Two MO*lectures With Famous Indian Activist Sunita Narain

23 May in Ghent / 24 May in Antwerp

Sunita Narain is director of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in India , where she has been working for more than 30 years on the relation between ecology and development. She is one of the most authoritative voices from the Global South when it comes to global debates about environment and climate.

  • Gie Goris Sunita Narain Gie Goris

23 May – Vooruit — Ghent — MO*lecture Sunita Narain: Ecology of the Poor

Our planet is under unseen ecological pressure from climate change, the loss of biodiversity and the exhaustion ,of vital natural resources. The first victims of that expanding global ecological disaster, are the hundreds of millions poor, who depend on nature for their incomes and survival. But do they also hold the answer to the crisis?

Sunita Narain, an eminent Indian ecological expert and activist, makes a clear distinction between ‘an ecology of the poor’ and ‘an ecology of the rich’. The latter, she says, is the kind of ecological conscience that is focused on getting rid of the consequences of wasteful production and consumption, but refuses to change that economy at the root. ‘The demand for sustainable growth for the poor is no longer a whisper from the South, it has become a scream that is getting louder by the day. Today it might still by a chaotic noise, but by working hard from the grassroots up, this will become a crucial dialogue about real plans for a sustainable and just world in the future’, said Sunita Narain in an interview in MO* (december 2012).

After Sunita Narain’s keynote, Dutch philosopher Marius de Geus will give his point of view on the question how the North can move towards an economy of enough, an economy that would create space for the poor of this world to protect their environment while at the same time grow out of their poverty.

Sunita Narain

Sunita Narain is director of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in India , where she has been working for more than 30 years on the relation between ecology and development. She is one of the most authoritative voices from the Global South when it comes to global debates about environment and climate. She started as co-author of the acclaimed series The State of India’s Environment. One of the most widely discussed and influential publications Sunita authored toghether with Anil Agarwal, was Dying Wisdom (1997), in which she documents India’s growing water crisis, and describes in detail the wide variety of existing anternatives for urban and rural areas. In 2012 she published Excreta Matters, on the horrible state of India’s sanitary provisions, and the impact on drinking water and public health.

Marius de Geus

Marius de Geus is a philosopher and professor of political sciences at the University of Leiden, Netherlands. He specializes in environmental philosophy and ecological thinking. He published about the value of ecological utopias, but has been focusing lately on the consequences of a consumer society on climate, and on sustainable mays of living.

Practical info

  • Thursday 23 May, 8 pm, Vooruit, Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 23, Gent.
  • Entrance: 5€. Confirm your participation at www.mo.be/molezing.
  • The lecture will be held in English

 

24 May – KBC-toren — Antwerp — MO*lecture Sunita Narain: Who still believes in international climate agreements?

Climate summits have become a yearly fixture, on top of an Earth Summit on Sustainable Development every decade, international conferences on biodiversity and many, many other conferences, agreements and promises to lessen the pressures on our global environment. The reason is simple: environmental problems don’t stop at national borders, nor are they restricted to electoral cycles. The multiplication of conferences, though, does not seem to be succesful at reaching enforceable agreements. The failure of Copenhagen in 2009 was just the most visible illustration of that impotence.

Sunita Narain, director of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in India , puts it this way: ‘The fundamental conviction of the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992 was the existence of common but differentiated responsibilities. The bigger effort that was asked from the rich nations, had an economic rationale: the rich and most polluting economies had to come forward first, as they created much of the problem that had to be solved. If the idea would have been translated into enforceable international rules, and the West would have maintained those rules in its own behavior, then I’m sure that emerging countries like China and India would have taken up their responsibilities by now. Instead, we are20 years on and we are still debating about who should move first to save the planet. The main culprit, to my understanding, is the USA, that has been refusing and continues to refuse to do their part.’

After Sunita Narain’s keynote, Artur Runge-Metzger (EU’s leader of delegation at climate talks) and Wendel Trio (director of Climate Action Network — Europe) will discuss steps Europe will, should or could take to make global governance for environment viable again. They will focus on restoring confidence with partners from the South, that international negotiations can and should work to the benefit of the poor.

Sunita Narain

Sunita Narain is director of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in India , where she has been working for more than 30 years on the relation between ecology and development. She is one of the most authoritative voices from the Global South when it comes to global debates about environment and climate. She started as co-author of the acclaimed series The State of India’s Environment. One of the most widely discussed and influential publications Sunita authored together with Anil Agarwal, was Dying Wisdom (1997), in which she documents India’s growing water crisis, and describes in detail the wide variety of existing alternatives for urban and rural areas. In 2012 she published Excreta Matters, on the horrible state of India’s sanitary provisions, and the impact on drinking water and public health.

Artur Runge-Metzger

Artur Runge-Metzger is director of DG Clima of the European Commission and is head of the EU-delegation in international climate negotiations.  The EU has disappointed some countries lately, but is still looked upon as a crucial partner for the Global South to produce a new and comprehensive agreement. DG Clima’s ambition is to turn Europe into a low-carbon economy, with a reduction of carbon emissions of 80 percent by 2050.

Wendel Trio

Wendel Trio is the director of CAN-Europe. He works for the organization since September 2011. Trio is responsible for the overall management of the organization, including coordination of the political work, ensuring high level human resource management, adequate fundraising, overseeing the communications strategy and promoting the further development of the network. He also leads the overall strategic thinking and takes on high level political representation. His previous jobs include working for the European Alliance with Indigenous Peoples, Oxfam in Belgium, Greenpeace Belgium, and Greenpeace International.

Practical info

  • Friday 24 May, 7.30pm, Auditorium KBC-toren, Eiermarkt 20, Antwerpen.
  • Entrance: 5€. Confirm your participation at www.mo.be/molezing.
  • The lecture will be held in English.
  • This lecture is organized in cooperation with Argus, milieupunt of KBC and Cera.

MO*lectures are an initiative of MO* and the Vlaams-Nederlands Huis deBuren. Partners are Kaaitheater, Beursschouwburg, Vooruit and  Zuidcafé — De Roma.

Maak MO* mee mogelijk.

Word proMO* net als 2790   andere lezers en maak MO* mee mogelijk. Zo blijven al onze verhalen gratis online beschikbaar voor iédereen.

Ik word proMO*    Ik doe liever een gift

Over de auteur

Met de steun van

 2790  

Onze leden

11.11.1111.11.11 Search <em>for</em> Common GroundSearch for Common Ground Broederlijk delenBroederlijk Delen Rikolto (Vredeseilanden)Rikolto ZebrastraatZebrastraat Fair Trade BelgiumFairtrade Belgium 
MemisaMemisa Plan BelgiePlan WSM (Wereldsolidariteit)WSM Oxfam BelgiëOxfam België  Handicap InternationalHandicap International Artsen Zonder VakantieArtsen Zonder Vakantie FosFOS
 UnicefUnicef  Dokters van de WereldDokters van de wereld Caritas VlaanderenCaritas Vlaanderen

© Wereldmediahuis vzw — 2024.

De Vlaamse overheid is niet verantwoordelijk voor de inhoud van deze website.