Our First Call To Action From Bioneers

By Spencer Windes on Sep 30, 2009 Permalink

Bioneers and State of the World Forum have joined together to call for "80% by 2020". This State of the World Forum, Bioneers and a coalition of groups worldwide are coming together around the Forum’s 2020 Climate Leadership Campaign. State of the World Forum President Jim Garrison will announce the U. S. Campaign launch at the Bioneers conference in San Rafael, California on October 17th, 2009 and hold meetings with those seeking engagement.
The declared goal of the forthcoming Copenhagen negotiations – reducing carbon emissions by 80% by 2050 – will allow business-as-usual for another 15-20 years. According to a recent MIT study, even if all the governments completely fulfill their current promises, CO2 levels will have reached over 600 p.p.m. by 2050, while global temperatures will have risen at least 4°C (6.9F). This is irreversibly catastrophic.
The urgency of global warming is such that we can no longer wait for our national governments to lead. Climate Leadership must come from civil society and from all sectors and citizens, including local and regional governments, business, academia and leaders from all disciplines, peoples and walks of life.
“It’s showtime,” said Bioneers CEO and Co-Founder Kenny Ausubel. “We are going to mobilize decisive action in this next decade. After 20 years of advancing education about solutions, Bioneers is calling on all of us to get directly involved in putting solutions into action at a large scale. That also means working at the local and regional level, in all aspects of our lives and communities. We can do it.”
When Dr. Rajendra Pachauri accepted the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the International Panel on Climate Change, he said, "If there's no action before 2012, that's too late. What we do in the next two to three years will determine our future. This is the defining moment." As Bioneers luminaries such as Amory Lovins and State of the World Forum’s long-time ally Lester Brown have been showing for years, we can meet this ambitious goal through existing technologies. It is not a technological issue. It is a political issue. The 2020 Climate Leadership Campaign has two goals:
1. The strategic goal is “2050 by 2020”. The Copenhagen negotiations – reducing carbon emissions by 80% by 2050 -- must be achieved by 2020. We have ten years to meaningfully address global warming or it is too late.
2. One operational goal is to help provide roadmaps, Rapid Response Teams and best practices and processes that address practical areas for action for achieving an 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2020 while establishing sustainable, prosperous and equitable societies and communities.
State of the World Forum in alliance with Bioneers will focus on this challenge at the Washington DC Forum Feb. 28 – March 3, 2010: “Beyond Copenhagen – Mobilizing Climate Leadership for Climate Prosperity.”
The 2020 Climate Leadership Campaign is designed to catalyze this leadership. The Washington Forum is designed to gather many specialists and activists ready to build 2020 plans of action. What’s most needed now is leadership and action.
The Climate Leadership Campaign’s first major success came in August in Brazil where a national 2020 Climate Leadership mobilization is taking place, helping spark the beginnings of social change models at large scales.
Now three federal ministries, as well as several national associations, states and cities including Rio de Janeiro are joining the 2020 Campaign, as are a number of industrial federations. Brazilian media giant Globo TV has initiated a prime-time nationwide ad campaign about global warming to support the 2020 Climate Leadership Campaign. Globo TV is committed to continuing the campaign over the next several years to make global warming a presidential election issue in October 2010, stop the clear-cutting of the Amazon, and educate and mobilize the Brazilian public to make lifestyle changes.
Among other strategies, the 2020 Climate Leadership Campaign is setting up a Fund to enable Rapid Response Teams to work with cities, states and institutions embracing the 2020 goals to implement plans in ways that generate climate prosperity.
“In the problem lies the solution,” says Ausubel. “By seriously addressing climate change, we will rebuild our economies and create a renaissance of ecological design and the restoration of our cities and infrastructures. It will be a time of mass creativity, political transformation and economic and social justice. It’s a value change for survival.”
To register for the Bioneers conference: www.bioneers.orgFor information on the D.C. State of the World Forum: www.worldforum.org