Day One Summary
The conference was opened by Peter Eigen, Chairman of the Berlin Civil Society Center. He welcomed the participants, pointing out that this was the first conference bringing together the leaders of the world’s most influential civil society organisations (CSOs). Peter Eigen thanked the partners of the Center for helping to make this conference possible.
Ingrid-Gabriela Hoven, Head of Division, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, pointed out that the conference reflected the new German government’s approach to development cooperation. She emphasized that no single sector is in the position to bring about the solutions demanded by today’s complex challenges. The Ministry sees a significant role for the leading global CSOs as drivers of change.
In his key note speech, Muhammad Yunus, CEO of the Grameen Bank and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, looked at the present crisis as an opportunity for change. It is important to use this opportunity to push for crucial changes in our economic system. This system is based on selfishness. It is perfectly possible to base economic activities on selflessness instead. Social business is the answer to many of today’s challenges as it connects business thinking with social engagement in a way that brings creativity into play to solve problems.
Chaired by Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International, the panel “Climate Change, Poverty and Human Rights: People Suffering in the Global Crisis” addressed various key elements of the complex global crisis. Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, proposed to limit overall CO2 emission to a sustainable level and then to allocate per capita emissions globally on the same level. He pointed out that we have only five to maximum ten years time to readjust our economy and lifestyles to the resulting decreased levels of per capita CO2 emissions. Emission rights should be traded between developed and developing countries, which would make significant resources available for carbon-free development. The panel discussion pointed to the growing number of climate refugees and the need to clarify their legal status and provide them with appropriate support. The lack of awareness and the lack of preparedness to commit to the required changes in our lifestyles were seen as major challenges. In this context, education – especially for the next generation – plays a crucial role. Finally, the panel raised a number of questions for the conference to address: How do we strengthen the political will to act decisively? Are today’s international institutions able to make the required decisions or do we need fundamental institutional and/or ideological change? Can we develop a joint agenda for Copenhagen?
The plenary discussion “Redefining the Global Crisis” pointed to the urgency of the situation: business as usual is not an option. The climate challenge should not be seen as an additional crisis competing with issues such as poverty and disability; it encompasses and reinforces most of the existing challenges and none of these could be successfully addressed without taking climate aspects into consideration. In our communication it is important not to reduce the Copenhagen summit to a discussion on finance. While finance transfers from North to South are essential, we need to encourage the public to also support and demand the necessary changes in lifestyles and patterns of consumption. This requires passion and emotion in our messages. To strengthen our impact on the political decision-making process we must improve our cooperation, for example to develop an open source structure to share knowledge and to conduct a global climate justice campaign, which is focused and coordinated.
Looking at the “Strategic Levers on the Global Crisis”, the discussion identified crucial levers such as the link between human rights and climate change, the strategic role of young persons in the climate discussion as they and their children will be the ones to bear the consequences of today’s inaction, the need to translate complex science into easily understandable and applicable solutions and the awareness that climate change is a symptom and that changes in our lifestyles and business approaches are unavoidable.
