A climate forum named Facing the Challenge of Climate Change, which was held on the 2nd and the 3rd October in the Croatian State Archives in Zagreb, gathered prestigious scientists, policy makers and representatives of civil society. The Forum, which was one of the mobilization initiatives of different experts in the field of climate change, was held as a part of Rendez-vous, Festival of France in Croatia.
At this two day Zagreb Conference, speakers were: Hrvoje Dokoza, Deputy Minister of Environmental and Nature Protection; Zoran Vakula, Croatian meteorologist and “special guest”; Pierre-Yves Le Borgn’, member of the French Parliament, prof. Jean-Pascal van Ypersele from the Catholic University of Leuven, who introduced IPCC conclusions from the last meeting, Pascal Canfin, former Minister of Development, adviser for climate at the World Resources Institute (WRI), Jean-Louis Bal, chairman of the Renewable Energy Union, Marija Šćulac Domac, Assistant Minister of Environmental and Nature Protection, and Ronan Dantec, French National Senator. All speakers participated in the Forum on topic Is it possible to lead climate change on a global level. Key speakers, Dr. François Gemenne, Sciences Po Paris and the Universities of Bruxelles, Liege i Versailles, Dr. Vladimir Jelavić from the Energy and Environmental Protection Institute – Ekonerg, prof. Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, from the Catholic University of Leuven, an IPCC representative, Mr. Tomislav Tomašević from the Institute for Political Ecology, and Mr. Julian Popov from the European Climate Forum, presented their insights on these urgent topics and strategy plans.
Workshops and panels produced interesting discussions and highlighted problems by addressing right questions and answers. They pointed out that, in general, we were all involved – as individuals and as members of civil groups, companies, that we all had power to influence changes, we were the ones that have to act as active participants, not just passive observers. As we witness that natural disasters are becoming more destructive than any war, we must wake up! The climate has an impact on so many fields like migrations, human behavior, poverty, security, traffic. And as everything can change for better, we hope the climate can go back as well – back in time when bad things were above us. So should we fight for this change?
This forum was organized as an introduction to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) General Assembly which will be held in Dubrovnik from the 5th till 8th October. It will host 34 elected representatives from around the globe who will discuss SRES scenarios (find more on www.climate.be). Additionally, this event is a preparation for a big United Nations conference meeting on climate changes (COP21) that will be held in France, where an agreement on reducing CO2 emissions is expected to be established.
