Some
of the world’s leading environmental experts will meet at a
Commonwealth conference this week to see how they can take forward an
innovative strategy to reverse the human impact of climate change. They
are hoping their new approach will influence the debate among world
leaders when they meet at the United Nations Climate Change Conference,
COP23, chaired by Fiji in Bonn, Germany this November.
The Commonwealth’s Regenerative Development to Reverse Climate Change Conference,
organised in collaboration with the Cloudburst Foundation, is the
second meeting of experts, who believe that climate change does not have
to be all doom and gloom, and there is potential to reverse its
effects.
Last
October, at Marlborough House, London, more than 60 scientists,
ecologists, activists, academics and funders explored cutting-edge
approaches to reducing carbon emissions and addressing global warming,
while boosting development and economic growth.
Commonwealth
Secretary-General Patricia Scotland will present their findings at the
Commonwealth Secretariat’s London headquarters on
May 18, 2017. This includes submissions from Project Drawdown - a comprehensive plan with the potential to reverse global warming.
She
said, "A pronounced increase in violent storms, floods, drought,
desertification and devastating sea level rises – extreme events such as
these are the realities that many people across the Commonwealth wake
up to every day. This is why, from the moment I took office I have been
working hard to address climate change.
“It
is truly a historic moment for the Commonwealth as the first
intergovernmental organisation to take on the bold challenge of flipping
the narrative on climate change. What we are saying is that climate
change is not only our biggest challenge, it is also our biggest
opportunity.”
The
Secretary-General continued, “Funders, as well as leading experts in a
range of areas relating to climate change, came to our headquarters last
year to give us a verdict on the feasibility of making reversal rather
than mitigation our goal.
“We
looked at existing working examples of the regenerative development
approach, which mean actions to heal the damage we have caused to the
earth and working with nature instead of against nature. For example,
tapping into the power of volcanic hot springs for our electricity,
geothermal power plants, regenerating coastal wetlands and constructing
buildings that mimic trees in the way they dispose of carbon.
“The
unanimous agreement was that, if we have the political will and work
together, we can drastically reduce carbon emissions and reverse the
human impact of climate change while accelerating economic growth and
boosting development.”
Keynote
speakers at the conference include global advocate on climate change
action and former president of Kiribati, Anote Tong; former UN Secretary
General’s special envoy on climate change and former president of
Ireland, Mary Robinson; New York bestselling climate change author Paul
Hawken; scientist Janine Benyus; design, art, science, and technology
specialist David McConville; and authority on regenerative development
Ben Haggard.
Secretary-General
Scotland said the aim now is to find a strong business model for this
“revolutionary approach” which can be tailored to the needs of
Commonwealth member countries. The initiative will complement the
Commonwealth’s Climate Finance Access Hub, which opened its doors last
September and is helping countries to access millions of pledged funds
for climate action.