‘People don’t want green-washing methods, they want green solutions’
June 21, 2010
During his speech at the Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum, Werner Hoyer, Minister of State from the German Federal Foreign Office thanked the UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer for the “footprint” he has left during his four years in office. “We have to look beyond our borders,” Hoyer said, noting that environmental politics today is about foreign policy and international security. This year’s conference, entitled “The Heat is On – Climate Change and the Media”, is taking place from June 21-23 in Bonn. Hoyer said that the Environment Ministers Meeting at the Petersberg in Bonn at the beginning of May lead to concrete measures in several countries. He stated that “a stabile climate is essential for the economy.” The Minister of State also called to journalists to report more about the risks and opportunities associated with climate change and said that in this regard independent media sources are essential. For this purpose, he said, intensive training for journalists will become more and more important – like that which is offered by DW-AKADEMIE to Deutsche Welle partners in many countries.
“Cancun has the potential to complete what was started in Copenhagen,” said Yvo de Boer in his keynote about the upcoming Climate Conference in Mexico. To the media, he said “please keep fighting”.
Hermann Scheer, President of EUROSOLAR, followed this up in his keynote by saying “people don’t want green-washing methods, they want green solutions.” He said that there were too many stories about the problems associated with climate change and not enough about possible solutions – and the media needs to combat the “no-future” attitude. Scheer said the focus should be more on successful, local measures. Germany has to be a leader in the future as well, because German initiatives have become the model for 40 or 50 other countries.
Bertrand Piccard, the Swiss adventurer, presented his Solar Impulse project. Piccard plans to circle the world in a solar-powered airplane. He said that the “pioneer experience” is missing in the climate debate. “We have to speak about solutions and profits instead of problems and costs.” Piccard noted that today’s technology makes it possible save 50 percent of the fossil fuels that we waste daily. He also said that the media should not only inform – but also encourage and take part in an attitudinal shift.
The 12-year-old climate ambassador Felix Finkbeiner, who initiated the project “Plant for the Planet”, called for children and young adults to get involved in the climate debate. “It’s not just about saving the polar bears – it’s about saving our future,” said Finkbeiner. He also announced that he has plans to present a three-point plan to Chancellor Angela Merkel: “First: Carbon into museums. Second: Climate justice. Third: Plant trees.”
Approximately 1,500 people from 95 countries will be participating in this the third Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum. Co-host of the Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum is the Foundation for International Dialogue of the Sparkasse in Bonn. The convention is also supported by Germany’s Federal Foreign Office, the Family, Women and Integration Ministry of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, European Funds for Regional Development, the city of Bonn, DHL, the KSB Group and Faber-Castell.