerships among local governments, community groups and the private sector.
With the WFC's Expert Commission on Cities and Climate Change only having been recently established, the Council was welcomed as new player on the scene. The fact that the WFC's commission is not tied to a certain big-city network allows a greater degree of flexibility in its work.
Erich-Fromm Prize goes to WFC Founder
This year's Erich-Fromm Prize, awarded to persons who have achieved or continue to achieve excellence in preserving or reviving humanistic thought and action, was presented to WFC founder Jakob von Uexkull in a ceremony in Stuttgart.
Judges said the World Future Council created perspectives that provide hope in a world increasingly ruled by economic determinism. Deputy Chair of the EC committee, Beate Weber, herself honored with the German Environment Award 2007, said: "Jakob von Uexkull has created a world conscience with the World Future Council, whose influence and collective knowledge can help set politicians on the right track to provide for future generations."
Fellow World Future Councillor Hans-Peter Duerr gave the laudatio for Jakob von Uexkull at the award ceremony and said, "The World Future Council will recognise crimes against the future and ensure that such mistakes are not repeated."
Councillors Keeping Busy!
WFC Chair Bianca Jagger will be accepting an honorary doctorate. Bianca will be made a Doctor of Human Rights, honoris causa, by Simmons College in Boston and will be delivering the commencement address at the college’s opening ceremony.
In addition, Bianca recently published an op-ed piece for the Guardian's "Comment Is Free" website about Iraq, called "Five Years of Failure". You can see this and other articles she has written here.
Bianca is also featured on the BBC's "Interactive Essays" speaking about Iraq here.
On the 6th of March, Sulak Sivaraksa received an honorary doctorate from the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarnath, India. And in a stance for freedom of expression, Sulak took the Thai Prime Minister and Police Chief to an administrative court for banning circulation of his book "75 years of Thai Democracy full of obstacles".
Prince El Hassan bin Talal has been awarded both the 2008 Abraham Geiger Award and the 2008 Niwano Peace Prize. The Abraham Geiger Award 2008 has been conferred upon Prince Hassan “as a voice for global sustainability, reconciliation and interreligious understanding”. The Award was presented in Berlin, Germany on March 4th, 2008. Prince Hassan will be awarded the 25th Niwano Peace Prize for “his firm commitment to peace and inter-religious dialogue, his permanent message for the understanding and practice of Islam as a religion of peace, and his high ethical credibility.” The award presentation ceremony will take place in Tokyo, Japan, on 8th May 2008. Prince Hassan has for decades been a leading bridge builder across political and religious divides and has devoted much of his life to working for peace and justice in the Middle East.
Fellow councillors Scilla Elworthy and Olivier Giscard d'Estaing were present at the award ceremony in Berlin to participate in the plenary and the press conference chaired by Prince Hassan. Olivier held a presentation entitled "Establishing New Forms of World Governance".
Hermann Scheer spoke in the Ministerial Plenary of WIREC (see extra section) and at its Global Business Conference. Hermann is also coordinator of the on-going process to establish IRENA (International Renewable Energy Agency). And as president of EUROSOLAR, Hermann hosted the European
Conference Solar Energy in Architecture and Urban Planning at Berlin in the German Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs.
WFC in the News
World Future Council Promotes FIT Solutions
Extensive coverage from around the world has confirmed the WFC's position as a leading authority on Feed-in Tariffs. The World Future Council has been quoted on several occasions in connection with many states exploring the opportunities offered by the FiT system.
Publications in which the WFC has been featured with regard to Feed-in Tariffs include The China Post, Panama News, Today (Singapore), Celsias (Tanzania) and Renewable Energy World.
Climate Energy Director Stefan Schurig was quoted in a report on Feed-in Tariffs in The Economist and the Greek newspaper Skai.
Dr David Toke wrote an article in The Guardian, which talks about his report, soon to be published by the World Future Council on the future of renewable energy in Europe.
WFC in Germany
In Die Welt, one of Germany's largest newspapers, the WFC publication "Zukunft ist Möglich" ("Future is Possible") was recommended as a key book on climate change.
And KidsCall basked in the media spotlight when a campaign delegation took part in "Tigerentenklub", the most popular children's show on German TV.
Upcoming Events
12 April 2008, SOUTH AFRICA: Climate Energy Director Stefan Schurig will speak at a parliamentary hearing on climate and ecosystems.
22 April 2008, Bahrain: Program Director Herbert Girardet will give a lecture on cities and climate change at the seminar "Towards Sustainable Gulf Cities". Councillor Dr Rafia Gubash will also be present at the event to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Arabian Gulf University..
12-16 May 2008, BONN: Vandana Shiva and Ibrahim Abouleish and Jakob von Uexkull will speak at the World Congress on the Future of Food and Farming as part of the Planet Diversity project.
18-21 May 2008, HAMBURG: 2nd Annual General Meeting of the World Future Council.
18-20 May, HAMBURG: Children’s Conference as part of the 2nd Annual General Meeting of the Council: "The Future in Our Hands" in Hamburg.
20 May 2008, HAMBURG: Public event: The Future in Our Hands. Galerie DG HYP, Gertrudenstr. 3. Hamburg.
19 - 30 May 2008, BONN: The WFC will be sending a delegation to the ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 9) of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, Bonn, Germany.
22 May 2008, MUNICH: WFC Deputy Chair Beate Weber and Councillor Vithal Rajan will be taking part in the seminar "Ethics and Pratice of Sustainability in the Field of Intercultural Dialogue" at the Goethe Institute in Munich.
7 July 2008, JAPAN: One year after the launch of KidsCall, Bianca Jagger and the team will be in Japan for the G8 summit to present the world's political leaders with messages from children from around the world.
21 September 2008, BERLIN: Bianca Jagger and Jakob von Uexkull will be present at a benefit concert for the World Future Council. The Berlin Philharmonic will be performing at the event, which will take place during the Berlin Festival. Tickets can be obtained here.
For more information on any of the above events, please contact the WFC
The Next Edition
Your World Future Council newsletter appears on a bi-monthly basis. The next edition packed with all the latest news surrounding the WFC is planned for early June, including details of the WFC Annual Conference and much more!
If you do not wish to continue receiving this newsletter, please send an email to robert@worldfuturecouncil.org