Dispatches from Paros: Wrapping It Up

Wanted to get this up last night, but was still feeling the effects of jet lag. I'll have something original for you this evening, though...

While my title is not exactly accurate, as I'm back home in St. Louis now, I wanted to get in one more post wrapping up my coverage of last week's Symi Symposium in Paros, Greece. I also want to thank the folks at the Andreas G. Papandreou Foundation for inviting me to attend the symposium -- it was a great time, and a week full of learning.

The final symposium session I attended (on Friday) addressed the important issue of climate change in the developing world. Moderated by Kumi Naidoo of South Africa-based NGO CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, the speakers at the session focused on the challenges climate change presents to the world's poorer nations: namely, that while these countries historically have had the lowest levels of greenhouse gas emissions, they will likely be hit the hardest and fastest by the effects of global warming. Speakers addressed the issues of inequality tied up in the climate change debate, the notion of environmental justice, and specific problems, such as deforestation, that will increase the level of suffering endured by the world's poorest citizens.

Friday evening, all of us gathered in the village of Naoussa for a closing ceremony. It was quite an event, as media crews were on hand to hear concluding comments by a number of symposium participants, and our gracious host, George Papandreou. We concluded with a wonderful Greek dinner (and real Greek food is incredible).

Yes, this is a bit lighter than some of the previous posts from the symposium -- I'm blaming it on jet lag! If you have questions or comments on any of these issues, fire away!

Photo: Symi Symposium Closing Ceremony. From left to right: Gerd Leipold, Executive Director of Greenpeace International; Misha Glenny, writer and editor (formerly of the BBC); George Papandreou, president of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement and the Socialist International, and former foreign minister of Greece. Photo courtesy of http://www.papandreou.gr

Crossposted at Green Options

Categories: symisymposium, climatechange, globalwarming, paros, greece, event

Dispatches from Paros: The Green Economy

Finally getting up to speed here -- of course, that must mean it's the last day of the symposium. Here's my report from yesterday's morning session, which is also published on Green Options.

Thursday morning's session at the Papandreou Foundation's Symi Symposium focused on the "green economy": how to craft economic policy that both internalizes the costs of a carbon-based economy, and creates incentives to move away from carbon-intensive energy sources. The presenters in this session were Joseph Stiglitz, professor of economics at Columbia University and former member of the Clinton administration, and Angelo Consoli, Director, Codeco s.s., European Affairs and Progressive Communication.

Professor Stiglitz's presentation picked up on a theme that has run throughout the conference: the question of the best economic mechanisms to address climate change. Stiglitz argued (as have others) that a carbon tax is preferable to a cap and trade system (the model embraced by the Kyoto treaty, and much of the business world). Because changes in the market away from fossil fuels will inevitably make those energy sources less expensive, carbon taxes keep their prices high, reflecting the costs imposed on society by carbon emissions. Stiglitz also argued that such taxation responds to another reality: market-based approaches won't work by itself, and government investments in infrastructure, research, and preparedness will be needed to round out a comprehensive approach to fighting climate change.

Other costs that the developed world likely will face stems from advancing the concepts of energy security and independence. If countries like China and India act in accordance with these concepts, that inevitably means that they'll be burning more coal -- China is already building coal-fired power plants at the rate of one/week. This could be disastrous in terms of climate change, but it points to the need for developing countries to build their energy infrastructure. If countries like China and India have to impede their own development to play a part in a global response to the climate crisis, Stiglitz argued that they should probably be compensated.

All of these question are important for the next round of climate negotiations. Stiglitz noted that in order to bring the developing world into this process, measuring carbon emissions on a per capita basis will be critical, as will a strict enforcement system. His last point: trade sanctions will likely be the most effective means of enforcing adherence to carbon mitigation strategies adopted by the international community.

Consoli's presentation dealt with a completely different issue: the necessity (his argument) of developing the hydrogen economy in order to address global warming. He argued that one of the major impediments facing the growth of renewable generation technologies is storage, and that by using renewables such as wind and solar power to electrolyze water and create hydrogen, we can overcome that impediment. Consoli noted that the development of such systems, which would be decentralized, also has the benefit of empowering (in every sense of the word) people around the globe without access to electricity, or the capital to create it with current centralized generation technologies. The economic effect of such a transition involves a move from carbon-intensive energy sources, which require high amounts capital, to renewable sources that require high amounts of labor, so renewable production of hydrogen as an energy storage mechanism ends up boosting employment and economic growth.

Consoli presented the EU Parliament's Written Declaration on energy, and it's five pillars:

• Efficiency


• Renewables


• CO2 Reduction


• Hydrogen


• Smart Grids

As you might imagine, the questions and responses came quickly and furiously to these presentations, and included thoughts about the political reality of carbon taxation, the idea that such taxes create a right to pollute, the problem of hydrogen generation from "dirty" sources, and the methods by which governments can encourage their citizens to accept changes that could be painful in the short term. As usual, I'm giving a quick and dirty overview here -- feel free to ask questions or offer your own responses.

Dispatches from Paros: Energy, Opportunity and Democracy

Apologies for being slow with my cross posts this week -- I've been having a great time, and staying busy, so have to fit in blogging when I can; having occasional connection issues, also. I published this post on Wednesday at Green Options:

Tuesday morning, I got to attend my first major session at the Papandreou Foundation's Symi Symposium. Entitled "Energy in Flux: Safe Passage to a Future of Alternatives," the session consisted of three presentations on transitioning to a new energy future, and a lively debate over the challenges and opportunities created by the need to shift energy priorities in the face of global climate change.

Overall, I was delighted by the optimistic tone that ran throughout these presentations (which, in some cases, became points of contention in later open discussion): all three speakers acknowledged the enormity of the environmental challenges we face, and noted that combined efforts of the public and private sectors will be necessary to mobilize the larger public to action. In each presentation, the speaker focused on public involvement (in the roles of consumers and citizens), and made the case that an educated populace will provide the momentum for adoption of clean, renewable energy options. Let me just give a very brief overview of the main points offered by each speaker.

The first presentation focused on consumers' roles in transitioning to a low-carbon energy infrastructure. Dr. Joseph Stanislaw noted that, traditionally, when we talk about energy, we talk about supply: where does it come from? He argued that a shift in mindset and language towards the services energy provides creates greater opportunity for transitioning towards more sustainable energy options. Consumers don't want energy created from coal, or from solar power, for that matter: they want the services that reliable energy provides. By focusing on meeting this demand, we can address our contributions to climate change by implementing currently available technologies (particularly conservation technologies) while also working on the next generation of cleantech solutions. Consumers can be empowered to contribute to lower consumption by educating them on the "low hanging fruit" available: CFLs, for example. Finally, Stanislaw noted that the private sector is well ahead of the (US) government in recognizing these opportunities: he specifically discussed Wal-Mart's sustainability efforts.

The second and third presentations both focused on engaging populations as citizens in transitioning towards cleaner energy technologies. The first of the two, presented by James Fishkin of Stanford University of the two described experiments conducted by Texas utilities in "deliberative democracy": representative groups of customers were brought together in person, and through television, to discuss opportunities to purchase "green" power through their utilities. The sessions served to both educate the people gathered, and to listen to their concerns. These sessions produced amazing results: before these sessions, 52% of these consumers will willing to pay more for green energy; afterwards, 84% expressed willingness. The speaker noted the the increased prices don't have to be much larger: even a $.25 addition to customers' monthly bills would generate millions of dollars for increased renewable infrastructures. The success of the Texas experiment has led to other requests to hold such events: they've been repeated in Nebraska and Nova Scotia (with similar positive outcomes), and more will be held in Vermont, and as part of the next National Governor's Association meeting. The third speaker, John Panarenos, provided the results of a similar effort in Europe: when asked, the representative samplingof citizens choose "energy and environment" as the most pressing issues facing the EU. The combination of terms was important -- when the word "environment" was presented by itself, it didn't receive nearly as high numbers.

As you might imagine, other symposium delegates had plenty of questions and even challenges for these speakers. A few points offered:

• The "small steps" position of the first presentation was challenged with the Chinese proverb "You can't cross a ravine with small steps": ultimately, the enormity of these problems require much bigger responses.


• The market focus (which was not exclusive -- he wasn't arguing for "letting the market fix the problems") of the first speaker's presentation was also questioned, with at least one respondent noting that we must focus on what scientists say is necessary, rather than what is possible in a consumer market.


• Several respondents also argued for more top-down regulation -- in fact, that seemed to be a major point of debate: a focus on grassroots action (which is what I heard coming from these presentations) vs. government regulation.

Needless to say, this session was fascinating and provocative: as the first speaker noted, we can't separate energy issues from climate change, so these kinds of discussions are necessary. I've just given the briefest of overviews here -- feel free to offer comments or ask questions...

The evening sessions at the symposium are shorter and a bit less formal. Tuesday's evening's focused on a presentation by Kim Alter (Oxford University) on the concept of social entrepreneurship and social enterprise: the hybridizing of business and non-profit models into a unique endeavor that harnesses market forces in innovative ways to address social (and environmental) challenges. As with the morning session, the discussion was lively following the presentation. The concept of social enterprise as a distinct category, rather than another form of non-profit, was a major question for participants in the discussion.

Wednesday was a day off, and many of us took a day trip to the island of Antiparos. I've uploaded photos at GO, and invite you to take a look (and to forgive my meager photography skills).

Dispatches from Paros: Climate Changes Everything

Last week, I mentioned that I would occasionally veer from the course I set out for the relaunch of sustainablog, and that you'd see some of those exceptions this week. The reason -- I'm currently in Greece attending the Papandreou foundation's annual Symi Symposium. To stay on top of the developments here, I'll be doing quite a bit of cross posting between Green Options and sustainablog. Here's the first post I published on GO about the symposium -- more will be coming shortly.

This week, we've got something exclusive for you: an inside look at a major symposium on climate change hosted by Greece's Andreas G. Papandreou foundation. The Foundation invited me to participate in the event, and I just arrived on the Greek Island of Paros a few hours ago.

Needless to say, I was very excited by this invitation, and not just because I get to spend a week in the Greek Isles and still call it work. Papandreou's annual Symi Symposium brings together great minds from around the world each year to discuss solutions to global issues. The participants include politicians (several members of various parliaments, and one president), business leaders, academics and representatives of non-governmental organizations. This year's theme is "Climate Changes Everything," and I'm definitely looking forward to hearing the perspectives presented on addressing the global climate crisis.

Some minor travel mishaps kept me away from the symposium's first session, "After Kyoto: How to Design a New Global Accord." Now that I'm here, I'm definitely looking forward to upcoming sessions and workshops on energy alternatives, social entrepreneurship, the "Green Economy," and climate change in the developing world. I'll be providing details throughout here, and may even give podcasting a try (there's a studio for it here). I'll also take plenty of photographs... everything is worthy of a picture here!

The Papandreuo foundation has graciously picked up the tab for me to attend and cover this event.

Image: The view from my hotel room's back porch...

Cross posted at Green Options

Join Us at MOBOT for "Sustainable Farming and Building"

Yep, it's been a while... with all of the preparation for GreenFest at Green Options, sustainablog got the short end of the stick. Still thinking about how to handle the situation with my little blog -- I do miss writing here -- but will have to keep it to an occasional basis for the time being.

Of the many great experiences that came out of last week's festivities in Chicago was getting to meet fellow Treehugger writer Leonora Oppenheim. If you haven't yet seen it, Leonora posted a photo of us from GreenFest at TH; I also put it up at GO:
















Leonora and I will get to hang a bit more tonight -- she's in the Lou' as part of Kallari Association's visit. Kallari is a Fair Trade cocoa cooperative in Ecuador, and Leonora, as well as a number of students from Washington University, are involved with it. Tonight, Kallari's Director of Commerce Carlo Pozo will be speaking at the Missouri Botanical Garden (one of my favorite places on the planet, and not just because it's only two blocks away). The title of his talk is "Sustainable Farming & Building: A Modern Kichwa Tradition in the Making."

This all happens at 6:30 tonight in the Shoenberg Auditorium at the Garden. Come by, enjoy the talk, and, more than likely, the chocolate samples (it's really good stuff).

Categories: fairtrade, missouribotanicalgarden, event, stlouis, sustainability

Wild Things... You Make My Heart Sing...

OK, cut me a little slack... I'm not nearly as bad about cheesy musical allusions as some...;-)

More green goings-on in Chicago this weekend -- seems like that's often the case lately! On Saturday, The Habitat Project, along with a whole slew of other organizations, is hosting Wild Things: A Chicago Wilderness conference. This one-day event is open to all (you can register at the door), and they've even organized events around attendees level of expertise:

You are invited to a day-long conference that brings together the region's best experts, most dedicated volunteers and anyone interested in nature. Technical presentations and interactive workshops will explore the latest in natural areas preservation, wildlife protection and monitoring. The conference is organized in "tracks" designed for everyone from beginners to experts. There is special focus on empowering citizen scientists, stewards and advocates with information, networking and good ideas.

Wild Things will feature more than 80 large and small-group sessions drawn from real-life experiences with everything from the nitty gritty of habitat management, botany, and zoology to advocacy, education, art, culture, history and backyard and neighborhood ecology. It’s a great opportunity to listen, ask questions, and contribute to the effort to conserve the natural ecosystems and habitats of the greater Chicagoland area.

The schedule is jam-packed, regardless of which track you choose, and it looks like there's a good mix of sessions focused on the academic and the practical. Sounds like a can't-miss event if you're in area. I've got work to attend to on Saturday, but would love to hear back from anyone who does attend.

Categories: chicago, event, conference, wildthings, wildlife, nature, greenspace