Summary Report
Click here to find a summary report of the four National Leadership Summits for a Sustainable America [PDF/3MB]
Introduction
The National Energy Center for Sustainable Communities (NECSC), in partnership with
The Johnson Foundation, will hold four leadership summits during 2006-2007 to review the nation's sustainable development goals in light of global warming, and to
build a five-year action plan.
Three summits are focusing on Energy and Climate Change; Natural Resources; and Sustainable Communities. The fourth will
build a concrete action plan based on the
recommendations produced by the first three.
Each summit will involve 40 of the nation's top sustainability experts from the corporate, academic/academia, nonprofit, government, and financial sectors.
Dates Energy and Climate Change »» June 5-7, 2006 »» Watch the Video Natural Resources and Environment »» Dec. 4-6, 2006 Sustainable Communities and Climate Change »» June 4-6, 2007 Building an Action Plan »» Oct. 1-3, 2007 |
Problem
While many government agencies, non-governmental organizations, universities and companies have adopted goals and programs related to sustainability, the U.S. sustainability "movement" is fragmented and uncoordinated. The last comprehensive national dialogue on sustainable development - the deliberations of the President's Council on Sustainable Development (PCSD) from 1993 to 1999 - produced 140 recommendations for action. They need to be updated and considered in the context of global warming - arguably the principal sustainability issue of our time. In addition, the nation's ability to monitor and assess its progress on sustainability is hampered by the fact that no consensus set of national sustainable development indicators exists.
Objectives
1. Advance U.S. sustainability and climate action by developing and implementing a concrete action plan for the next five years - the first such plan since 1999 that coordinates the efforts of the government, business, financial and NGO communities.
2. Reinvigorate the national discussion about what's needed to ensure the nation's long-term economic prosperity, environmental health and quality of life.
3. Build greater communication and collaboration among the many organizations attempting to advance energy security, natural resource stewardship and sustainable community development in the United States in a time of global climate change.
4. Identify a method to periodically assess the "state of the union" in regard to sustainability - for example, by developing national sustainability indicators that would allow national progress to be measured every 3-5 years.
Strategies
The summits will be nonpartisan, constructive and practical. They will build upon the work of the PCSD and other sustainability organizations. Summit participants will identify opportunities for greater collaboration at all levels of government and civil society in the United States to advance the nation's sustainability in a time of global climate change.
Location
Wingspread Conference Center
Racine, Wisconsin
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Yale Project on Climate ChangeIn October, 2005, the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies invited more than 100 leaders and thinkers to spend two days together in Aspen, Colorado. Their charge was to diagnose why, in the face of stronger and stronger science, the United States has been so slow to act on the issue of climate change. More importantly, they were asked to make recommendations about how to get things moving while there is still time to effect how climate change unfolds. The Yale conference produced 39 recommendations and many valuable insights. Because several of Yale's action items are similar to those produced by the National Leadership Summit on Energy and Climate Change, our two organizations have agreed to collaborate on implementation, where appropriate. If you'd like to learn more about the Yale conference and its results, go to: www.environment.yale.edu/climate |
The Alliance for Climate ProtectionWe are at the crossroads of very serious problems confronting America and the world that are rooted in how we fuel and power our economies. Decades in the making, how we respond to global warming and our dependence on heavily polluting and insecure sources of energy and whether we respond in time will determine what kind of future and world we will have for decades and generations to come. While significant progress has been made, the scale of the challenge, involving a substantial transformation of U.S. and global energy markets, will require an unprecedented societal response. The good news is more and more sectors of society recognize the multiple benefits of reducing our dependence on oil, making our economy energy efficient, and preventing dangerous changes in the Earth's climate. Mayors, workers, business leaders and national security experts are taking notice, along with farmers, outdoorsmen, health professionals and the faith community. Each of these constituencies has a stake in the outcome and a role in the solution. The cause of stopping global warming before disastrous consequences become unavoidable must become a priority concern far beyond the environmental community. The window for stabilizing CO² concentrations at reasonably safe levels is closing, and closing quickly. At current emission trends, we could pass the threshold beyond which very dangerous consequences will become inevitable within as little as twenty years. The problem is not that we lack evidence or the economic and technical capacity to solve the problem, but that we lack the collective will to act. We must catalyze and fuel a national conversation about taking action, among a diverse set of constituencies and interests, to create the political imperative that is needed. Conditions are ripening to push this issue over the top and new voices are joining the call for action. This is a critical time to seize the momentum and forge a common commitment to meet the challenge this threat demands. For more information please visit: www.climatechangeconsortium.com |