Also in 2012 we would like to keep on shaping globalisation together with you!
P.S. The coordination office os closed between 24 December and 8 January.
The Campus Group of Karlsruhe, Germany, promotes the Ideas of the Initiative at Model United Nations
A report by Global Marshall Plan students' group Karlsruhe, Germany
The world is a globe! Hence all of its "corners" are connected. This insight obliges especially decision makers to meet in circles and jot down their thoughts, figures and formulas on rectangles, which are supposed to magically deliver the solutions to global problems and tasks.
Does that make us go in circles? – Not a bit of it! Who believes that politicians are limited to a small set of possible viewpoints, so that meeting rounds disguised as “discussions” neither deliver change nor consent, was convinced on the contrary in Karlsruhe, Germany.
On the weekend from the 4th to the 6th of November 2011, three representatives of the local Global Marshall Plan campus group participated at the “Muni(n)KA 2011”, the Model United Nations Conference in Karlsruhe. The event was organized by the “MuniKa” campus group in Karlsruhe and offered its participants the possibility to actively simulate an UN assembly and thereby act as a delegation of a UN member state. This year, the event was concentrating in the topic of “global emissions trading” and thus fitted perfectly to the group of participating Global Marshall Plan supporters. The group’s goal for the event, besides the debate, was to establish cooperation with the “MuniKa” campus group.
After making themselves familiar with the construct of rules and actions of the Model United Nations conference, they entered the first round of negotiations as representatives of Germany and Serbia: the individual countries presented their positions. But these were not to be set in stone. Through convincing talks during a stroll around the conference room, the drawing up of working papers and the communication through little notes containing relevant messages, some representatives redirected their political standpoint and formed groups with like-minded delegates while others took more radical points of view and formed their own circles, just like in a real UN convention. Due to the fact that the list of topics for discussion had not been pre-determined, the most current ones where chosen to be discussed. Surprisingly, there was always a delegate who kept guiding the course of the discussion in order to avoid repetitions. With commitment, the rule of proportion and analysis on the way from arguments to concepts, a maximum of creativity could be reached, even if a look into the formulary was very helpful in some moments.
Towards the end, a self-contained, balanced draft-resolution (such a rectangle made out of paper) could in fact be agreed on during the final vote. It’s a shame that such an agreement hasn’t been achieved during the recent UN climate conference. The Global Marshall Plan campus group Karlsruhe, in any case, participated a great deal in the working out of the draft-resolution. During the events in the evening, which complemented the conference, they were also able to pass on the ideas and the enthusiasm of the initiative and received a lot of interest in this global environment.
*** If you are interested to introduce the ideas of the Global Marshall Plan Initiative into the discussions of a MUN-Conference, you are highly encouraged to do so! Take a look at our theme page "Als Global Marshall Plan-Vertreter bei Model UN?" (mainly German) and research for MUN conferences in your country! ***
Best Master Theses honored by the Ecosocial Student Forum Austria, a Member of the Coordination Circle of our Initiative
and advertise thesis topics there, in order to facilitate future oriented and needed projects. The at the event awarded theses dealt with topics such as the carbon footprint of food products, energy efficiency in buildings and the consumer perception of corporate social responsibility.
Coordination Circle starts "discussion" process
"How do we react to the next financial crisis?" This was the central question among the participants of the annual meeting of the Global Marshall Plan Initiative in June 2011. Thereupon, the coordination circle decided to invite various thinkers from within our initiative to an agreement in order to compile a list of claims for the financial system.
On November 15, the framework requirements to overcome market fundamentalism was debated in Karlsruhe, Germany. You can find the paper presented by Professor Radermacher, to which several persons have added their remarks already, here (in German). A shorter paper from Dr. Solte, illustrated with caricatures, can be found here (in German).
Note: If you are using Facebook, become a fan of our page! No matter on which other pages you are posting comments, you can link them to our page by only adding the @-sign to your post. This will draw further attention to our initiative.
If you have any further questions about the use and the potential to disseminate via the internet and social media, or if you want to discuss these topics with us, please email to andreas.huber@globalmarshallplan.org
(Pictures: Sreenshot paper of Dr. Solte; screenshot Global Marshall Plan Facebook-page)
Supporter Rabbi Michael Lerner endorses the dialogue between different positions concerning the "99%" - and promotes the Global Marshall Plan in the US
Apart from his endorsement of a Global Marshall Plan, Lerner is a big supporter of the occupy movement, which he also uses to promulgate the idea and demand of a Global Marshall Plan. You can download his occupy-flyer here.
But also the German occupiers have recently opened a slightly different kind of platform for discussion. On the facebook-page "Sparkassen im Dialog" (savings banks in dialogue), occupiers and bankers discuss about the topic. Supporter Daniel Boese about the strength and necessity of the worldwide youth climate movement
“We are young and need the world” that is the title of the recently published work of online-editor Daniel Boese. The subtitle “How generation facebook saves the world” shows, that the author wants to draw attention to a youth-movement which deals with the most important questions of its future: How long will the world withstand global warming? Boese tours the world, interviews numerous climate-activists and talks with them about the movement, its problems and of course its goals.
During his journey he realizes that the young activists have a strong weapon: Social Media. And they use this weapon at full power, because Social Media are the only advantage they have against their strong opponents from politics and industry. Never in the history of human kind was it possible to communicate globally, to speak about global problems and to establish a global movement. It was not necessary in the past, but now the glass is overflowing. The consequences of global warming do not exist on paper anymore but are now starting slowly to appear. Boese not only shows the views of many international activists but also scientific results and opinions of international climatologists which clearly show that we are facing an ecological collapse and that it is urgently necessary to react- if it is not already too late.
The last chapter “Tipping Point: Will the movement become strong enough?” is the conclusion of the 212 pages of a journey through the world and its freedom fighters. Maybe the author wants to draw attention to the physical tipping point of the ecosystem and a social shift in society with this title.
Boese starts his last chapter with a short introduction to the hopelessness of the climate issue. He describes how he felt like Groundhog Day, as if each new day was exactly the last one. That is how he felt hearing all the international political discussions about climate change. The daily pattern felt to be much the same: Politicians discuss but do not reach a solution and meet each and every year to again not reach a solution.
The youth of the world is tired to see this theatre. It is a shame that their future is being played without themselves having any influence. Outrage goes around. Not much has changed since Kyoto and the carbon dioxide content rises continuously. It is time for a tipping point, a change in society; the young people have to manage their future on their own now, and thanks to social media it is more and more successful. International protests and occupation actions, civil disobedience in all countries and especially parliaments of the world are part of the programme of the climate activists.
It is their goal to launch a movement, which reaches a peaceful but imminent potential.
Their main criticism relates to the failure of policies, unwillingness of the global player and many ordinary citizens in shifting the world onto a better path. Michael McCarthy, one of the first environmental authors for the London Times, reports that he has been present at all negotiations and came to his personal conclusion in Shanghai: The approach to solve the problem of climate change with science has failed. There is a deep-seated, primitive thinking in society, following the motto: If it is not bothering me, why should I do something about it?
People are far away from being altruistic, responsible or farsighted. Most of the people will change only after it becomes uncomfortable for them, others do not matter right away. We should think about this. Unfortunately only after climate change has reached Europe.
Boese calls on the youth not to give up. Fighting for its future is still worth it. He writes this call as a changing of the guard. The old climate fighters are giving up because they do not see hope anymore; the new ones are fighting because of just one reason: They do not have any other choice.
Since the successful demonstration of their displeasure towards the political ignorance in Copenhagen, the number of young climate activists is not decreasing, on the contrary, the number is growing and they bring legal assistance with them. Effective, as it turns out, because on closer inspection everyone has to admit that a legal action against the US-government is justified: The atmosphere belongs to all of us and not just to a few companies. The duty of government is to protect the public good. In fact, Article 20a of the German Constitution contains such an article. Whether the state abides by it or not, is a matter of discussion. The young activists learned one thing: Time is luxury, which they do not have anymore, they have to act now. Hope for a success in Durban had been dead long before the conference. Therefore the next years could become the most important ones of their future, even without Durban.
If you are interested in this topic you can buy the whole book in our online shop (in German only).
(Pictures: Circle of Blue, oekom Verlag)
A shocking Comment by Agricultural Expert Peter Clausing
Each year, enough food is being produced to statistically feed every human being. But for one sixth of the world’s population hunger is an everyday reality and the cause of death for 10 million people every year. The reduction of the number of people suffering from hunger by half between 1990 and 2015, one of the eight Millennium Development Goals, will be reached by no means. In 2008, the number of starving people continued to increase.
Agricultural expert Peter Clausing indicates the reasons for this catastrophe i
n his comment.
According to him, the causes for the scandalous gap between production and supply are the increasing food prices caused by competition of agro fuels, speculative activities in the grain exchanges and – to small degree- changes in nutritional habits. The catastrophic famine of 2008 for instance triggered a discussion about food waste in large cities, which reveals defects in the system. The redistribution of food would be a logistically impossible undertaking and no sustainable solution for the problem.
Much more the solution could be locally adapted by agri-environmental systems, but the powerful institutions do not support this, because such methods create independence from the global agribusinesses. A resource-saving profitability followed by local marketing in the countries of the South, based on elaborated ecological methods, would be appropriate. Cultivation systems like this save energy and are more resistant to the consequences of climate change.
According to the FAO, each dollar invested in agriculture could replace ten dollars of humanitarian aid.
Facts and numbers:
Here you find the complete comment with annotations in German.
(pictures: istockphoto.com, photolia.com)
A contribution by Nova EUropa
"When the central banks buy government bonds, they are only replacing the demand of private banks, insurances and funds. This raises the amount of money in the central banks, which is the basis of actual cash generation – the granting of loans. This raised amount of money in the central banks can also be removed again from the financial market and thus sterilise interventions,” explains Nova EUropa chairman Karl Koller and adds that “the European Central Bank is exactly doing this.” “The fear to cause a hyperinflation through the purchase of government bonds is thus unfounded”, says Koller – who adds two further arguments: “An inflation caused by demand happens when the supply cannot meet a growing demand. This happened after the two World Wars, when capacities for production had been destroyed and a large part of the working population had perished. But today capacities for production are under-employed, which is not only shown by the high toll of unemployment in the Euro-zone“. And his second argument: “The central banks of the United States or Japan have proven that direct or indirect state-financing through the central banks does not equal inflation".The report reflects economical, ecological, social, geopolitical and technological trends worldwide
A new composition of statistical data by the UN-environment program (UNEP) shows the changes of the environment on earth in the last two decades. This evolves from a report with the title “Keeping Track of Changing Environment: From Rio to Rio +20”.
The report is regarded as a part of the “UNEP Global Environmental Outlook-5” (GEO–5), one of the most important UN-assessments of the condition, the trends and perspectives of our global environment. The complete GEO-5 report will be published the following May, a month before the Rio+20 conference in Brazil.
The UN-Vice secretary general and executive director of UNEP, Achim Steiner, claimed: “Today we marked the punch point for governments, economy and civil society delivering proposals for how Rio+20 can achieve results according to change and sustainable development for 7 billion people.
The indicator-report reveals the basics and points out the increasing greenhouse gas emissions, the disappearing of biological diversity and the growing of the usage of natural resources of up to 40 %, which is even faster than the global population growth.
Furthermore the report even highlights to what dramatic dangers we run to meet in future and how enormously particular parts of the world society could be threatened by the results of the direction we take.
Click here for the whole article. Here you’ll find the complete report of the UNEP (English, 110 pages).
(Picture source: unep.org)
For a treaty before 2020, civil society has to act now
The reactions to the outcome of the climate conference in South Africa are divided. The good thing is: A global treaty which includes all states is planned, but the negotiations should be ended until 2015 and the treaty should enter into force in 2020, which leaves enough scope for more CO2 emissions.
The fear is that some emerging countries will use the time to emit more CO2 to have a better basis for the negotiations next year.
The year 2010 has shown what happens if there is no binding framework: According to a document written by the International Energy Agency, the worldwide CO2 emissions have risen by 1,6 gigatons. This is the biggest increase since the beginning of measurements.*
The fact that the Kyoto protocol continues can hardly offer any consolation, because large polluters like Japan, Canada and Russia are not included.
Civil society, especially the youth, has to fight now for the treaty to become effective earlier than 2020 and to keep any temperature increase to less than 1,5 °C.
Urgent action is needed because the general agreement had been already taken. If the society speaks with one voice and concentrates on that, it might be not too late to mitigate the consequences of climate change.
For more information about the outcome of COP 17 in Durban see
The top five takeaways from the Durban climate talks
According to a new survey, banks contribute to global warming by investing in coal
Some banks invest in coal and therewith enormously support global warming – at least according to the survey Bankrolling Climate Change. The German NGO “urgewald”, the two South African NGOs “groundWork” and “Earthlife Africa”, as well as the international NGO-network “BankTrack” based in Nijmegen produced this survey together and have now announced it.
The survey show German banks doing similarly poorly as the banks of other industrialized nations. The “Deutsche Bank” for example accounts to the six banks worldwide, which invest most into the climate killing coal. Even the “UniCredit/HVB“, the „Commerzbank“, the “Allianz”, as well as the two Federal State banks “WestLB” and “LBBW” are involved in the extraction and burning of coal with billions of Euros.
The survey shows a ranking of 93 banks, which all participate in the funding of coal projects with the highest sums worldwide. With a coal portfolio of 16.5 billion Euros the US-bank Morgan Chase is leading the ranking. The Deutsche Bank follows the trend with a participation of 11.5 billion Euros and reaches the sixth place in the worldwide ranking. Only considering the exposure in coal mining, the Deutsche Bank even comes in second.
But not only large banks stand out as climate offender, even savings banks, cooperative banks and federal state banks all invest generously in coal.
Though coal-fired power plants are the main CO2 polluter and should be examined critically at the latest since the entry into force of the Kyoto-protocol.
Instead the funding of coal by international banks goes on and even grows. The study indicates how meaningless the sustainability declarations for climate protection of banks really are.
For more information, click here.
You’ll find the complete study here (English, 58 pages)
(picture source: urgewald.org)
How long will young people wait with the world revolution?
A contribution by Heiner Flassbeck, Economist at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) as well as supporter of the Global Marshall Plan Initiative
A contribution by Zeki Ergas
Another interesting contribution is coming this month from Global Marshall Plan supporter Zeki Ergas. In his essay on the measures needed to build a better world he writes:
The Five Big Changes that are the subject matter of this short essay are, not necessarily in that order:
1. Reversing the Slide from Democracy to Plutocracy in the United States.
2. Extirpating the Virus of Speculation from the Financial Economy.
3. Relying on the Heart – as Opposed to Reason...
4. Developing a People-based Commons Economy and
5. Adopting Happiness as the Goal of Development.
I believe they are badly needed to build a better and sustainable world. Not only per se, that is, in and by themselves, but also because they can help to achieve other major changes - such as: the eradication of extreme poverty, the narrowing of the gap between the rich and the poor, the protection of the environment and the abolition of nuclear weapons.
On the 7th of December 2011, within the frameworks of the 17th United Nations Convention on Climate Change (COP 17), the UNEP handed over the Billion Tree Campaign to Plant-for-the-Planet.
The 7th of December 2011 was a great day for us. 
On this particular day, within the framework of the 17th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 17), the UNEP (United Nations Environmental Programme) handed over the well-established „Billion Tree Campaign“ into the responsibility of us children from Plant-for-the-Planet.
In the first five years of the “Billion Tree Campaign”, which has been initiated by Wangari Maathai and Prince Albert II of Monaco in 2006, citizens, governments and companies worldwide planted altogether 12.5 billion trees, which are almost two trees per person. “On this successful basis, the children can build up and want to achieve that every person plants 150 trees, in order to achieve 1.000 billion trees until the year 2020”, thanked Felix to prince Albert II of Monaco, patron of the "Billion Tree Campaign".
In connection with the handover, the original aim of Plant-for-the-Planet, to plant 1 million trees in every country of the world, turns into the goal to plant 1.000 billion trees worldwide until 2020. Achieving this new goal, an additional 10 billion tons of CO2 can be bonded. Therewith, time is gained to finally decrease the CO2
emissions sustainably.
The handover of this important campaign to the children from Plant-for-the-Planet stands symbolically for the trust which the adults set into the activities of the children, because now the children control the official tree counter. Merging the tree counter of the website of the “ Billion Tree Campaign” with that one of Plant-for-the-Planet, the common current number of planted trees can be traced. The trees of Plant-for-the-Planet supported the “Billion Tree Campaign” since the founding of the children’s initiative, but since today, their trees can be found under the official tree counter.” Currently still in the collection process, all tree planters of Plant-for-the-Planet will turn up in the new official common tree counter. Until now, more than 12 billion trees have been planted in 193 countries.
Find more information about the "Billion Tree Campaign"at the website or view the press release in our press area.
Here is the video of the event!
Here you can look at the pictures of the event!
Image source: Shane Doyle Photography, South Africa
Alina, Felix and Niklas impress as clear thinkers at "Querdenker" event
"We cannot call you to account, because you will be dead when we have to deal with the problems." Yesterday COP 17 started, the 17th UN Climate Change Conference. The CO2 emissions have increased by 10% or 3 billion tons CO2 per year.
If you follow the comments in the media and the public, most of the people think that there won't be a solution in Durban.
On the one hand there are recommendations that there should be a new attempt in 2018 after the Kyoto-Protocol expires in 2012.
Other media, like the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" (a major Germany daily newspaper) on 29th November 2011 wrote: Six degrees plus until 2100. Nobody knows what 6°C will mean. But we know, what minus 5°C average temperature meant, namely 2 kilometres of ice above us.
2100 you will be all dead, but we children will still be alive.”
With these clear words Felix opened his speech in front of 300 managers in Munich.
On the margins of the conference Alina put in silence Alfons Schubeck and tipsy Til Schweiger.
Children, President and Minister of Environment plant in memory of Wangari Maathai
With the beginning of the 42nd day of the tree (Dia del Árbol), Profor, the Spanish association of forest officials and the island's government of Gran Canaria have organized the first Plant-for-the-Planet Academy with 80 children from all parts of the volcanic island. Also the president José Miguel Bravo de Laguna was present, his grandson became a Climate Justice Ambassador as well. The president promised to the children to plant 500 ha trees in the next 4 years. All the time present was also María del Mar Arévalo who is a councelor in the island's council and has invited Felix officially to the island.
At the end of the academy, the island's government invited the newly empowered Climate Justice Ambassadors and 100 selected personalities to a conference. There, Felix presented his 3-point-plan for Gran Canaria. the island shall become the greenest island in the world:
11. 1. Following the rule that every world citizen has to plant 150 trees, Gran Canaria has to plant 110 million until 2020. Out of these, 10 millionen should be planted on the island and the missing 100 millionen could be planted in Africa, supporting the Great Green Wall project.
2. The island's goverment shall ban all fossile energies from the island. No cars with fossile motors shall be accepted but only cars with electric drive.
3.Also the energy production shall reach a level of 100% of energy sources suitable for children, mainly wind- and solar energy.
Then, on Sunday, 28th November, 500 children planted trees in honor of Wangari Maathai. Together with the president and the councelor of environment they inaugurated a remembrance board made out of cypress wood for the Nobel peace prize laureat.
Please look at the video of Felix´s speech here.
The Initiative in the media
Teaser photo: Pixelio, Rainer Sturm
01/30/2012 - 01/31/2012
Bonn
"Global lifestyles – new pathways for development policy"
Under the title “Global lifestyles – new pathways for development policy”, the 3rd Bonn Conference will focus on the connections between lifestyles and consumption habits and living conditions in developing countries.
How will consumption habits and lifestyles have to change in societies in both the North and the South to achieve sustainable global development? What contribution can businesses make and how can they exercise their ethical responsibility? Do development policy and, in particular, educational work in the area of development policy, require a change of perspective to make sustainable lifestyles a practical option in terms of development cooperation?
These are the core questions that will be discussed at the 3rd Bonn Conference on International Development Policy by top-level German and international experts. The results are intended to contribute to the continuation of the MDGs and the Rio+20 process. At the same time, the Conference will introduce the new One World Strategy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, developed as part of an open government process, and discuss its prospects for implementation.
All relevant information about the conference, the conference programme and online registration will be available soon at
06/20/2012 - 06/22/2012
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
taking place in June 2012
