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CLIMATE ROUNDTABLE - TOWARDS A GREENER FUTURE
History was made 21 September, 2014. On this autumnal
Sunday more than 400 000 people took to the streets of
New York demanding government action on climate change,
and there were 2 646 solidarity events in 162 countries around
the world. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, whose climate
summit formed the backdrop, was handed signatures from
two million people asking that the world become 100 per cent
renewable. He followed up by encouraging governments and
private stakeholders to move investments out of fossil fuels.
Last year in China, there were around 400 000 environmental
demonstrations. In the USA and Canada continuous popular
protest has led to U.S. President Barack Obama vetoing the
Keystone oil pipeline, and in Norway almost 15 000 people have
signed a petition in favour of a climate law. When working towards
a renewable future, it is clear that political mass mobilisations
calling for new solutions to the climate crisis are vital.
In particular we need to make sure that coming generations are
mobilised. We see how a majority of those standing up for the
climate are young men and women, while decision makers and
corporate stakeholders in the most important spheres of society
– such as the energy sector – are men in their 50s and 60s who
often drag their feet to act on climate change. A lot of young
people know that they will have to deal with serious climate
challenges for the rest of their lives. That does something to
your motivation and your capacity to create lasting change.
An important part of the mobilisation and the climate solution
is that people choose and promote renewable energy. Future
energy systems will look different than today, with customers not
just being consumers but also producers. It might be a mother of
about 30 years, living in a poor country and trying to make ends
meet – with a small solar panel on the rooftop securing light and
other amenities. Actually, she and others are out there already.
By Nina Jensen
Secretary General,
WWF-Norway
We need to mobilise energy consumers to
become sustainable producers, as we see it
being done in African countries, Europe, India and
the USA.
Nina Jensen,
WWF-Norway
Achieving a renewable future by
mobilising the masses