The Convergence on Zero conference was a great success!
On the same day as the Climate and Energy Bill was voted on in Congress and the Climate Change strategy was launched in Wales, 26 speakers from Wales, the UK and the US took to the stage at the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum to stress the importance of rapid emissions reductions across all sectors.
From the First Minister Rhodri Morgan speaking on Wales' constitutional committment to sustainability, to David Orr outlining the need for swift and concerted action on carbon emissions, the Convergence brought together environmental thinkers and doers from both sides of the Atlantic to share their visions of a post-carbon world.
The delegates worked on a declaration during the two days of the conference and ratified it as a group during the closing session:
The ‘Convergence on Zero’ Declaration -
Scientific evidence reveals that climate change and its impacts are happening much faster than expected, even by those who have been studying it for decades. This makes the need for fast acting and effective policies much more urgent. Robust scientific evidence shows physical and economic impacts that will become more severe in the coming decades – water shortages in regions including southern and eastern Asia and south America as glaciers recede, a more intense and increased frequency of climate extremes such as heat waves, floods, storms and droughts and sea level rise inundating heavily populated areas. There will be widespread ecological damage such as the increased loss of forests and increased acidification of the oceans. In addition the global exhaustion of fossil fuels threatens energy security. These impacts all threaten the food supply and basic livelihoods of people and hence undermine international economic and political stability.
The Convergence on Zero has heard presentations from both sides of the Atlantic on our climate and energy challenges, but also on economic, social and environmental benefits of taking the essential actions now. It covered topics such as buildings, agriculture, energy and economics addressing international, national and local issues and actions.
The Convergence on Zero declaration calls for:
1. A global peak in emissions by 2016 and industrialized nations to head for zero emissions as fast as possible;
2. Government-led programmes to deliver a widespread and thoroughgoing public understanding of the most recent science of climate and energy security and what needs to be done to meet the challenges they present;
3. A renewed commitment to deliver an accord at the UN Conference of the Parties in Copenhagen, that matches the urgency demanded by the science. Government at all levels, NGO’s corporations and individuals will have to act together with common purpose in ways that they have never done before, to devise and implement effective solutions;
4. The implementation of strategies capable of achieving the rate of de-carbonisation demanded by climate science through a radical increase in the efficient use of energy and the implementation of renewable energy on a massive scale.
The current economic situation presents a singular opportunity. Taking the necessary action can develop and stabilise our economies, get our labour-force back to work, and deliver a secure dividend to repay the investment through the value of the energy saved or generated. Every field, forest, island, river, desert, coastline, barn or building holds the potential to be an energy and economic generator, with technologies appropriate to each region on large and small scales. As renewable technologies improve, production will increase at lower cost, and the economy will be less subject fuel price fluctuations. Such a rapid de-carbonisation will be the biggest collective undertaking humanity has achieved in generations, and will require a great many to commit to the challenge, but in doing so we believe it will reveal a powerful sense of collective purpose.
Convergence On Zero Delegates
Centre for Alternative Technology
The Convergence on Zero was developed and coordinated by the
Centre for Alternative Technology: www.cat.org.uk
