The World Future Council: Recent Events

Recent Events

Our recent events

: Honorary Councillor Tadatoshi Akiba

6 August: Commemoration of U.S. bombing of Hiroshima
On August 6, 1945, the U.S. B-29 warplane Enola Gay dropped a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima killing more than 70.000 people. Three days later, a second nuclear bomb struck Nagasaki. At the end of 1945, the death toll from both atomic strikes had risen to 200,000. In the decades after, many more perished from leukemia, cancer and other long-term effects. On the 65th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing a ceremony in the city brought together tens of thousands, including representatives of a record 74 states. Among them were also the hibakusha, the survivors of the atomic strikes, who saw the United States represented at the annual ceremony for the first time. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon demonstrated his commitment to nuclear disarmament by becoming the first UN chief to attend the event. Ban urged the attendants to “keep up the momentum.” WFC Honorary Councillor, Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba underlined the urgency of abolishing nuclear weapons, insisting that “we cannot force the most patient and enduring people in the world, the hibakusha, to be patient any longer.” U.S. Ambassador John Roos noted that “for the sake of future generations, we must continue to work together to realize a world without nuclear weapons.”
Also in commemoration of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (NAPF) held its 16th annual Sadako Peace Day in Santa Barbara, on the U.S. West Coast. NAPF President and Chair of the WFC Disarmament Working Group, Dr. David Krieger recognized that "the most important thing we can do as planetary citizens is to pass the world on intact to the next generation. Ending the nuclear weapons era is a responsibility we owe to the future.” For more information on the Sadako Peace day and Dr. Krieger’s message for Hiroshima Day, click here.

: WFC US Director Randy Hayes

28 July: Feed-in Tariff Briefing on Washington's Capitol Hill
The World Future Council sponsored an educational briefing on the economic benefits of Feed-In Tariffs (FITs) in the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington on July 28. The briefing occurred with the backdrop of Congressman Jay Inslee’s introduction of the Renewable Energy Jobs and Security Act the day before, which contains a national FIT policy (H.R. 5883). Panelists included Randy Hayes, US Director of the World Future Council, Craig Lewis, FIT Coalition Executive Director, and Wilson Rickerson, CEO of Meister Consultants. Michael Eckhart of the American Council on Renewable Energy moderated the briefing. Senate and Congressional staff learned about on how Feed-In Tariffs provide tremendous economic benefits. FITs are fixed price, long-term contracts that require a utility to buy electricity produced by renewable energy generators. Hayes provided an overview of FITs and focused on how they improve local self-reliance by providing community based jobs and investment. Lewis discussed in his presentation how FITs work to remove barriers and encourage increased development of clean energy. He went on to explain how growth in clean energy can translate into tens of thousands of new jobs, produce millions in tax revenue, and attract millions more in private investment. Rickerson rounded out the three-person panel by providing an overview of what is driving the recent interest in FITs. “With a strong and well-designed FIT, the Germans have fundamentally changed their electricity portfolio in rapid time” explained Rickerson. He cited numerous statistics about how FITs scale up clean energy development and foster growth in the renewable sector. “Around the globe, 86% of all solar photovoltaic generation was brought online with FITs.” All the panelists felt encouraged by the introduction of the Congressman Inslee’s bill. Randy Hayes said, “This policy is proven to get the most gigawatts of renewable energy on line the fastest. The house is on fire and the US and Canada must move fast to enact the German style policy.”

: German MP H.-J. Fell, © Wagner & Co, Cölbe

12 July: Feed-in Tariffs - A Time for Real Action on Renewable Energy
The World Future Council, Pacific Environment, Boell Foundation and others co-hosted a one-day conference on July 12 in San Francisco for the purpose of discussing the deployment of renewable energy in the United States, with a focus on California and the West Coast. Participants from stakeholder organizations, business and government discussed Feed-in Tariffs as a policy option to stimulate vast investment in renewable energy to increase energy security and job creation in California and other states. Among the speakers were Randy Hayes, WFC US Director and Founder of the Rainforest Action Network, Paul Gipe, Co-chair of the Allicance for Renewable Energy, and Hans-Josef Fell, German MP and co-author of Germany's Renewable Energy Sources Act.

28 June - 2 July: Pacific Ocean Challenge 2020 Week
In cooperation with IUCN Oceania and other partners the World Future Council organised a meeting of government officials, political decision-makers and NGO representatives from Pacific fringe states in order to develop a Pacific Ocean 2020 Strategy. The strategy's objective is to provide targets and solutions to ensure the sustainable management and conservation of the Pacific Ocean by 2020.

23-26 June: Crans Montana Forum
Jakob von Uexküll, Founder of the World Future Council and the Right Livelihood Award, discussed "Food security, food industry, new models for a new century" with other high-profile panellists such as Mr. Gemmo Lodesani (Director, World Food Programme) and Mr. François Rubio (Director, Médecins du monde) at the 21^st Annual Session of the Crans Montana Forum in Brussels. In addition he participated in plenary sessions discussing topics relating to the theme of the forum: "A New European Union".

11-23 June: Power Kick for Africa - Public Viewing
In order to point out the potential of renewable energy and to show the necessity of stronger political support for their uptake, the World Future Council organized a public viewing of the 2010 Football World Cup in the non-electrified village of Oboadaka in Ghana. All group games of Ghana's national team, the "Black Stars", were broadcasted live to a screen in the village's school. This event was used as an entry point for the development and implementation of renewable energy policies for powering education and medication in rural areas. View photos from Oboadaka here >>

21-23 June: Power Kick for Africa - Strategic workshop
Members of the African Renewable Energy Alliance (AREA) met in Accra to define and elaborate solid energy policy frameworks for sustainable development in Africa. This workshop helped facilitate the sharing of information and networking among experts and stakeholders from politics, business and civil society. Get more info on both events >>

15-16 June: International Conference on Sustainable Business and Consumption
The current biodiversity crisis is a major political concern on the global level and an exemplary expression of the systemic flaws in our current model of socio-economic development. 2010 marks the International Year of Biodiversity, a year-long celebration of biological diversity and its value for life on Earth. The World Future Council has chosen the topic of biodiversity for its Future Policy Award 2010, to raise awareness about acute biodiversity loss, threatening wildlife, the environment and our common future.
The second international sustainability conference, SusCon 2010, was also connected with the Year of Biodiversity. In panel discussions and thematic sessions participants tackled a broad range of highly relevant sustainability topics such as social entrepreneurship, climate change, offset programmes and biodiversity protection. The WFC is an official supporter of SusCon, which took place in Nuremberg (Germany), and presented its work to participants from multinationals and small enterprises, institutions, other NGOs, politicians and the media.

15 June: Financing climate security
In conformity with its commitment to future generations, the World Future Council presented its paper "Breaking the funding deadlock" at the John Knox International Center in Geneva. Jakob von Uexkuell, Founder of the WFC, presented this policy proposal which focusses on financing climate security on a global scale. The meeting was organised by the WFC under the auspices of FIIG (Federation of International Institutions in Geneva). Read the paper here.

2-5 June: "Rework the World"
The summit titled "Rework the World: 5^th Global Youth Entrepreneurship Sustainability Summit" gathered 1.700 entrepreneurs and decision makers from all over the world in Leksand, Sweden, to discuss how to best integrate the sustainability imperative into the employment agenda with a particular focus on young people across nations that face increasing difficulties to enter the labor markets. The parallel policy dialogue 'Identifying the policy implications of world-changing initiatives' was hosted by Councillor Anders Wijkman and brought together directors of the International Labor Organization, the UN Environment Program, the OECD and several pioneering ministers of national governments to formulate policies that enable emerging initiatives to become transformative forces of change. An underlying theme was the need to merge policy agendas of different ministries and organizations for more effective and integrated government interventions. The concluding statement will soon be published; for on-stage presentation see the video (about 1/6th into the stream). For more information please contact Maja Goepel.

3-28 May: Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference
Several members of the WFC Disarmament Working Group attended the five-yearly Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in New York. It offers nuclear weapon states a valuable opportunity to make tangible progress on abolishing their nuclear arsenals. The Working Group members’ goal is to further stimulate and capitalize on the current political will, as indicated by the recent nuclear arms reduction treaty between the US and Russia, so that 2010 will mark a turning point in the Nuclear Age. For this purpose, the WFC released two compelling booklets written by members of the Disarmament Working Group on why world leaders should live up to their responsibility towards future generations and free the world of nuclear weapons. For more information please contact the Disarmament Working Group's coordinator Rob van Riet and read about the NGO involvement here.

27-28 May 2010: "Ways to legally implement intergenerational justice"
Co-hosted by the World Future Council and the Foundation for the Rights of Future Generations, this conference convened international legal experts to discuss policy antidotes to the political and economic short-termism that increasingly threatens our future living conditions today and in particular tomorrow. Among the delegates were Judge Shlomo Shoham, former Commissioner for Future Generations in Israel and Dr. Sandor Fülöp, current Ombudsman for Future Generations in Hungary. The World Future Council is currently launching a campaign on the promotion of such Guardians for Future Generations on the European level. For more information please contact Maja Goepel.

20-21 May 2010: WFC Commission Cities and Climate Change
The experts from the WFC Commission on Cities and Climate Change, a cooperation between the World Future Council and HafenCity University Hamburg, met in Hamburg to discuss the developments of their current projects. The main objective of the commission is to turn public awareness towards the responsibilities of cities in the age of climate change, identify the main obstacles to progress and facilitate the exchange of knowledge.

8-10 May 2010: Expert workshop on the Challenge of Sustainability
The main objective of the workshop titled "The Challenge of Sustainability: A Workshop in Preparation for Rio+20", which was co-organized by WFC Councillor Steve Marglin and the UN Division Sustainable Development, was to start a discussion among seasoned experts from different disciplines on both the possibility of global sustainable growth based on absolute decoupling of growth from additional inputs of material resources and the desirability of “growth” as a development focus. The minimum goal was to understand the fault lines in this discussion; the maxium goal was to bring the various sides closer together in a common understanding. The outcome document and updates on following workshops on selected challenges can be found here. For more details please contact Maja Goepel.

3-4 May 2010: Lessons Learned from European FIT legislation
The Canadian province Ontario introduced one of the world’s most progressive Feed-in Tariffs in autumn 2009. The positive effects of this policy are already evident: Installation of power plants using renewable energy to produce electricity has increased significantly. Upon invitation of the Canadian Institute, WFC Climate and Energy Director Stefan Schurig spoke about Germany’s and Europe's experience with ten years of FIT at the conference “Feed-in Tariffs for Developers” in Toronto. There is one positve aspect which distinguishes the Ontarian FIT from the German model: The “Local-Content-Paragraph” provides a possibly higher payment for the produced electricity, if the larger part of the value chain for the new power plant is located in Canada.

: Judge Weeramantry

3 May 2010: Councillor calls for new international law
Addressing a lecture organized by the United Nations Association of Sri Lanka, WFC Councillor Judge C.G. Weeramantry said a sum of US $ 1000 billion is spent annually for the production of nuclear weapons, stating that creating the oneness of the humanity and protecting the environment is neglected in this situation. Weeramantry therefore called for a paradigm shift of international law based on major religions of the world. However, at the same time he said good aspects of other religions such as Bahai religion should also be considered in International Law. Find out more about the Judge in his impressive Curriculum Vitae.

27-28 April 2010: Transforming Innovation into realistic market implementation programs
The World Future Council participated in a workshop of the International Energy Agency (IEA) in Paris, with the objective to examine best practise policies and programs in order to set priorities for future research and development in OECD countries. Mr. David Jacobs presented international best practise design of feed-in tariffs on behalf of the WFC. Regarding the fact that the share of renewable electricity is expected to increase sharply in a number of OECD countries, Mr. Jacobs suggested studying the optimal design of liberalised energy markets in order enable the transformation towards renewable energy based power systems.

: Herbert Girardet

11-15 April 2010: BioVision Conference
WFC Director of Programmes Herbert Girardet gave two lectures at the BioVision Conference at the new library in Alexandria, Egypt. The conference was attended by 2000 people, including six Nobel Laureates, from all over the world. Girardet presented the WFC's latest ideas on ‘Regenerative Cities’ and ‘Bio-sequestration of Carbon’. Herbert’s lectures were based on material from our most recent book, ‘A Renewable World – Energy, Ecology, Equality’.

Events 2010

: Dirk Hendricks

30 March 2010: Renewable Energies in Central- and Eastern Europe
At the "Central and Eastern Europe Renewable 2010" conference in Warsaw, the director of our EU Liaison Office, Dirk Hendricks, presented good policies for the promotion of renewable energies in the EU. Poland, Hungary, Ukraine and the Czech Republic were in the spotlight of discussions looking at topics such as current EU laws, smart grids, renewable storage and developments in the wind market. Program >>

26-29 March 2010: 2nd International Conference on DeGrowth
The economic system as it works today is not sustainable. If it is to serve human wellbeing and respect the boundaries of our planet now and in the future, the system needs to be changed. 400 scientists and policy advocates met in Barcelona to devise an improved economic system. Key questions addressed were firstly where in our economies should we curb exponential growth and secondly which goods and services need more support. Aim of the WFC's participation at the DeGrowth conference was to participate in constant dialogue on how to create what we call "Living Economies" - see the vision paper.
Click here for the DeGrowth conference website and here for a scientific compilation of papers from the first conference in Paris 2008. For further information please contact Maja Goepel.

26-27 March 2010: Feed-in tariff for Florida
Renewable energy industry, farmers, and finance enthusiasts along with municipal utility executives and elected officials met in Florida to discuss the Feed-in Tariff policy. WFC US Director, Randy Hayes, attended the two-day 2nd Annual FARE Conference (Florida Alliance for Renewable Energy) and met with the leadership of FARE and other FIT experts such as Paul Gipe. Florida is home to the first US renewable energy rate (FIT) policy in the town of Gainesville and the third largest user of energy in the US. The enthusiasm at the conference was high, with former CIA Director James Woolsey favouring decentralized renewable energy as key to increasing national energy grid security and farmers wanting to get to 25% renewable energy by 2025. There is no doubt about the benefits of advancing FITs state wide.

22-26 March: World Urban Forum 5
The World Future Council and the HafenCity University Hamburg launched their brand-new report "100% Renewable Energy - and Beyond - for Cities" at the world’s largest cities conference, the UN World Urban Forum, in Rio de Janeiro. The core element of the report is a seven-point-plan which encourages cities to set their own goal at 100% renewable energy supply. The plan addresses the need for regulatory measures as well as incentives at urban and national levels. Measures that involve private businesses and facilitate planning and permission processes are also explored.

: Stefan Schurig

15-19 March 2010: South Africa's Potential for Renewables
WFC Climate and Energy Director Stefan Schurig delivered a keynote speech on international renewable energy development and clean technologies at the opening session of the "Power and Electricity World Africa 2010" conference in Johannesburg. Participants discussed with regret that the implementation of Feed-in Tariffs, agreed by the South African Energy Supply Company (ESCOM) almost a year ago, is a dragging process as financing options and participation requirements still need to be clarified. However, they remained optimistic that the renewable energy uptake will be ignited in due course. The conference is considered as one of the most important events on energy in Africa.

17 March 2010: MEP meeting on EU grids and renewable energy promotion
WFC Councillor and co-founder of e-Parliament Nicholas Dunlop and other members from 14 different countries discussed EU grids and renewable energy at the EU Parliament in Brussels. The event was co-organised by the WFC and e-Parliament.

7-8 March 2010: Expert workshop on Religions and the common future
The Bertelsmann Foundation and World Future Council invited religious scientists and adherents of five world religions to an expert hearing on ‘Religions and the Common Future’ in Berlin on March 8th, 2010. The objective of the workshop was to reflect on core messages of the world religions on economic development, environmental protection and the preservation of future generations. The Report to the WFC 'Tread Lightly on the Earth. Religions, the Environment and the Common Future' was presented by Councillor Judge C.G. Weeramantry, former Vice-Chair of the International Court of Justice. Participants agreed that representatives of the world religions should more actively engage in the public debates on sustainable development. More

5-7 March 2010: Future Justice Commission
The World Future Council's Future Justice Commission met in Hamburg in order to develop a model for evaluating the effects of planned policies in cooperation with the Malik Institute.

5 March 2010: WFC advises World Bank Group on energy policy
WFC US Director Randy Hayes presented the World Future Council’s energy strategy recommendations at an Energy Strategy Consultation Meeting by the World Bank Group in Washington, D.C.. Katherine Sierra, Vice President Sustainable Development, and Jamal Saghir, Director Energy Transport and Water Department, spoke on behalf of the World Bank Group about the Energy Strategy Approach next to Johannes Linn, Director Wolfensohn Center for Development, who facilitated the session. Randy Hayes’ recommendations mainly related to how feed-in tariffs could contribute to the energy strategy and to how the World Bank Group should be promoting new technology and/or helping to transfer existing technologies to new markets, and how much weight should be given to each (- consultation question #5).

4-5 March 2010: Working group on Disarmament and Demilitarisation
The World Future Council's working group on disarmament and demilitarisation met in Hamburg to discuss the group's work and upcoming projects.

: Working group

: Mehta, Krieger, van Riet

: Weeramantry

4 March 2010: What Does Security Really Mean? New Thinking for a Future of Peace
The WFC and the Center for Science and Peace Research organised an open panel discussion with four WFC Councillors at the University of Hamburg. David Krieger (US), Rama Mani (India), Hafsat Abiola-Costello (Nigeria) and Pauline Tangiora (New Zealand) shared their views on the concepts of security and their relevance for a future of peace.

Watch the recording of the event >>

: Göpel, Abiola-Costello

: Panel

: Krieger, Mani

: Bernard Chabot

23 and 26 February 2010: Feed-in tariff for Michigan/Massachusetts
The WFC funded and co-sponsored two Feed-in Tariff Price Setting Workshops in Michigan and Massachusetts. The larger objective was to provide a series of intensive training sessions across North America on how to accurately and fairly set feed-in tariff prices for a host of renewable technologies, but most importantly wind and solar energy. The target audience includes Feed-in tariff policy advocates (Alliance for Renewable Energy and local groups), regulatory commission staff, legislative committee staff, and environmental and energy staff of national and regional environmental organizations, and local wind and solar trade association staff.

23 February 2010: Cutting the Edge - How to realign the EU Sustainable Development Strategy
Based on the findings and results of the two previous WFC-Bertelsmann Stiftung seminars at the European Parliament, decision-makers assessed suggested structures of and ideas for a future EU Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS). Panellists discussed ways to dovetail the EU’s future growth and jobs strategy (“post-Lisbon strategy”) and the EU Sustainable Development Strategy. One of the main question was how the EU SDS can best contribute to a rapid shift to a low-carbon economy including a sustainable consumption pattern. Please find more detailed information here.

15 February 2010: Tradition & Innovation
Approximately 30 members of the Rotary Club Hamburg joined WFC Founder Jakob von Uexkuell at the InterContinental Hotel Hamburg to listen to and discuss the World Future Council's best policies on Tradition & Innovation: Ways out of the crisis.

3 February 2010: Coming to Grips - How to capture and assess sustainable development in a changing world
Decision-makers attending the WFC-Bertelsmann Stiftung discussion in the European Parliament addressed potential ways to implement a new paradigm called “Living Economies”, examining various proposals to improve sustainable development indicators and policy instruments.

The panellists, among them WFC Councillor Anders Wijkman, presented and discussed current initiatives and latest tools, such as the Beyond GDP Process. Detailed information can be found here.

26-28 January 2010: Euro-Mediterranean Innovation Marketplace
WFC Co-Founder Herbert Girardet facilitated a discussion on "Climate Change; The World after Copenhagen" at the Research and Innovation Forum of the Euro-Mediterranean Innovation Marketplace in Cairo. 3000 visitors - among them politicians, scientists and business people from European and Mediterranean countries - used the conference as a valuable platform to network and develop business ideas, partnerships and projects.

27 January 2010: AREA setting objectives for 2010 during first conference call of the year
On January 27th, the African Renewable Energy Alliance (AREA) initiatied by the World Future Council held its first conference call of the year, to decide on the objectives for 2010. AREA is a network of African politicians, business representatives and civil society to promote renewable energies in Africa. Please contact Ansgar Kiene for information on the outcome of the call.

22 January 2010: Sustainable agriculture and agricultural policy
Maja Göpel, WFC Director Future Justice, discussed challenges for agriculture and the food sector at a conference in Berlin on January 22nd. Panelists included German Federal Minister Ilse Aigner and other policy makers as well as civil society representatives.

: Jay Inslee

21 January 2010: Congressional briefing on feed-in tariffs
The WFC sponsored a congressional briefing titled “Promoting Renewable Energy Policy” in Washington, DC. Elected officials & staff, industry representatives, academia, advocates, and media held discussions on green jobs, the national industry, and feed-in tariff policy. Congressman Jay Inslee presented his federal feed-in tariff bill.

: Miguel Mendonca

21 January 2010: Handbook for feed-in tariffs
The WFC presented “Powering the Green Economy: the feed-in tariff handbook” at an evening book launch reception in Washington DC. Author and WFC research manager Miguel Mendonça introduced his book while US Director Randy Hayes spoke about WFC campaigns to promote best policies.

16 January 2010: Presentation of energy policy opportunities to future decision-makers
Stefan Schurig, WFC Director Climate and Energy, presented policy opportunities in the field of renewable energy to future decision-makers on January 16th. About 60 students of politics and international relations attended the lecture at Technikum Vienna.

: Dr. Maja Göpel

13 January 2010: Striving for a Living Economy - How to shift the traditional groth paradigm towards wellbeing of humans and our planet
A joint WFC-Bertelsmann Stiftung seminar series in the European Parliament will address proposals to increase sustainability aspects in upcoming EU policy revisions. Decision-makers from various backgrounds will analyze implementation possibilities for new sustainability concepts over three evening sessions in January and February. On January 13, the panel discussion of the first meeting aimed at comparing the current development model, the “Washington Consensus”, with the WFC’s alternative proposals for a paradigm shift in establishing guidelines for prosperity. Detailed information can be found here.

12 January 2010: Best policy featured at international conference:
At the international conference EcoFair Rules!, organised by the Heinrich Böll Foundation and Misereor in Berlin, "The City that Beat Hunger" was shown. The film portraits Belo Horizonte's food security programme, winner of the Future Policy Award 2009.

Events 2009

17 December 2009: Organic solutions for climate change and food security
On 17th December, the World Future Council and the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) discussed organic solutions for climate change and food security. Measures like bio-sequestration were contrasted with high tech, unproven geo-sequestration (CCS). Taken together, regenerative organic farming, agro-forestry and forest protection are cost effective and easily adoptable solutions for safeguarding our climate, local communities, food supply and ecosystems. Read more about the World Future Council's policy proposals on agriculture and climate change.

: Anders Wijkman

16 December 2009: WFC press conference at COP 15
“Stopping climate change will cost hundreds of billions of dollars, not stopping it will cost much more – and take countless human lives”, said Jakob von Uexkull, Founder of the World Future Council at the WFC press conference "Financing Renewables" on December 16th. “If we want to stop climate change we have to create a global Zero Carbon Economy as soon as possible”, added Anders Wijkman, Vice President of the Club of Rome and Chair of the World Future Council’s Climate Energy Commission. “We can achieve this by giving G77 countries the funds to develop their national renewable energy policies.” Read the press release here.

: WFC Founder Jakob von Uexkull

13 December 2009: Funding the Renewable Energy Transition
Money was key to the negotiations in Copenhagen: Discussions focused on ways to finance climate protection measures and in particular burden-sharing among industrialised and developing countries. Together with social banks, the World Future Council hosted an evening reception on "Funding the Renewable Energy Transition” on December 13th to discuss ways out of the funding dilemma. WFC Founder Jakob von Uexkull presented the World Future Council’s policy proposals to finance climate protection on a global scale by bridging the gap between the financial requirements of developing countries and the current political inability of rich countries to provide the funding - read "Breaking the Funding Deadlock" here. Stefan Schurig, WFC Director Climate and Energy, provided an overview about internationally successful policies to ignite the renewable energy sector.

: Stefan Schurig, WFC Director of Programmes Herbert Girardet

11 December 2009: "A policy matter: Innovation strategies of the power sector or 100% renewable energy for cities“
On December 11th, the World Future Council teamed up with HafenCity University Hamburg, Arup, ETH Zurich, and Fraunhofer ISI to discuss how cities can become more sustainable. Stefan Schurig, WFC Director Climate and Energy, facilitated the discussion on "A policy matter: Innovation strategies of the power sector or 100% renewable energy for cities“.

In spite of the late hour, 150 people attended the event and were keen to discuss with the panelists. The vital role of a sound political framework for driving innovation in the renewable energy sector and for guiding city authorities in their decisions became clear throughout the discussion - the World Future Council advises policy makers worldwide on how to create such a framework.

19 November 2009: Book presentation with Hans-Peter Dürr
WFC Councillor Hans-Peter Dürr presented his new book in Hamburg. The World Future Council organised the event in cooperation with Dürr's publisher oekom verlag. 80 guests joined the physicist at the Kesselhaus in the Hamburg HafenCity to listen to his stories and experiences.

16-18 November 2009: Hamburg City Climate Conference
The City of Hamburg as one of the first signatories of the Covenant of Mayors and European Green Capital 2011 invited mayors of the world's big cities and climate experts to the Hamburg City Climate Conference. The WFC supported the conference as a cooperation partner. Read more here.

: Solaranlage in Spanien

17 November 2009: Grids, Smart Grids and Supergrids – Networking for Renewables
The financial world met NGOs and energy experts at a Roundtable in Fontainebleau outside Paris on 17 November. Organized by the top French business school INSEAD, WFC Councillor Nicholas Dunlop and WFC Brussels office Director Dirk Hendricks were among the participants debating the need for a European Supergrid: long distance electricity cables linking up countries and regions into a common renewable energy market. Dirk Hendricks underlined in his presentation the importance of getting the right legal frameworks implemented for the EU’s 2020 goals, while Nick Dunlop highlighted the sheer urgency of the environmental challenge. Global warming is accelerating far faster than expected. Our only course to avoid the looming climate catastrophe is to decisively move towards a renewable based energy order. Supergrids, he explained, are the answer: we need to first create Baltic and North Sea “pools”, then move towards a pan-European system linking wind and hydro in the North to solar and biomass in the South. Yet political will is still the main challenge. Building up strong parliamentary networks to support the move towards 100% renewables and set a trend the world can follow is a fundamental priority: we must get it right.

15-16 November 2009: Community Power Conference

WFC Research Manager Miguel Mendonça presented the WFC's work at the Community Power Conference in Toronto, Canada. The conference brought together renewable engery experts, utilities and politicians following the introduction of a Green Energy Act in the Canadian state of Ontario. With more than 450 participants at the conference and over 2,500 visiting the trade fair, the event showed that renewable energy is a major issue in Canada. Speakers and panelists included Dr Josef Pesch of the German Wind Energy Association, Stefan Gsänger of the World Wind Energy Association, and renewable energy expert, advocate and author Paul Gipe.

12 November 2009: Annual Transatlantic Business Conference
How can transatlantic cooperation in "green technologies" promote growth and employment? This question was discussed at the Annual Transatlantic Business Conference in Frankfurt by WFC Future Finance Commission Co-ordinator Stefan Biskamp, WFC Director Climate and Energy Stefan Schurig, and Reinhard Bütikofer, Speaker of the Greens in the European Parliament.

Events 2008

: WFC Policy Officer Bianca Barth speaking in Michigan.

1 April 2009: Feed-in Tariff workshop in Michigan
As part of its renewable energy campaign in the United States, the World Future Council intensified its efforts to promote Feed-in Tariffs as best policy option that supports the rapid and cost-effective deployment of renewable energy on the state level.
On April 1, the WFC held a legislative luncheon in cooperation with the Land Policy Institute and Michigan Policy Leaders. "Feed-in Tariffs: The Most Effective Policy Option for Achieving Job Creation, Energy Security and the Rapid Deployment of Renewable Energy" informed Michigan policy makers on options for employing a Feed-in Tariff system to encourage renewable energy development. This event was hosted by Rep. Lee Gonzales (District 49, Flint Area) and Rep. Mary Valentine (District 91, Muskegon Area).
"With our unemployment rate at 12%, Michigan needs to move fast on good ideas to diversify our economy and create new good-paying jobs," said Rep. Gonzales. "By embracing fast-growing industries like renewable energy, we're positioning Michigan to be a leader in high-tech jobs. I'd like to thank those who took the time to share their expertise on this important issue."
About 70 participants, including a number of State Senators and Representatives, attended the event. About 50 participants followed the presentations and took part in the discussion over webcast. Listen here to a radio report.
WFC Climate Policy Officer Bianca Barth also testified in a Public Hearing in Oregon, informing State Representatives about Feed-in Tariffs and their successful employment in Germany. One week later, she presented to the House Technology Energy and Communications Committee in Washington State during a work session of the Committee.

12-14 December 2008: Parliamentary hearing
Following the UN Climate Conference, the WFC organized a parliamentary hearing at Palace Bedlowo near Poznan in cooperation with e-Parliament. The workshop specially targeted at Central and Eastern European parliamentarians addressed ways to promote renewable energies. In addition, the KidsCall exhibition Corridor of Hope showed appeals by young people from all over the world to politicians, calling on them to act against climate change.

1-12 December 2008: UN Climate Conference
At the UN Climate Talks in Poznan, Poland, the WFC organized a side event and was present with a delegation.

: Councillor Anders Wijkman (MEP)

2 December 2008: WFC Brussels Office Launch
An evening reception in the MEP Salons of the European Parliament on December 2 celebrated the launch of the WFC office in Brussels. Around 140 guests from EU institutions, business and civil society organisations as well as media attended the event hosted by MEPs Anders Wijkman (Christian Democrats), Rebecca Harms (Greens), Graham Watson (Liberals) and Mechtild Rothe (Social Democrats). WFC Councillor and MEP Anders Wijkman and WFC Founder Jakob von Uexkull addressed the most urgent topics to be discussed at the UN climate conferences in Poland and Copenhagen and under the EU climate and energy package.

1-2 December 2008: Sustainable Cities event in Hamburg
At the IBA (International Building Exhibition) Forum "Metropolis: Resources" in Hamburg, co-organized by the WFC, WFC Director of Programmes Herbert Girardet and Director Climate and Energy Stefan Schurig discussed cities and sustainability. The IBA aims to discover concepts for the future of the metropolis, producing exemplary buildings, social and cultural projects, events, dialogues and a number of publications - from 2007 to 2013.

27-28 November 2008: WFC informs New Zealand stakeholders about Feed-in tariffs
WFC Research Manager Miguel Mendonca participated in a panel discussion made up of New Zealand electricity stakeholders at the Sustainable Electricity Association New Zealand Annual Conference. Through its presence at international conferences, the WFC informs stakeholders worldwide about feed-in tariffs (FIT) and is able to link the national FIT campaigns by exchanging information, contacts and resources around the world.

21 November 2008: Conference on EU-Mediterranean Clean Energy Suergrid
The WFC promoted its policy initiative for a EU-Mediterranean Clean Energy Supergrid at a conference in Paris, hosted by the French EU Presidency.

17 November 2008: Conference "New Challenges and Urban Best Practices"
WFC Director of Programmes Herbert Girardet gave a speech on cities and sustainability at the conference "New Challenges and Urban Best Practices" in Madrid, organized by the Spanish Ministry of Housing in cooperation with the UN HABITAT programme.

15-16 November 2008: Parliamentary Hearing in Trinidad und Tobago
The WFC and e-Parliament organized an Interregional Hearing about renewable energies for praliamentarians and government representatives from small island states and West African countries. WFC Director Climate and Energy Stefan Schurig presented feed-in tariffs as a possibility to finance renewable energies and proposed a joint statement of the island states at the upcoming UN Climate Conference in Poznan.

11-12 November 2008: WFC at EU Workshop on Renewable Energies
Policy Officer Axel Bree represented the WFC at a workshop organized by the European Commission for new EU members. The conference aimed at sharing knowledge about the deployment of renewable energies with new EU members and candidates from Eastern Europe. Axel Bree outlined the effectiveness of the different renewable energy incentive schemes.

1 November, 2008: WFC at International Criminal Court in The Hague
A WFC Expert Workshop on Crimes against Future Generations brought together judges from the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice with WFC experts in The Hague, Netherlands, on November 1, 2008. At the workshop, participants discussed the results of intensive legal research on the definition of Crimes against Future Generations and their possible indictment under international law.
On November 2, a number of coalition-building meetings with legal experts aimed at incorporating these crimes into the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court during its revision in 2010.
For the WFC, Chair of the EC Bianca Jagger, Judge C.G. Weeramantry, international law expert Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger, WFC Founder Jakob von Uexkuell and Expert Commission Coordinator Maja Göpel participated along with legal advisors Sebastien Jodoin and Neshan Gunasekera.

30 October 2008: Discussion about global politics
WFC Co-Founder Herbert Girardet participated in a discussion named "Politics with 9 billion people". The event was organized by the Berlin Institute for Future Studies and Technology Assessment and the local radio station Inforadio.

17 October 2008: Global UN-STAND-UP Event features WFC Councillors’ video appeals
On October 17, more 116 million people around the globe stood up to support the eight Millennium Development Goals defined by the United Nations. The goals aim at eradicating poverty and social injustice until 2015. WFC Founder Jakob von Uexkull took part in a podium discussion at the largest STAND-UP event in Germany in Berlin. Seven WFC councillors demand that people stand up against poverty - you can watch the video appeals by Prof. Dr. Hans-Peter Duerr, Bianca Jagger, Frances Moore-Lappé, Hermann Scheer, Dr. Vandana Shiva, Sulak Sivaraksa and Francisco Whitaker. To read more click here.

14 October 2008: WFC co-hosts meeting in House of Lords to promote Renewable Energy Feed-in Tariffs in the UK
To make the voice of pro-renewable energy groups heard while Parliament is discussing an amendment to its renewable energy law, the WFC and others hosted an event in the House of Lords. With over a dozen civil society organizations, the WFC called for a renewable energy feed-in tariff in the UK. In her remarks, WFC EC Chair Bianca Jagger emphasized the environmental and economic success of feed-in tariff legislation in other European countries. As a result, the over 30 Members of Parliament present expressed their support for such an energy amendment, which would create a far better market for wind, solar or tidal energy companies.
To date, the biggest obstacle to effective renewable energy legislation has been the British Government. Just two days after the WFC-led coalition presented its case, Downing Street announced its own feed-in-tariffs proposal. This, however, falls short of coalition-defined expectations for the amendment.

12 October 2008: WFC Renewable Energies Workshop in San Diego
On October 12, the WFC involved some 100 high level industry experts and decision makers in discussions about the world’s most effective renewable policy instrument: Renewable Energy Payments (REPs), in Europe known as Feed-in Tariffs. The policy forum, which took place during North America’s largest solar conference and expo “Solar Power International”, brought together participants from across the U.S., including legislators, regulatory officials, environmental groups and high-level business executives from the world’s leading solar companies.
Referring to the successes of Feed-in Tariffs in Germany, Spain and elsewhere in Europe, the conference contributions explained the key benefits Renewable Energy Payments could bring to the U.S., including significant job creation, market growth and energy security. At the same time speakers showed the key elements of implementing such a policy successfully.
“We have more sunshine than places like Germany - we’re just not capitalizing on our solar potential like they are, “ said Raju Yenamandara, US Sales Director of the SolarWorld Group and one of the speakers at the WFC event. “By putting feed-in tariff laws in place we can catch up with the rest of the world and give our economy a huge boost, while making our country less dependent on imported energy. The policies democratize solar production by creating solar entrepreneurs out of households, schools, churches, farmers – anyone can participate and help green America.”

10 October 2008: WFC Founder Jakob von Uexkull at BBC World Service
In an interview for BBC World Service News, Jakob von Uexkull demanded better regulations as a way out of the current financial crisis. You can watch the video here.

9-10 October 2008:
The first WFC Cities and Climate Change Commission meeting took place in Hamburg. Read more about the Commission here.

7-9 October, 2008: International Renewable Energy Conference (IREC), Abuja, Nigeria - WFC recommends renewable energy as key for sustainable development in Africa
In the past, the WFC and e-Parliament have conducted several parliamentary hearings in African countries to discuss the importance of the promotion of renewables. This October, the WFC participated in the International Renewable Energy Conference 2008 in Abuja, Nigeria. Campaign Manager Ansgar Kiene met with the Head of the Special Climate Change Unit of the Nigerian Environmental Ministry and the Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency which marked the beginning of future consultancy activities for the WFC in Africa. He also sat on the closing panel about how to best exploit renewable energy opportunities in Africa. Read more here.

6-7 October 2008: WFC Expert Commission Climate and Energy meets in London
The WFC Expert Commission on Climate and Energy convened in London to discuss the increasing tasks of the WFC climate campaign. Participants included WFC EC Chair Bianca Jagger (UK), Councillors Prof. C.S. Kiang (China), Nick Dunlop (New Zealand) and Helmy Abouleish (Egypt), and managers and staff from Hamburg, the UKand Brussels. Key issues discussed were the WFC’s participation at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) conference in Poland in December, the question of an international renewable energy power grid between Europe and North Africa (“supergrid”), the goal of reducing CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere to 350 ppm, and the negative impact of drilling in the Arctic.

4 October 2008: WFC hosts panel discussion with former UNEP Executive Director Klaus Toepfer about future cities
Hamburg’s HafenCity University (HCU) invited WFC Climate Energy Director Stefan Schurig to moderate a panel discussion about the impact of future city planning on the quality of urban environments. Dr Klaus Toepfer, former Executive Director of the Environmental Programme of the UN (UNEP) and former Minister of Environment in Germany and Dr Ralf Otterpohl from the Technical University of Hamburg emphasized the key role of cities with regard to climate change and international water scarcity.
The event honoured the contribution of English engineer William Lindley (1808-1900) to the development of the city of Hamburg as a modern metropolis. Lindley had gained international acclaim for decades of constructing water, sewage and railway systems throughout European cities.

22 September 2008: WFC “Corridor of Hope” hoists Appeals for a Better World

Some 200 flags line the two walkways to the ancient water tower that now hosts the Hamburg Planetarium. Passers-by stop to look at the 2.000 drawings, poems, and appeals printed on colourful flags on bamboo poles. Discussions about the state of the planet and what the future generation hopes for can be overheard as the results of the WFC’s youth campaign “KidsCall” flutter in the wind.

The exhibition features a selection of 14.000 appeals collected by the KidsCall campaign during the last 12 months. They are addressed to the G8+5 heads of state and call for immediate action to protect the environment and to stop climate change.

During the reception, WFC Chair of the Executive Committee Bianca Jagger, Director of the Planetarium Thomas Kraupe and Hamburg Department of City Development and Environment representative Christian Maaß voiced their support for the youths’ appeals.

In her speech, Bianca Jagger stressed the need for the renewal of the age-old pledge that hitherto has ensured the passing on of a clean planet with enough resources from parents to their children. She also called on decision makers in politics and economics to act now. Finally, she appealed to the children and teenagers representing the KidsCall campaign to never stop in their efforts to make change happen. Banners with their appeals to the heads of state of France, Italy and Great Britain were handed over to a courier. WFC delegations had personally delivered the same banners to the governments of Germany, Japan and India in July and August.

Dr Michael Otto, Chairman of the Otto Group, attended the reception as an honorary council member and avid supporter of WFC activities.

The WFC will exhibit the invocation flags in parliaments and at upcoming international conferences to remind decision-making bodies of their responsibility toward future generations.

22 September 2008: WFC-Founder Jakob von Uexküll spoke about "What we owe our children - global challenges and answers" at an event hosted by the Schweisfurth Foundation in Munich.

September 21, 2008: Charity concert for WFC in Berlin
At the sold out chamber music hall, some 1,400 guests applauded the appeals by WFC Chair of the Executive Committee Bianca Jagger and WFC Founder Jakob von Uexküll and the performance of Berlin Philharmonic top ensembles. In their opening remarks and during the discussion after the concert, Bianca Jagger and Jakob von Uexküll called upon the audience to actively get involved in fighting climate change.

20-21 September 2008: E-Parliament/WFC Parliamentary Hearing in Ghana
In Accra, Ghana, the WFC co-organized an interregional hearing on renewable energy.

16-19 September 2008: WFC Founder Jakob von Uexküll held a keynote speech on Diversity and a Sustainable Livelihood of Future Generations
at the Sardinia G8 preparatory Conference. Councillor Vandana Shiva also participated in the event covering biodiversity, desertification, food, water and human rights.

14 -18 September 2008: WFC Co-Founder Herbert Girardet gives keynote lecture at the Capital Cities Alliance International Conference
The conference in Washington DC, USA, explored the role of national capitals in creating a greener world. Girardet’s keynote lecture focused on the key role of the world’s leading cities to help transform the climate of opinion on sustainable urban development. The conference brought together leaders of 25 capital cities from five continents. Organiser Lisa MacSpadden said: “I received so much positive feed-back about your keynote. It truly was our honor to have you play such an important role in our conference.” Read more here.

11-12 September 2008: WFC Co-Founder Herbert Girardet speaks at Architecture Biennale
In his speech at the opening of the Danish pavilion in Venice, much of whose elaborate exhibits was based on his input, he stated that “a Biennale in Venice in 50 years time may not be possible at all. By then many coastal cities could be swamped by flooding due to climate change. We need to involve ourselves in new, transformative initiatives to dramatically reduce our dependency on fossil fuels, and minimise our emissions of CO2.” Read an interview with Herbert Girardet here.

8 September 2008: Climate Energy Director Stefan Schurig took part in a podium discussion at the Hanseatic University Lectures on Climate and the Environment in Hamburg. Contact Stefan Schurig.

31 August 2008: Introductory address by WFC Co-Founder Herbert Girardet at Rythms del Mundo Concert in Berlin
8000 people came and listened to top German rock bands like Silbermond, Culcha Candela and 2Raumwohnung performing together with musicians from the Buena Vista Social Club. The record Rhythms del Mundo Cubano Aleman supports the Artists’ Project Earth Charity, which funds climate change and renewable energy projects, including the WFC.

21 - 23 August 2008: World Future Council's US Policy Officer Randy Hayes spoke at the American Renewable Energy Day
The conference took place in Aspen, Colorado. From August 25-28, Randy Hayes attended the Democratic Convention in Denver and an NGO forum called The Big Tent.

16 August 2008: World Future Council delegation meets Indian Prime Minister.
Representatives of the World Future Council voice the concern of thousands of young people and demand action regarding climate change. Read more here.

2 July 2008: World Future Council youth delegation and Bianca Jagger present G8 appeal to German and Japanese governments
Kids pledge to do everything they can to save the planet – and expect nothing less from the G8 leaders
Read more

Kids call on G8 heads-of-state during Japanese Prime Minister Visit in Berlin: “Save our World! Act now!”
download press release

: During talks between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, KidsCall kids wave Japanese-inspired invocation flags in front of chancellery in Berlin.

June 13, 2008

WFC invites US Utilities Decision Makers to Germany for Solar Fact Finding Mission

Germany is not known for its blue skies and sunny weather. Nonetheless, 31 US utilities executives and managers spent one week in June in and around Freiburg and Munich to study the latest in solar energy technology – and to discuss legislative approaches to securing long term renewable energy investments. The event was co-organized by the solar Electric Power Association and the Northwest Solar Center at Washington State University, and sponsored by PV module manufacturer First Solar.

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