INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT FORUM
10TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE
The electronic version of the
10th Conference of the International Environment Forum
Science, Faith and Global Warming:
Arising to the Challenge
A conference on the challenge of transforming our societies
through the knowledge of science and the wisdom of faith,
for the well-being of future generations
Place: Your own computer anywhere in the world
Dates: 15-17 September 2006
Co-organized by the
Bahá'í Agency for Social and Economic Development
of the United Kingdom
and the
International Environment Forum
linked to the Conference
taking place at the same time at Oxford University
Conference Programme
Society as we know it in Western countries is not sustainable. We are consuming resources and creating pollution in a way that will affect severely our well-being and that of future generations on this planet. One of the most striking examples of this is the way that our societies use energy: consuming oil and coal reserves built up over millions of years in just a couple of centuries, and in the process releasing huge quantities of carbon dioxide causing global warming. In 2006, European countries have one year’s experience with trading CO2, the Kyoto Protocol is operational, and the United Nations is discussing energy for sustainable development. In parallel, communities of Faith around the world are increasingly engaging themselves in collective learning and action processes on how to serve their communities. The conference sought to find the meeting points between these two processes through exploring:
- the latest scientific knowledge on climate change and its impacts on human well-being;
- the wisdom from the world’s Faiths, including the Bahá’í writings, on the value systems needed to address climate change; and
- the practical steps individuals and communities can take to reduce their burden on the future.
How it works: The registered participants in the electronic conference received emails with written summaries of talks and discussions. The powerpoint presentations, audiofiles of the talks, and any other material available in an electronic version, were made available on the IEF web site. Participants could also e-mail their questions and comments to be taken up in the conference as time allowed. Conference materials as posted on the IEF web site for the e-conference are linked from the programme below.
Friday 15 September
Welcome and opening remarks
Arthur Dahl, President of the International Environment Forum
Climate change: scientific and faith perspectives
[instructions] [audio file 5.2mb] [powerpoint file 6.3mb] [pdf file of powerpoint 3.2mb]
Arthur Dahl, Switzerland (IEF)
Music and Reflections
[instructions] [audio file 2.2mb] [powerpoint file 3.4mb] [pdf file of powerpoint 1mb]
Judith Fienieg, United Kingdom
Climate change: impact on developing countries
[instructions] [audio file 5mb] [powerpoint file 10.6mb] [pdf file of powerpoint 1.8mb]
Lars Friberg, Germany (University of Potsdam)
Saturday 16 September
Gender aspects of climate change
[instructions] [audio file 3.4mb] [powerpoint file 7.7mb] [pdf file of powerpoint 420kb]
Minu Hemmati, Germany (consultant)
The international community’s response to climate change
[instructions] [audio file 3.7mb] [powerpoint file 60kb] [pdf file of powerpoint 28kb]
Halldor Thorgeirsson, Germany (Deputy Executive Secretary, UNFCCC Secretariat)
The need for North-South climate community
[audio file 3.3mb]
Peter Luff, UK (Action for a Global Climate Community)
Energy for better or worse: local-global links between energy use and climate change
[instructions] [audio file 5.5mb] [powerpoint file 548kb] [pdf file of powerpoint 3.8mb]
Markku Lehtonen, UK (University of Sussex)
Sylvia Karlsson, Finland (Turku School of Economics)
What economic systems and policies are compatible with protection of the environment?
[instructions] [audio file 7.8mb] [powerpoint file 3.4mb] [pdf file of powerpoint 792kb]
Augusto Lopez-Claros, Switzerland (World Economic Forum)
Roundtable discussion: "Spiritual dimensions of climate change"
Chair: Wendi Momen
Participants: Arthur Dahl, Sylvia Karlsson, Halldor Thorgeirsson, Minu Hemmati, Augusto Lopez-Claros, responding to questions from the audience
[audio file 9.5mb]
Sunday 17 September
Music and Reflections
[instructions] [audio file 2mb] [powerpoint file 1.9mb] [pdf file of powerpoint 1mb]
Judith Fienieg, United Kingdom
Climate Change, what Oxford City Council and County Council are doing
[instructions] [audio file 548kb] [powerpoint file 1.3mb] [pdf file of powerpoint 408kb]
Laura Thompson, UK (Oxford City Council)
A Strategy to Promote Sustainable Practice
[instructions] [powerpoint file 27mb] [pdf file of powerpoint 1mb]
Philip Koomen
Educating our community
[audio file 2.4mb]
George Marshall, UK (Climate Outreach Information Network)
Community empowerment
Poppy Villiers-Stuart, UK
Last updated 27 June 2007