6. Climate Change Divide

Saturday January 26 2008 15.30 - 17.00

The challenge of climate change is to find a coherent approach throughout countries and regions. There is a divide between the developed world which looks at the creation of long-term sustainable and balanced evolution, and the emerging countries which are under high pressure to deliver economic growth to allow them to tackle their social challenges.

1) How can the divide between developed and emerging countries be bridged, and how can the latter be better integrated into protecting global climate?
2) How efficient are the current climate protection policies of developed countries? Should states become carbon neutral and if so, how?
3) With regard to the development of alternative sources of energy such as biofuels, what are the implications on climate change?

Speakers

• Christian Mumenthaler, Chief Risk Officer Swiss Re, Zürich
• Luiz Fernando Furlan, Chairman of the Board, GALF Empreendimentos, Brazil
• C.S. Kiang, Chairman, Peking University Environment Fund, Republic of China
• Achim Steiner, Executive Director, The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Nairobi
• Ichiro Kamoshita, Minister of the Environment, Minister in Charge of Global Environmental Problems, Japan

Moderation

• Sonja Hasler, Swiss Television

Webcast

• Open Forum - Climate Change Divide

Comments

[euroscot]

How big a priority is climate change?

Energy expert Matt Simmons was quoted recently in the Wall Street Journal. He thinks the world needs to shift its energy focus from climate change to more immediate concerns. "Peak oil is likely already a crisis that we don't know about. At the furthest out, it will be a crisis in 2008 to 2012. Global warming, if real, will not be a problem for 50 to 100 years," he says.

[Dr. Ashish Manohar Urkude]

When you are child you live, feed, play, hurt, smile on your mother. Our mother is our first Guru, Love, Companion, Guide, Follower, Leader, and God.

In fact, you exploit, tease, and give restless nights to our mother many times. However, once, you become mature you try not to hurt her.

Paradoxically, I don't know when Human being will really grow and leave this mother earth lives her own peaceful life.

Just explore, there is lot of digging in mines, de-forestation, chopping-off mountains, laying roads, adding chemical waste, loud noises, dying many species in fact extinction of lot of species, even human beings are sacrificing medicinal plants http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7196702.stm
and what not Earthien children are doing.

All these activities are 24 X 7 X 365/ 366 occurring on earth at every moment.

At home, sometimes mother cries for child we know it, due to her visible and understandable communication she makes.

However, nobody is listening to mother earth. Though she is crying, some times in the form of huge rains at multiple places, though she is sometimes angry and cracking herself in the form of Earth-Quake at few places having basalt plain like Deccan platue in Maharashtra-Koyna(Basal solid rock) region, though sometimes she is erupting hot lava from volcanoes, sometimes showing relatively disturbed unusual weather pattern, some times cloud burst, some time landslides in 'trees cut-off mountain areas', some times avalanche breakdown at many places, sometimes melting of ice in Antarctica or Arctic Circle, sometimes heavy snow in desert areas like Dubai mountains, and what not?

BUT, Her children are busy either in Enjoyment or in Sorrows or in fighting among themselves over childish issues and even on petty issues, as well.

HENCE, I checked her health:
1. My mother Earth's Temperature is going higher and higher,
2. Water content going to be inadequate for all her children, including humankinds, ants, elephants, whales, and other 8.4 million species,
3. Air with Oxygen and Nitrogen and other gases are going to be tough to be kept pure,
4. Her physical body likely to be deformed from its natural content, at few places, and
5. Her sky above is not going to be only sky-blue in coming age.

My mother earth is terribly ill. I wanted to talk to Doctor but could not find a suitable Doctor of that caliber. Shame on me. I can't cure my Mother-Earth. Shame on me. I know few solutions; I want to know few more solutions.

However, I am tired of finding a way out to implementing the best solutions and the best practices. I am helpless; I am alone and can't do the favour to my earth without consent from her 6,000,000,000 human beings on earth and 8.4 million species with trillion or more population of them.

I am helpless really helpless.

Is there anybody listening?

Can someone help me?

-> Dr. Ashish Manohar Urkude

[EnviroKlaus]

Today's prime indicator of a nation’s ‘Economic Health’ is the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). GROWTH in the GDP is what every political leader relishes to boast about. Consider the following: More climate change, more pollution and more natural habitat destruction ultimately must lead to more sickness, more illness and more misery - more jobs open up for doctors, nurses, drug researchers, care-givers, social workers and construction workers - the GDP grows and by extension a ‘healthier’ more robust economy emerges. More lawsuits and lawyers increase the GDP...More trash and waste handling increase the GDP...Economists will have you believe they all increase the wealth of the nation - how utterly bizarre! Why can we not engineer a large-scale worldwide effort to bring about cleaner air, cleaner waters, cleaner soils, clean energy and wildlife habitat restoration and thereby create not only challenging jobs and a growing GDP, but also a healthier environment, a healthier YOU and ME, a new form of wealth and a sustainable brighter future.

Sooner or later our current Socio-Economic model must be transformed into a workable ‘Green Capitalism’ model - a ‘NATURE-First Socio-Economic’ model that provides the foundation for a truly sustainable economy - that provides a strong incentive to improve the basic Human Condition worldwide, especially for women and children - a ‘Green Capitalism’ model that is worthy of a series of Nobel Prizes.. .Sooner or later our leaders must vigorously advance the vision of a ‘Clean Healthy Natural Environment’, demonstrate the unwavering courage to make it the #1 Global Goal and inspire massive action to make it a Global Reality. If not now...when? If not our current leaders...who?

[georg]

Interresting to take up "divide", when it is the climate change itself, and the human interaction that is the vast major topic.

Please !! take up the HIGH ALTITUDE AIR TRAVEL that is about as new as the acknowledged human climate infliction. THE LONG TRAVELER is the source of the change, be sure. BUT YOU FOLKS at a WEF dont want to here that.

[Rick Gandenberger]

The WTO mandates replacement of half the world's petrotankers by 2010. That means scrapping ships with a decades of life in them.

While climate change is blamed for worldwide drought, agricultural quantities of potable water could be produced by those ships if they were converted to floating OTEC (Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion) facilities.

All of the technology is well established and commercially available, though blockaded by the US Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Act.

Caribotec.com offers details for anyone serious about serious quantities of water.

[clavacs]

Aha: Und wie wird’s …

Analyse gelungen, Diagnose verheerend …
Krisen als Chancen, Phönixe aus den Aschen …

Wird uns unser Planet zu klein? Unser Universum ist riesig!
Welches Leben wollen wir, unser Einfluss ist größer als wir glauben …
Welche Gesellschaften wollen wir, stets die, in welchen uns Kinder und Jugend sagen – schön, hier sein zu dürfen …
Wir als Mitspieler!

Keine Alternative zum Miteinander als Mitspieler, nur so finden wir uns in unserem Menschsein
Keine Alternative zum Miteinander als Mitspieler, nur so wird uns Prävention nicht zur Be-spitzelung
Keine Alternative zum Miteinander als Mitspieler, nur so wird uns Frieden möglich
Keine Alternative zum Miteinander als Mitspieler, nur so wird uns unser Planet zu Gaia
Klima!

Leben, wir Lebewesen, unser Bewusstsein als Odyssee, Affinität von Bewusstsein und Ereig-nissen, Einsicht und Verstehen – Gestalten!
Die Strategie des Lebens als unsere Lebensstrategie – Weg-Ziel-Einheit; Raum-Zeit-Qualität
Unser Universum als Ewiges Jetzt, Leben ist uns Evolution, Spirallauf statt Kreislauf
Evaluierung von Ergebnissen vermeidet schwere Krisen und Zerstörung – Veränderung und Wandel
Bedrängnis löst sich über Bewegung
Sinn und Werte!

Innovation eröffnet uns Chancen und Möglichkeiten, zum Vorteil aller – Solidarität!
Der Innovationsbogen spannt sich uns über unsere Innovationskräfte
Kreieren und gestalten wir unsere Welt, unser Leben, verbinden wir uns in Vielfalt und stau-nen und überraschen wir uns mit dem was uns möglich ist
Wir dürfen nicht alles was uns möglich ist – Verantwortung und Sinn!
Entdecken wir uns als Entdecker, Erfinder und Abenteurer
Universitäten werden universitär – Fakultäten übergreifend! (Lebenswissenschaft!)
Visionen! Perspektiven! Zukunft!

Wir selbst sind das Potenzial, in Religio an das was uns permanent hervorbringt, fördern wir uns in unseren Fähigkeiten, Talenten und Möglichkeiten – in unserem Selbst, Selbstbegren-zung eingeschlossen!
Fordern und fördern wir uns in unserem Bewusstsein vom Bewusstsein
Lassen wir von Verhaftungen, von unserem Getriebensein, nur so gestalten wir wirklich
Finden wir uns in Leere um uns in Fülle zu finden
Freiheit in Autonomie – wir als Individuen
Wir als transzendente Menschen, zur Wandlung fähig!
Freiheit zur Wahrheit und Wandlung! Freiheit ist nicht ohne Risiko!

Veränderung und Wandlung quer durch alle Lebensbereiche – nicht als Selbstzweck!
Kunst und Künstler als Triebfeder
Wir Menschen finden uns in unserem Menschsein die Kulturen hindurch
Politiker gestalten im Sinne unseres Menschseins
Die Wirtschaft nutzt nicht uns Menschen, sondern findet sich im qualitativen Nutzen für uns Menschen
Die Finanzwirtschaft erweist sich als Mittel zum Zweck und nicht als Ixion in sich selbst
Zuviel ist zu tun, um sich Arbeitslose leisten zu können
Existenz! Arbeit! Wohlstand!

Das globale Miteinander in Vielfalt verlangt nach Durchlässigkeiten in Kulturen, in Politik, in Wirtschaft, bei Menschen unterschiedlicher Hautfarben, bei Jung und Alt, bei Bildung (Bil-dungsmöglichkeiten ohne Sackgassen!)
Multikulti im Nebeneinander führt zu Verwerflichkeiten (Parallelgesellschaften), gefragt ist Wechselwirkung, nur diese führt zu Integration – Toleranz allein reicht nicht wirklich!
Grundsicherung plus Arbeit für alle Menschen – in unseren Gesellschaften benötigen Men-schen Einkommen!
Wir Menschen im globalen Miteinander!

Unsere verlorenen Schafe verdienen unsere Aufmerksamkeit und Zuwendung, viel ehrenamt-liches Engagement könnte hier die Lösung sein!
Ohne unsere Alten wären wir Jüngeren nicht, auch sie verdienen unsere Zuwendung
Unsere Kinder – sind wir Eltern elterntauglich?
Wie halten wir es mit unserer Solidarität, mit unserer Verantwortung
Wie halten wir es mit Tieren, Pflanzen, unserer Umwelt
Würde und Achtung allen Lebewesen – unserem Planeten!
Nächstenliebe!

Unser Universum, das Leben sind rastlos, versuchen wir nicht sie aufzuhalten oder gar anzu-halten, sie gehen über uns hinweg – sind wir mit dem Universum, dem Leben rastlos und ge-lassen zugleich
Im Tod finden wir unsere wirkliche Herausforderung – ohne ihn kein Leben, kein Sinn!
Mit Jesus und Buddha sind uns wichtige Wegweiser …
Gott ist in und mit uns!

Möge uns eine bessere, lebenswerte Welt gelingen …
Miteinander in affinen Grundströmungen …
Sein ist uns ergründbar, erkennbar, einsehbar …
Werden ist uns nur bedingt vorhersehbar, es ist uns evaluierbar … (vergleichbar unseren Wet-ter-Vorhersagen; meine drei Punkte …)
Die Krone müssen wir uns erst noch erarbeiten und verdienen …

clavacs

Wünsche, die Väter unserer Gedanken, nein, tiefe Sehnsucht und Ahnung … (Katja!)

Was Verbrecher und Kriminelle, auch die im Namen von Staaten, an Wünschen pflegen, ich brauchte solche in meinem ganzen Leben erst gar nicht zu hegen – Gott sei Dank! (Herr Mey-er!)

Crash an den Börsen, in wenigen Wochen weltweit wohl Billionen an Kapital vernichtet, für hungernde und leidende Kinder – Menschen – fehlt uns das Geld …

Opernball in der Semperoper – wie Kunst doch trägt! (Wolke!)

Herr Karasek, Bunte, wüsste ich nicht, dass Sie mehr zu bieten haben … Gute Besserung!

Gloria: Wider den tierischen Ernst! Weiß ich doch, dass Du eine Power-Frau und kein Schaf bist … (smili)

www.avantgarde-verlag.de
www.gestaltungfmenschen.com
http://hansahas.blogg.de

[Cognose Lim Swee Keng]

Hello World

you need philosophical revelation to solve this century old problem.

Energy is not like metal, metal has physical form, metal can be refined, recycled.
Energy is more like food, consumed, degrade and dissipated.

Energy cannot be solved by law, by moral values, by conscient.
Energy must be solved by cultivating energy source, use them efficiently and generate profit more than fossils.

but how?

Do not use nuclear, for nuclear will use up all fresh water supply just to power a few metropolis and pump in more waste heat than autocars. It is very very inefficient to use a few thousand degrees reactor to heat steam to less than 1000 deg.

Do not burn purer than Brandy to move a ton of metal to move one person, this is autocar.

Do not think Solar as Photovolatic
Do not think Wind as bigger wind mills in open sea, desert.

DO the following
Replace the least efficient engine, Internal Combustion Engine in Autocar, by electric, by turbine. Then you do not need to burn gasoline, alcohol. You can burn lowest grade of fuel using “Direct Thermal Transport” to power turbine, to generate electricity for long haul autocars. In city use electricity.

Redesign Metropolis, to be high density, high rise, that generate high wind all time round and power micro turbines, that supply this high density population.

High Rise, high density is the way civilization go, this will make public bus unnecessary, car a luxury, while subway, electric mass transit are efficient, profitable.

Use agricultural produce, the lower grade to replace plastic, packaging. So it will generate a new income source for farmers from the same land, same resource. And this will minimize the need on oil, fossil fuel and waste treatment.
Read "Energy Solver" at www.cts-ideas.com
Create New Industry to Solve Key Contemproray Challenges
(Overabundance Liquidity, Dynamite Economy, Rural Poverty, Energy, Environment)

do not antangonise energy giants, corp giants.
rally them to use agriculture produce to do all.
Politicians in Europe, Japan, America will win farmers vote without trade barrier, subsidy.
let mother nature regulate carbon
and not let derivatives carbon trading bring us another subprime, junk bonds.

learnt and rally forces of nature.

Cognose Lim Swee Keng
SM(MIT), MBA(Law)
Engineer, Inventor, Philosopher
www.cts-ideas.com
CtS Cognoscere tenus Solvere

[James Bauernschmidt]

If all the internal combustion engines in the world got their toxic emissions reduced by over 80%, would that not improve the environment tremendously?

Here's an article from 3 years ago about a technology, which has since then been further developed and refined. This technology for a better internal combustion engine can indeed reduce toxic emissions by over 80%. http://www.wafreepress.org/73/gasEngineUseDiesel.htm

The challenge now is to bring Sonex to market. Help getting the engine manufacturers to apply this technology is appreciated.

[chris macrae]

the good news that communities with sun can replicate solar energy very fast now that bangaldesh has spent 14 years in testing how to do it

help http://usgreen.tv & http://microenergysummit.com catalogue most exciting links:
http://www.gshakti.org
http://www.microenergycredits.com