MEMORANDUM

 

To: Participants of the Belo Horizonte State of the World Forum August 4-7,2009

 

From:  JimGarrison and Emilia Queiroga

 

Re: Context and Strategic Purpose of the Conference

 

Date: June 26, 2009

 

 

Dear Colleagues,

 

First, allow us tothank each and every one of you for your willingness to participate in theAugust 4-7, 2009 State of the World Forum Conference to launch the 2020Climate Leadership Campaign and the Brazil 2020 campaign.

 

What we wouldemphasize is that you are coming to a conference that is part of an evolvingglobal strategy on how to deal decisively with global warming. It is not simplya conference for its own sake. It is quite literally the launch of a global 2020Climate Leadership Campaign as well as a national Brazil 2020 campaign.

 

The urgency ofglobal warming mandates that each and every one of us become climateleaders. For the first time in our lives, indeed for the first time inhistory, all of us must take responsibility for our climate, whether at theindividual, community, company, institution, state, or national level. We areall responsible for global warming. We must all share in the leadershiprequired to solve it, for nothing less than the fate of human civilization is atstake. The crisis is that stark, the choice is that clear, the leadershiprequired is that urgent.

 

If we rise to thischallenge, if we take climate leadership, we will generateclimateprosperity because it is precisely our capacity to solve our greatestcrisis that affords us our greatest opportunities for growth within the contextof sustainability and alignment with natural systems.

 

The Conference

 

The conferencewill comprised of working sessions in which you will have the opportunity toshare your ideas and meet colleagues, all of whom, like you, are seriouslyconcerned with climate change and recognize the critical need to take climate leadershipat various levels of society on a time urgent basis.  There will be around200 participants, about half Brazilian, one quarter from the United States, andone quarter drawn from about twenty nations of the international community. Therewill be English, Portuguese and Spanish translation.

 

Two hundredparticipants means that the conference will be small enough so that we can allinteract with informality and as peers. As indicated below, we are drawing all of you together to compare notes,to discuss the best strategy moving forward, and to make plans as to how tocollaborate effectively after the conference ends and the 2020 Climate Leadership Campaignand Brazil2020 begin.

 

 

Conference Logistics

 

As Uta Jehnichwill have indicated to all of you, please arrange your travel schedule so thatyou arrive on Tuesday August 4, preferably in the morning.  You will all be picked up at the BeloHorizonte airport and taken directly to the hotel so it is essential that youemail Uta your itinerary.  If anyof the international participants have any questions, please be directly intouch with Uta at uta@worldforum.orgFor Brazilians, please contact Rogerio Barros at rogqbarros@gmail.com

 

The conference opens Tuesday evening August 4 at 7:00PM at the Palace of Arts in downtown Belo Horizonte before an audience of 1500.The governor and various notables will provide opening remarks, and Globo TVwill premiere its national public education ad campaign on global warming. The city of BeloHorizonte will have banners throughout the city during our conference displayingour logos and advertising the conference. There will also be extensive presscoverage.

 

BeginningWednesday morning August 5 through Friday afternoon August 7, we will be inclosed session working through a quite ambitious agenda discussed below,although there will be numerous side meetings at the Governor’s Palace and at theMayor’s office with selected members of our group. The conference will conclude with a press conferencewhere conclusions of the conference will be announced.  You will all be taken to the airportSaturday morning August 8 for your flights home. All your meals will be takencare of between dinner August 4 through breakfast August 8.

 

Conference Format

 

A detailedday-by-day conference agenda will be forthcoming shortly.  For now, we would like to summarize theconference themes so you can begin to think and prepare your ideas andcontributions. All these themes are integral to our 2020 Climate Leadership Campaignand constitute what we consider to be essential aspects of leadership on theissue of climate change. The themes, detailed below, include:

 

1.     “2050 by 2020” Call to Action

2.    Planningfor 2020

3.    Developingon line collaboration

4.    Brazil2020 Campaign

5.    Logoand Branding

6.    Timelinefor first year

 

 

1. “2050 by 2020” Call to Action

 

Atthe heart of our Climate LeadershipCampaign and the purpose of the Belo Horizonte conference is resolving thecontradiction between what our governments are negotiating and what ourscientists are asserting about the accelerating pace of global warming. This is whyclimate leadership is so crucial. Most governments talk about the urgency ofglobal warming and then make vague commitments to reduce carbon emissions by80% by 2050. These commitments make it appear like they are actually doingsomething. But their negotiations going into Copenhagen are so faintheartedthat it is highly likely that there will not be any agreement at all byDecember.

 

In the meantime, CO2emissions continue to increase and are projected in most 2050 scenarios tocontinue rising until they peak at around 2030.  This basically allows business as usual for another twentyyears.  In the meantime, we arespewing into the atmosphere 70 million tons of CO2 each and every day and infact put into the atmosphere more CO2 in 2008 than any previous year. The moreour scientists discover about global warming, the more urgent the situationbecomes and the more immediate the timeframe for serious action. As most of youknow, the current world situation with regard to climate change is worse than theworst cast scenario of the IPCC in its 2007 Report.

 

Even more troubling is thefact that even if the governments aresuccessful in reducing carbon emissions by 80% by 2050, this accomplishmentwould be essentially irrelevant to dealing with global warming in anymeaningful way. A recent study by MIT states that if all the governments completelyfulfill their current promises, which essentially are pointed toward reducingcarbon emissions by 80% by 2050, we will have reached over 600 ppm of CO2 bythen and global temperatures will have risen at least 4 degrees Celsius. 

 

This contradiction between what the governments are negotiating and whatthe science says is the most crucial fact in the climate change crisis today.Just to refresh everyone’s memory, according to the2006 Stern report and numerous other models, a rise of 4 degrees Celsius wouldput hundreds of millions of people at risk of coastal flooding each year withsea level rises of up to 25 meters. There would be dramatic reductions in wateravailability and increased droughts around the world.  A 4C rise would lead to the loss of 85%of the Amazon rainforest, for example. Agricultural yields wouldradically decline and the world would face severe food shortages. Approximately20%-50% of all animal and plant species would face extinction.

It is for these and otherreasons that when he accepted the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the IPCC,Dr. Rajendra Pachauri said "If there's no action before 2012, that's too late. What we do in the next two tothree years will determine our future. This is the defining moment." Thousands ofscientists around the world agree. Lester Brown, who will keynote our conference,states bluntly that we are facing the demise of human civilization itself if wedo not take action now.

 

Our leadershipmust be based on what is scientifically urgent, not on what is politicallyexpedient. Thus our strategic intention and call is a very simple one:

 

What our governments arenegotiating for 2050 must be accomplished by 2020 and we must all be preparedto demonstrate the climate leadership required to accomplish this.

 

We must somehowbuild a global coalition around reducing our carbon emissions by 80%, shiftingthe basis of our economies from fossil fuels to renewable energy and cleantechnologies, and reordering our lifestyles and life choices accordingly, allby 2020. 

 

2. Planning for 2020

 

At the heart of what we must achieve during ourproceedings is to begin the process of discerning how to implement a viablepathway to reducing our carbon emissions by 80% by 2020 and doing so usingavailable technologies and with the intent of producing prosperity and growth. Webelieve we can achieve a 2020 goal in a spirit of optimism and abundance. Ourcentral thesis around 2020 is that our climate crisis is a climate opportunityand that by solving global warming in a decisive manner we will also solve ourfinancial and economic woes and generate social and economic growth.

 

We believe that wecan accomplish this goal using available technologies and innovative thinking.We are not in a crisis because we have no solutions. We are in a crisis becausewe are not implementing solutions already here.

 

What can andshould unite us is a common goal of reducing carbon emissions by 2020. Webelieve this is the key goal because it is specifically the release of CO2 intothe atmosphere that is causing global temperatures to rise, the ice caps tomelt, the droughts to multiply, the seas to increase, and the frequency andintensity of extreme weather events to so dramatically increase.

 

How each of usgets to the goal of reducing CO2 emissions will be different.  Each community, city, region and nationwill have different challenges and constraints and thus any 2020 scenario willby definition be decentralized and highly diversified. Climate leadership will have many pathways, many forms, and manyresults. This is as it should be. Within the context of the clearly definedcommon goal of “2050 by 2020,” we believe as much creativity, diversity,celebration and collaboration as possible should be encouraged.

 

A major part ofthe conference will be to think through and discuss various 2020scenarios.  In doing so, we will beled by Richard David Hames, thefounder and Director of the Asia Foresight Institute, based in Bangkok,Thailand.  He has extensiveexperience internationally in developing strategic and scenario planning andwill guide the discussions as the conference unfolds.

 

A principlecontributor to the scenario planning will be Marc Weiss, Chairman and CEO of Global Urban Development and Chairmanof Climate Prosperity. Marc has pioneered “Climate Prosperity Zones”around the United States and internationally and will be bringing with him a team of specialists whowill contribute to the shaping of the 2020 scenarios by emphasizing “greensavings, green opportunities, and green talent.”

 

In thinking about climate leadership by 2020, wesuggest the following seven “wedges” be considered as starting points which,when taken together, make the pathway to 2020 possible:

 

1.    Reducing reliance on fossil fuels

2.    Implementing energy efficiencies

3.    Creating clean technologies

4.    Developing renewable energy

5.    Cleaning up natural systems

6.    Creating sustainable lifestyles

7.    Establishing a culture of sustainablegrowth

 

You will note thatthe first five of these are what we can do and the last two are what we believeand how we live our lives.  Thesehave to do with our interiors. This is an important part of what we mean by “Climate Leadership.” Ourleadership must be as personal as it must be public and affect our lifestylesas much as it affects public policy. We cannot reduce carbon emissions by 80% and develop climate prosperityby 2020 without coming to terms with the stark fact that our lifestyles and ourcultural beliefs are as unsustainable as our corporate activities and ournational policies.  To dealdecisively with global warming, we must take an integral approach which looks at our interiors as much as ourexteriors, our beliefs as much as our actions.  All aspects are integrally involved in both our crisis andour solution.  We will thus be using an integral framework as the operating system ofour 2020 scenario planning.  Climate leadership must be integralleadership.

 

In dealing withthe an integral approach, we will have a number of participants very familiarwith integral theory and practice, in particular Karin O’Brien, a member of the IPCC who takes an integral approachto climate change; Sean Esbjorn-Hargen, author of Integral Ecology; and Robb Smith, CEO of Integral Life.  We will also hear from Jean Houston, who will speak to thechallenge of cultural transformation and the need for a new story for our time.

 

3. Long Term Online Collaboration

 

In addition toexploring the imperative of “2050 by 2020” and beginning work on developing 2020 Climate Leadership Campaigns,a third crucial aspect of our conference will be how we can come together online so that we can continue to share information and collaborate beyond theconference itself. What we are launching is a ten year initiative and thus musthave a way to stay together, build momentum, and spread the word. 

 

In thisendeavor, we have partnered with the Gaiasoftcorporation in the UK, which has pioneered a very sophisticated software toenable real time information sharing, active collaboration and projectmanagement.  We have also partneredwith the Hague Center in the Netherlands which has pioneered using the Gaiasofttechnology in groups and developed “meshworks” of engagement and collaborationaround interests of common concern. 

 

Morel Fourman, CEO of Gaiasoft, and Peter Merry, Director of the Hague Center, will brief us on theGaiasoft technology and lead us through meshwork team building.

 

4. Brazil 2020

 

What is also unique about our over-all 2020 Climate Leadership Campaignis the role Brazil is playing. While virtually all the countries in the worldeither dither or vaguely commit themselves to reducing carbon emissions by 80%by 2050, the one country that seems poised to develop a national mobilizationaround climate leadership is Brazil. Brazil’s use of ethanol for cars is thehighest in the world. Brazil already produces over 50% of all its energy fromrenewable sources, as opposed to 12% for the EU and 10% for the U.S. Its’largest electric utility, Central Electric of Minas Gerais (CEMIG) generates92% of its electricity from renewable sources and was determined by the DowJones Sustainability Index as the best energy company in the world in 2007.CEMIG is one of our conference sponsors.

Most importantly, Globo TV, the largest media company in Brazil and thefourth largest in the world, has committed itself to dealing seriously withglobal warming and is developing a sustained public education campaign onclimate change. This marks the first Fortune 100 company anywhere in the worldthat we know of to do so, certainly the first major media company.  As mentioned, Globo’s national adcampaign will be premiered at the opening night of our conference.  The fact that Globo is launching anational public education campaign is a dramatic demonstration of climate leadershipand may catalyze a mobilization that is national in scope. Given the increasingurgency of the climate crisis, national mobilizations are essential to plan forand to catalyze.

This kind of leadership is important because Brazil is not a smallobscure country with little impact. It is one of the largest countries in theworld, it is richly endowed with natural resources, its demographics are verysimilar to that of the world population, it is at peace with all its neighbors,its banks and its economy, though effected by the downturn in the globaleconomy, are relatively stable and strong, and it contains the Amazon.

This is not to say that Brazil is already there. The government hasshown little leadership on the issue of global warming and has tolerated, ifnot encouraged extensive clear cutting of the Amazon. There is also systemic exploitationof the general environment. But huge portions of Brazilian society are wakingup and leaders in the Brazilian political, business and civil society sectorsunderstand the urgency, are willing to take leadership, and are mobilizingaround Brazil 2020 -- a ten year plan to green the Brazilian economy.All these reasons make Brazil an ideal nation to take the kind of leadershipthe world needs at this critical hour.

Itis in recognition of the important role Brazil can potentially play in theglobal effort to demonstrate climate leadership that State of the World Forumis launching its global 2020 ClimateLeadership Campaign in the city of Belo Horizonte, the capital of the stateof Minas Gerais. 

 

5.Climate Leadership Logos and Branding

 

Because we are conceiving the2020Climate Leadership Campaign to be global and to build over time, wehave developed logos and cartoons that we believe capture the essence of our2020 campaign and the messaging that needs to go out worldwide. The logos andthe cartoons will be available at the conference. There will also be a range ofT shirts with various 2020 themes. It is our hope that you will all take these back to your home countryand begin to develop local adaptations to emphasize both the global nature ofour 2020Climate Leadership Campaign as well as the importance of localdiversity.

 

6.Timeline

 

Because the 2020 Climate Leadership Campaign is a ten year campaign, Stateof the World Forum is committed to convening a series of major conferences indifferent world cities through 2020 as we build a global coalition around ClimateLeadership. What follows is what we are planning for the first year:

 

1.    Our August 4-7State of the World Forum in Belo Horizonte will serve two purposes. It serves asthe actual launch of the global 2020 Climate Leadership Campaign andrepresentatives from all over the world are being invited to participate.  It also serves as the launch of the Brazil2020 mobilization and representatives from media, civil society, theprivate sector and scientific institutions from all over Brazil will begathering for our meeting as well. Thus there will be both a global discussionas well as a specifically Brazilian component to the August event.  A significant part of the conferencewill also be to begin development of 2020 strategies with an emphasis on theinnovative technologies and lifestyle changes that can get us theresuccessfully.

 

2.    The Braziliancampaign – Brazil 2020 – will becomprised of three aspects: building a national network committed to the 2020 strategy; creating allkinds of events and promotions for innovative technologies, emphasizinglifestyle choices; and building the network and the 2020 campaign with activemedia promotion by Globo both nationally and locally. 

 

So, for example, we are intouch with the mayor of Kawaskai, Japan, the first city apparently to become100% carbon neutral. We are inviting him to Brazil and will be developing anational tour of the major cities of Brazil to discuss how to become carbonneutral by 2020. Globo will provide extensive news and editorial support alongthe way. 

 

A major focus of theBrazilian campaign will be on positive innovations that ordinary people canimplement, all within the context of taking leadership on climate change andthereby positioning Brazil as a global leader. Gaiasoft will be positioned asthe on line mechanism in and through which people from all over Brazil canshare information, and coordinate real time collaboration. 

 

We will workinternationally to link Brazilian initiatives with international counterparts,seeking to create a meshwork of Climate Leadership Campaigns andnational as well as sectoral 2020 mobilizations.

 

3.    The State of the World Forum in Washington,D.C. February 28 – March 3, 2010 will be the second step in the global campaign.

 

(Please note that the date has been changed. It wasoriginally November 12-14, 2009, but we have rescheduled the event to allow formore meeting space, position the Washington event midway between the Forums inBelo Horizonte and Rio de Janeiro, and give more time to develop the liveglobal broadcast under discussion with Globo and other network partners.)

 

The Washington event will again have two components: aglobal aspect around the 2020 Climate Leadership Campaign andit will profile the national campaigns, like Brazil 2020, that areunderway by that point, such as are beginning to take shape in Australia, Mexico, and the Netherlands.Theover-all goal is to empower people everywhere, personally as well as collectively,to create greener and more resilient lifestyles and communities within a 2020timeframe with the emphasis that all of us must take up climate leadership.

 

4.    This brings us to the State of the WorldForum in Rio de Janeiro August 30 – September 3, 2010. By then, we will have had a year to getthings underway, build constituencies, and refine our message. The Brazil2020 campaign will have developed along with other nationalmobilizations. There is also a nice ring to a clarion call in 2010 from Rio deJaneiro for a global 2020 Climate Leadership Campaign.

 

One synergy that is emergingis with Peter Gabriel and his World of Music and Dance (WOMAD) festival thatwill be in Salvador, Brazil September 4 – 7, 2010 immediately following our RioForum. This allows for asignificant potential for blending content and music with one of the world’smost notable activist musicians. Given what is developing, this 2010 Rio Forumcould equal or be larger than the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992 and we shouldbegin thinking accordingly.

 

5.    Beyond 2010, we will work together toselect other countries where Forums can be convened that will emphasize effortstoward sustainability and promote 2020Climate Leadership Campaigns. All along the way, we will be encouraging Climate Leadership andholding our Forums wherever they will support and nurture national 2020campaigns. The most likely candidate for 2011 Forum is Melbourne, Australia,possibly the Hauge.

 

What we wouldstress in conclusion is that all of the above has emerged in the last fourmonths and is thus very dynamic and subject to change as the world situationcontinues to unfold, the crisis of global warming escalates, and the necessityof mass leadership becomes more urgent. We believe our strategy is in alignment with both the crisis and thesolution that needs to be implemented. We are way past ad hoc solutions. Given the enormity of the crisis, onlynational mobilizations and decisive time-sensitive climate leadership will suffice. We believe what is evolving, asdescribed above, satisfies both these two requirements of scale and timing, andwe are honored to be working with all of you in its implementation.

 

Thank you all somuch,

 

Jim Garrison

President

State of the WorldForum

 

Emilia Queiroga

Director

State of the WorldForum/Brazil