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Master Classes
1. The Sustainable Economy: A New Model from the Netherlands
Fred Langeweg, Rob Maas; Chair: Klaas van Egmond
The financial and environmental crises demonstrate that the current economic model is unsustainable. At present growth rates, the world economy would double by 2030 with immense implications for resource use, the climate, waste and pollution and the survival of ecosystems. The new economy must properly recognize and adapt to these challenges. The problems are clear and the contours of the measures required are emerging. An ambitious simulation has been developed in the Netherlands and this will be presented.
2. Economic Recovery on the Way to a New Sustainable Economy
Franz Josef Radermacher, Wolfgang Sachs; Chair: Anders Wijkman
The world economy has been confronted by a financial crisis leading to an economic recession and governments have directed trillions of dollars to stimulate economic recovery and to generate employment. These reactive measures must be positioned within a broader purpose, to undertake the structural reforms necessary to lay the foundations for a new, low carbon, environmentally responsible and socially equitable economy. This is a positive opportunity and an immense challenge, to improve human welfare and provide new jobs and opportunities within the constraints of a stable climate and a healthy environment. The failure of the conventional economic wisdom has opened a way to many new concepts which will be debated in this Master Class.
3. The Latest on Climate Change
James Hansen, Mohan Munasinghe, Pier Vellinga; Chair: Crispin Tickell
The scientific community is achieving a deeper understanding of the systems and processes which drive accelerating climate change. This understanding is firmly based on the Paleolithic record, increasingly sophisticated modeling and above all, practical evidence from all over the world. In spite of all the negotiations and agreements to date, concentrations of green house gases in the atmosphere are rising at a rate higher than the business as usual scenario of IPCC. We are thus facing the risk of catastrophic climate change. Measures to avert this risk must become the central focus of policy.
4. Peak Oil and Climate Change
Ian Dunlop, Wim Turkenburg; Chair: Paul Hohnen
Modern civilization is based fundamentally on the availability of cheap energy, particularly oil. For political, geographic and technical reasons it appears that supply will not be able to keep up with escalating demand. High oil prices have impacts across the world, particularly for the poorest sections of the population. And energy use is fundamental as a driver of climate change. Policies and action to address these two interconnected issues are difficult to define and may be contradictory in their consequences. The level of energy demand in 2050 will be around double the demand today. These issues are real today, but they will be more severe in the future. How can energy production double while cutting emissions by around 80% to preserve a stable climate?
5. The Climate Transition of China
Christine Loh and Zhang Shigang; Chair: Martin Lees
China is doubling its GDP every ten years with consequent escalation of energy use and a rapid growth in emissions. The Chinese are making a remarkable progress in improving energy efficiency, in developing new patterns of production and in re-orienting their economy onto a less environmentally-damaging path. Nevertheless, although emissions per capita are low, China is now the world’s largest aggregate producer of climate change emissions and the prospects are that its rapid growth will continue, as an explicit policy to provide employment and improve the living standards of its growing population. The negotiating position of China in the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen will be a determinant of the outcome.
6. Climate Change is Key, but What About Food and Poverty
Hans Eenhoorn, Daudi Sumba, Young Club of Rome NL; Chair: Ian Johnson
The world community is heavily focused on the key issue of climate change, but we face an array of present and future issues which cannot be ignored. For hundreds of millions of people the food crisis is immediate and increasingly desperate while over a billion people live in abject poverty. The focus of negotiations on mitigation and adaptation is essential, but immediate and early action is needed to deal with problems of poverty and food security across the world which will be greatly worsened by the impacts of climate change, for example, increased water stress, desertification, contamination of aquifers, flooding and drought and extreme weather events. The Millennium Development Goals endorsed by world leaders are now at risk and global warming will aggravate this problem. The poor did not cause the problem of climate change, but they are paying the highest price: climate justice and humanitarian support will be key elements for the success of the Copenhagen negotiations.
7. Climate Change and Sea Transport
Koen Overtoom, Tiedo Vellinga, Stephan Wrage; Chair: Freek Ossel
International trade and transportation systems on which it depends have flourished for decades as the process of globalization has accelerated. But sea transport and the intensive activities in ports contribute significantly to global emissions. As energy use per cargo unit for maritime transport is a fraction of the use for air transport, there have been few initiatives and incentives to improve energy efficiency in the maritime sector. Although emissions per unit are low, the aggregate of maritime-related emissions is substantial. The largest port in Europe, Rotterdam, and its sister port Amsterdam, are major drivers of towards an agreements aimed at reducing the levels of CO2 emissions for sea transport.
8. From Resource Efficiency to Effective Use of Resources
Michael Braungart, Stefan Bringezu, Bill McDonough; Chair: Bio Schmidt-Bleek
For forty years the Club of Rome has emphasized that economic growth of the world economy based on waste, overuse and the squandering of resources is not sustainable in the longer term. Scientists, such as Bio Schmidt-Bleek and Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker have produces convincing studies which demonstrate that this is true. Their research into Factor 10 and Factor 4 has shown how high levels of welfare can be attained together with deep reductions in the use of energy and natural resources. For this work they received the Takeda Prize. Other scientists such as “Cradle to Cradle” chemist Michael Braungart and US architect Bill McDonough make the case that effectiveness should be the focus rather than efficiency. Re-design of products to allow chemical recovery and recycling would make possible a prosperous economy with major reduction of waste.
9. Biodiversity and Ecosystems Services
Charles Moore, Johan Rockström, Ashok Khosla with Pavan Sukhdev's message; Chair: Hans Alders
While the international focus on climate change is clearly justified, the treats arising from the degradation of biodiversity and species loss are also acute. Humanity depends entirely on the ecosystems services and the natural capital of the planet. The loss of biodiversity is accelerating and global warming will aggravate this trend. Such issues are not included in our economic models: they are considered effectively as free public goods. To create favourable conditions for the future of humanity, major efforts will be needed to preserve and restore biodiversity and ecosystems, without which the issue of climate cannot be resolved.
10. Sustainable Finance and Green Investment
Peter Blom, Alois Flatz, Eberhard von Koerber, Robert Rubinstein; Chair: Otto Scharmer
Recent events have demonstrated the instability of the world financial system which has triggered a deep economic recession with direct impacts on the jobs and lives of millions of men and women across the world. Governments are focuses on the need for rapid recovery, but this must be achieved within the context of strategies to promote a new path of sustainable economic growth. To revert to traditional models and strategies for finance and growth may bring short term recovery at the cost of further crises in the future. For this reason many initiatives are emerging worldwide to create a sound framework for the regulation of the financial sector, to establish new criteria and methodologies for green investment, for integrating sustainability into corporate strategy and to formulate a new conception of sustainable socio-economic growth which respects the environment and considers the prospects of future generations.
