Gulbenkian Conference: Environment at the Crossroads. Aiming for a sustainable future
27 and 28/10/2009
09h00 - 18h00
Aud. 2
27TH OCTOBER [TUESDAY]
9H30
OPENING SESSION
Emílio Rui Vilar
President, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation
…
Viriato Soromenho-Marques
Scientific Coordinator, Gulbenkian Environment Programme
Presentation
...
José Manuel Durão Barroso [Video]
President, European Commission
OPENING LECTURE
Climate Change as a Global Key Shifting Force Sir David King (Bio and abstract)
Director, Smith School for Enterprise and the Environment, Oxford
14H30
THE STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ITS SOCIETAL DIMENSIONS
Moderator: George Polk (Bio), Soros Climate Fund Management, London Has biodiversity a future?
Miguel Araújo (Bio and abstract)
University of Évora
…The ethical imperative of sustainability in water management Pedro Arrojo-Agudo (Bio and abstract)
University of Zaragoza
… Environmental Crisis and the future of agriculture
José Lima Santos (Bio and abstract)
Technical University of Lisbon
17H00
KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Chairman: António Pinto Ribeiro (Bio), Gulbenkian Program “Next Future”
Happiness in a Hyperconsomption Society
Gilles Lipovetsky (Bio and abstract), University of Grenoble
28TH OCTOBER [WEDNESDAY]
9H30
THE STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ITS ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS
Moderator: Susana Fonseca (Bio), Quercus Europe, USA and Chine after the crisis: towards new growth models for sustainability?
Allan Larson (Bio and abstract)
Chairman, Lund University
… Citizens as actors for sustainable development
Malini Mehra (Bio and abstract)
CEO, Centre for Social Markets, Delhi
… O Trading emission schemes and the future of the Carbon Economy Pedro Martins Barata (Bio and abstract)
Centre for Clean Air Policy, Washington
11H30
Chairman: João Falcato (Bio), Oceanário de Lisboa
KEYNOTE ADDRESS Charting a course for the future of the oceans: present state and future perspectives
Julie Packard (Bio and abstract)
Executive Director
Monterey Bay Aquarium
14H30
GOVERNANCE TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY
Moderator: David Silva e Sousa (Bio), CESTRAS Governance for Sustainable Development: A Perspective
Nitin Desai (Bio and abstract)
Formerly Under-Secretary General in the United Nations
Distinguished Fellow, The Energy & Resources Institute, India
... The perspective from Europe
Alex Ellis (Bio and abstract)
British Ambassador, Lisbon
…
The perspective from the US Miranda Schreurs (Bio and abstract)
Environmental Policy Research Centre, Freie Universität Berlin
17H00
KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Chairman: Luísa Schmidt (Bio), Institute of Social Sciences, University of Lisbon
What are the chances for a sustainable future? Jonathan Porritt (Bio and abstract)
President, Forum for the Future, London
18H00
CLOSING SESSION
Emílio Rui Vilar, President, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation
…
Viriato Soromenho-Marques, Scientific Coordinator, Gulbenkian Environment Programme
Environment at the Crossroads
Aiming for a sustainable future
27th and 28th of October 2009
We are living, both as individuals and as members of a variety of political and cultural environments, in a perilous and challenging period of history.
The concept of ‘crisis’ is increasingly a “buzz word” given its lack of accuracy in describing not only the multiplicity of critical contemporary events in a variety of different areas, but also in identifying the fault lines which will be the key factors in urgently framing new and sound public policies both at the domestic and global levels.
The Gulbenkian Conference promoted by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation entitled “Environment at the Crossroads. Aiming for a sustainable future”, will contribute to the much needed intellectual clarity we are looking for in numerous economic and social areas. What is at stake it’s no less than the quest for survival at a planetary scale.
The Gulbenkian Conference will seek to address the following four crucial issues:
How deeply is the current financial and economic malaise rooted in structurally failing or declining systems, for example the global capacity to provide ecological services or the institutional capacity of governments to promote policies designed to disseminate poverty reduction, stability and peace?
How serious is the state of the global environment? We need to take into account new scientific insights not only concerning climate change but also regarding the accelerating decline of biodiversity and the possible breakdown of major ecosystems, and the possibility of dramatic changes due to crucial ecological “tipping points”.
How can we reshape the economic system in order to convert a possible long and lasting depression into an opportunity to renew the social fabric in its widest sense, using production and consumption, and ethical values to move to a more environmentally friendly way of life?
How can we build new policies that can mobilize popular creativity and ingenuity? What institutions are needed to create an international system that works, that is able to tackle global problems using international organisations that work together and can promote the synergies and strategic goals appropriate for the long term?
Tackling these crucial questions, the Gulbenkian Conference will anticipate the Copenhagen Conference, to be held in December this year; will stress the urgent need to find a fair and strong international climate regime. Only through a global environmental compact will humanity be able to unite, pulling together the enormous amount of creativity, ingenuity and other skills needed to overcome this dangerous period of transition towards sustainability.
Viriato Soromenho-Marques