DOCSLIB.ORG

Local Communities Leading the Way to a Low-Carbon Society

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Local Communities Leading the Way to a Low-Carbon Society EUROPE IN TRANSITION LOCAL COMMUNITIES LEADING THE WAY TO A LOW-CARBON SOCIETY THE SILENT REVOLUTION OVER 2,000 GROUPS AND GROWING! COUNTRY FOCUS 2 Local communities leading the way to a low-carbon society – AEIDL EUROPE IN TRANSITION Author: Eamon O’Hara, specialist in climate change and European networking of community-based initiatives. Contributors: Cristiano Bottone, Transition Italy. Theresa Carter, Transition Ireland and Northern Ireland. Chris Church, Low Carbon Communities Cover: ‘Daycare bikes’ used to transport young Network, UK. children on the island of Samsø in Denmark. Kitty De Bruin, Transition France. © Samsø Energy Academy Fransje de Waard, Permaculture Association, The Netherlands. Alejo Etchart, Transition Economist and member of the Spanish Hub for Transition Network, Spain. Paul Hendriksen, Transition Towns, The Netherlands. Dr . Tom Henfrey, Schumacher Institute for Sustainable Systems, Bristol, UK. TABLE OF CONTENTS Kosha Anja Joubert, President of the Global The silent revolution . 3 Ecovillage Network (GEN) and Managing Director of GEN-Europe. Behind the scenes . 4 Christine Kotarakos, AEIDL – European Over 2,000 groups and growing! Association for Information on Local Development. The benefits of community-based action . 6 Gesa Maschkowski, Transition Network for Germany, Austria, Switzerland. The movers and shakers . 7 Gil Penha-Lopes, Faculty of Sciences, Transition University of Lisbon, Portugal. Ecovillages Davie Phillips, Cultivate Living & Learning, Permaculture – a guiding philosophy Cloughjordan Ecovillage, Ireland. Dr Wojciech Szymalski, Institute of Sustainable Country focus . 11 Development, Poland. The UK – a hotbed of community-based activity Job van den Assem, Friends of the Earth France – community-based initiatives breaking new ground (Milieudefensie), The Netherlands. Italy – community-based initiatives take the lead Production coordination: Jean-Luc Janot Sweden – 5,000 villages ready for transition Layout: Kaligram The Netherlands – communities working in partnership with other local actors Supported by AEIDL Portugal – mapping and linking community-based initiatives This project is supported by AEIDL, the Germany – building knowledge on community-based action European Association for Information on Local Spain – where cooperation replaces competition Development . Poland – building local awareness and capacity Denmark – a European leader in community energy EU support and assistance . 24 Time to go mainstream . 26 © AEIDL, June 2013 . Building a community of communities Local communities leading the way to a low-carbon society – AEIDL 3 THE SILENT REVOLUTION Academy Energy Samsø © Across Europe, a new frontline on climate change is emerging . In- For this potential to be realised, however, the role of this local, com- spired by the tradition of community activism in other spheres, and munity-based action must be better recognised by policymakers at building on the experiences of other initiatives for sustainable local all levels . Voluntary, citizen-based initiatives cannot be sustained development, small groups of citizens are quietly coming together to indefinitely without external support and assistance . The challenge take action in their own communities . for policymakers, therefore, is to provide this support in a way that encourages and facilitates community-based action, without un- These small, local groups are emerging in cities, towns, villages and dermining its local, bottom-up dimension, or stifling the energy and rural areas right across the EU, and the numbers are increasing at an creativity that this unleashes . impressive rate (see Fig . 2 page 5) . Meeting in living rooms, in local ca- fés, community centres and other public places, the focus is predomi- Local, community-based initiatives are, by their nature, fragmented, nantly on practical initiatives that can be taken locally to reduce green- and often have little contact with or support from outside . There have house gas (GHG) emissions and the dependence on fossil fuels, and been some efforts to address this, especially at local, regional and to strengthen the resilience and sustainability of local communities . national level, but the effectiveness of these efforts has been limited . Many of these initiatives involve the testing of new ideas, technolo- A key requirement, therefore, is to nurture and support this local gies and approaches in order to find the most sustainable and cost dimension, while also facilitating greater inter-connectedness and effective solutions . In this way, they act as important local laborato- networking between groups, and with other organisations . There is ries, piloting and demonstrating how citizens and communities can a clear need to create a strong platform that promotes the exchange live more sustainably . of ideas, information and good practices, and also facilitates the de- velopment and implementation of cooperative or shared initiatives . A defining feature of this silent revolution is that it is entirely citizen- driven, or bottom-up . Those involved are not responding to top- The establishment of this kind of a platform would provide existing down policy or regulatory decisions, but to their own desire to make groups with improved access to the information and resources they a difference, to be part of the solution rather than the problem . need to develop their projects and activities . Importantly, however, it In many instances, links and collaborative initiatives are being de- would also be a valuable source of inspiration and guidance for other veloped upwards, with local authorities and other local or regional groups and communities, providing a tool to promote a much wider bodies, which are responding positively to the leadership shown by dissemination and uptake of community-based approaches . local citizens . █ This gives this community-based movement a strong legitimacy and credibility which, combined with its widespread and growing popu- larity across the EU, makes it a potentially powerful driver of pro- environmental behavioural change . This type of societal change is not just a pre-requisite to meeting future emissions targets, but also to bringing about the transition to a resource efficient, low-carbon economy, which is now a central goal of European policy . 4 Local communities leading the way to a low-carbon society – AEIDL BEHIND THE SCENES A critical first step in establishing a support framework for local, community-based ac- OVER 2,000 GROUPS AND GROWING! tion on climate change is to better under- In the 13 EU countries reviewed, there are 4,000 groups engaged in local, community- stand the existing situation in the EU, and currently in excess of 2,000 local, communi- based action on climate change, which sug- to build links with the key stakeholders in- ty-based groups directly engaged in activi- gests that the number for the 13 countries volved . It was for this reason that between ties to tackle climate change and promote studied is in fact considerably higher that December 2012 and March 2013, the Eu- sustainable development (see Fig 1) . the available data suggests . ropean Association for Information on Local Development (AEIDL) undertook a This number could be considered to be con- Significantly, however, the number of these preliminary investigation, which led to the servative, however, as it is difficult to get groups and the number of people engaged gathering of information on community- information on all existing initiatives, some in their associated activities is growing rap- based action on climate change in 13 EU of which have a low public profile and are idly (see Fig . 2), unleashing a heretofore countries . poorly documented . There are also many latent resource that is making an increas- other groups that are engaged in activities ingly valuable contribution to wider efforts to This study built on previous information and with an indirect impact on climate change combat climate change . contacts developed by AEIDL experts over and sustainable development, which was a three year period, which helped to identify outside the scope of this study . The common characteristic of these initia- countries where community-based initia- tives is that they are established and driven tives were known to exist . By way of example, research carried out by local people (bottom-up), acting on their for the Carnegie Trust in 2008 found that in own initiative and guided by the desire to This publication presents the results of this the UK alone there were between 2,000 and take action within their own communities to research and seeks to quantify the scale of activities (the number of active groups) in the countries concerned, their rate of de- Transition Ecovillage pro- Country Other velopment, the kinds of actions being un- Initiatives jects or networks dertaken, the key actors or organisation Belgium 10 3 10 concerned and, where they exist, the struc- tures that have evolved to assist and sup- Denmark 30 10 50 port local efforts . Finland - 7 50 France 130 13 4 Germany 60 20 50 Ireland 20 2 10 Italy 80 18 150 Netherlands 80 8 100 Poland - 4 80 Portugal 14 7 20 Spain 30 17 9 Sweden 20 7 9 UK 367 1 500 Total 841 116 1042 Fig. 1: Estimated number of local, community-based groups focusing on climate action in 13 EU countries. Local communities leading the way to a low-carbon society – AEIDL 5 respond to the threat of climate change and energy efficiency, local food production ecological degradation . and sustainable transport . The focus
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Dancing on the Volcano: Social Exploration in Times of Discontent
    Copyright © 2019 by the author(s). Published here under license by the Resilience Alliance. Carpenter, S. R., C. Folke, M. Scheffer, and F. R. Westley. 2019. Dancing on the volcano: social exploration in times of discontent. Ecology and Society 24(1):23. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-10839-240123 Perspective Dancing on the volcano: social exploration in times of discontent Stephen R. Carpenter 1, Carl Folke 2,3, Marten Scheffer 4 and Frances R. Westley 5 ABSTRACT. Radical recent developments such as Brexit, the rise of extreme nationalism, the gilets jaunes, polarizing leaders, the Arab Spring, and fundamentalist movements are indications of societal discontent with the status quo. Other societal phenomena such as gender fluidity, veganism, and bartering are also associated with a perceived need to change. The context is the Anthropocene, a human- dominated biosphere challenging the resilience of a livable planet. Such a broad set of developments may be interpreted in the light of new insights from theory of complex systems about what happens as resilience of the current pathway (societal organization as we know it) decreases. Rising fluctuations characterize a phase of uncertainty and exploration, potentially leading into a transition of the system toward a new pathway. We reflect on global changes that may contribute to social destabilization such as rising wealth concentration and environmental degradation and ask how responses may be understood from social-psychological forces such as the need for group identity and managing the terror of mortality. The emerging image is that of a society engaged in multifaceted experimentation. Maintaining such experimentation may help inspire novel pathways to desirable futures, but there is a risk of societies becoming trapped in backward-looking narratives that threaten long-term sustainable outcomes.
    [Show full text]
  • Stepping up Local Climate Action
    Localizing climate change: stepping up local climate action Author Bond, Meghan Published 2010 Journal Title Management of Environmental Quality DOI https://doi.org/10.1108/14777831011025553 Copyright Statement © 2010 Emerald. This is the author-manuscript version of this paper. Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. Please refer to the journal's website for access to the definitive, published version. Downloaded from http://hdl.handle.net/10072/37809 Griffith Research Online https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au Localizing climate change: Stepping up local climate action Meghan Bond, Griffith University ABSTRACT Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the current literature and ideas on how local climate change action (both mitigation and adaptation) could be intensified. Approach: A literature review on the current views of effective local climate action within academic journals and policy documents was undertaken. Additional data on Australian grassroots community activities was compiled from the Internet, participant observation and secondary sources. Findings: The paper argues that local climate action is important and three key aspects could provide effective avenues to step-up local climate action. These three avenues are: increased attention to local adaptation; the linking of adaptation and mitigation efforts together and with other local ecological concerns; and greater engagement with active community members and grassroots community-initiated climate change actions. These three key aspects could give climate change a local saliency and tangibility, spur more effective action, build community resilience and reduce vulnerability. Implications: Research is in the explorative stages and, therefore, only tentative conclusions and possible future directions can be suggested.
    [Show full text]
  • Less Meat Initiatives: an Initial Exploration of a Diet-Focused Social Innovation in Transitions to a More Sustainable Regime of Meat Provisioning
    This is a peer-reviewed, final published version of the following document: Morris, Carol, Kirwan, James ORCID: 0000-0002-4626-9940 and Lally, Rhonwen (2014) Less Meat Initiatives: An Initial Exploration of a Diet-focused Social Innovation in Transitions to a More Sustainable Regime of Meat Provisioning. International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food, 21 (2). pp. 189-208. Official URL: http://www.ijsaf.org/archive/21/2/morris.pdf EPrint URI: http://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/3794 Disclaimer The University of Gloucestershire has obtained warranties from all depositors as to their title in the material deposited and as to their right to deposit such material. The University of Gloucestershire makes no representation or warranties of commercial utility, title, or fitness for a particular purpose or any other warranty, express or implied in respect of any material deposited. The University of Gloucestershire makes no representation that the use of the materials will not infringe any patent, copyright, trademark or other property or proprietary rights. The University of Gloucestershire accepts no liability for any infringement of intellectual property rights in any material deposited but will remove such material from public view pending investigation in the event of an allegation of any such infringement. PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR TEXT. Int. Jrnl. of Soc. of Agr. & Food, Vol. 21, No. 2, pp. 189–208 Less Meat Initiatives: An Initial Exploration of a Diet- focused Social Innovation in Transitions to a More Sustainable Regime of Meat Provisioning CAROL MORRIS, JAMES KIRWAN AND RHONWEN LALLY [Paper first received, 31 October 2013; in final form, 16 May 2014] Abstract.
    [Show full text]
  • Permaculture and the Social Design of Nature
    Geografiska Annaler: Series B, Human Geography ISSN: 0435-3684 (Print) 1468-0467 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rgab20 Permaculture and the social design of nature Gerald Taylor Aiken To cite this article: Gerald Taylor Aiken (2017): Permaculture and the social design of nature, Geografiska Annaler: Series B, Human Geography To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/04353684.2017.1315906 Published online: 14 May 2017. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 4 View related articles View Crossmark data Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=rgab20 Download by: [The UC San Diego Library] Date: 19 May 2017, At: 13:34 GEOGRAFISKA ANNALER: SERIES B, HUMAN GEOGRAPHY, 2017 https://doi.org/10.1080/04353684.2017.1315906 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Permaculture and the social design of nature Gerald Taylor Aikena,b aIPSE, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg; bSt. John’s College, Durham University, Durham, UK ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY Permaculture-based social movements proliferate as a response to Received 18 April 2016 environmental challenges, a way to pursue the ‘good life’, and a vision Revised 28 February 2017 of a more harmonious way to be in and belong to the world. Accepted 15 March 2017 Ecovillages, bioregionalisation, and the Transition (Town) movement all KEYWORDS apply permaculture principles in designing social systems. Core to Permaculture; transition; permaculture is designing based on, and in harmony with, patterns nature; social movements identified in nature. Yet, as is often highlighted, identifying, using, and thinking through ‘natural’ patterns are problematic.
    [Show full text]
  • Transition Towns Movement, Which Is One of the More Promising Social Movements to Emerge During the Last Decade in Response to the Overlapping Problems Outlined Above
    ! 11 THE TRANSITION MOVEMENT Questions of diversity, power, and affluence 1. Introduction1 As the global economy continues to degrade planetary ecosystems (Rockstrom et al., 2009); as biodiversity continues to decline (United Nations, 2010); as climate scientists offer increasingly confident and dire warnings (IPCC, 2013); as peak oil arrives (Miller and Sorrell, 2014; Brecha, 2013); as fresh water and other key resources become scarcer (Brown, 2011) while population continues to grow (UNDSEA, 2012); and as financial systems continue to show signs of instability (Tverberg, 2012), the question of how nations around the world are going to ‘transition’ to a stable, just, and sustainable society is more pressing than ever. Things seem to be getting worse, not better, which calls for new thinking and new action, both at the personal and social levels, but also at the macroeconomic and political levels. If early in the environmental movement it was assumed that buying ‘green’ products, switching to energy efficient light bulbs, and taking shorter showers were the ‘lifestyle’ solutions to environmental problems, more recent evidence firmly indicates that such measures are not working or are not going to be anywhere near sufficient, necessary though they may be. The extent of ecological overshoot is too great (Global Footprint Network, 2013). Furthermore, many promised efficiency gains that were supposed to flow from technological advances seem to be getting lost to the Jevons Paradox and rebound effects (Herring and Sorrell, 2009; Polimeni et al., 2009), meaning that technology – the !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1 This chapter is a lightly revised version of Simplicity Institute Report 14g, co-authored by Samuel Alexander and Esther Alloun.
    [Show full text]
  • Key Campaigns for System Change 2013
    Key Campaigns for System Change “Activism is my rent for living on the planet” Alice Walker We urgently need to campaign for decisive action that will work. The latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) makes clearer than ever the need for decisive national and international action. So far UN Summits have not produced legally binding measures to prevent catastrophic climate change and further damage to the ecological system. Talks in Bonn in April 2010 failed to firm up actions to implement the 2010 Copenhagen Accord, which many smaller and poorer nations had refused to sign. Poorer nations must be properly included and outcomes must reflect their interests. Otherwise all of us will lose. The economic crisis now overshadows everything else. Many people are confused, depressed and disempowered. We cannot allow the campaigns of vested interests, intent on denying the part humans play in climate change, to succeed. We must find solutions that will work and put even more pressure on governments and big corporations. The most promising proposals yet are a Global Carbon Tax and an initiative to establish Ecocide as the Fifth UN Crime against Peace. 7bn people have the power to bring about radical change. It’s up to us to demand a great transition to a sustainable, just and non-violent economic system. My top priorities are Avaaz.org, 350.org, 38 degrees, Eradicating Ecocide, James Robertson – working for a sane alternative, New Economics Foundation (nef), Onehundredmonths.org, Positive Money, Peace Direct, RoadPeace – ending road violence, Transition Town Network, Unlock Democracy/Local Works and World Development Movement (WDM).
    [Show full text]
  • The Transition Movement in Australia: an Analysis of the Progress, Challenges, and Future of Transition Initiatives
    The Transition Movement in Australia: An analysis of the progress, challenges, and future of Transition Initiatives Goldwasser, Mia Academic Director: Brennan, Peter Advisor: Wallace, Sonya Brandeis University Environmental Studies Sydney, NSW Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Australia: Sustainability and Environment, SIT Study Abroad, Spring 2009 Abstract The threats of climate change and peak oil have roots in our society’s dependence on the availability of cheap fossil fuels for its function and design. In order to both decrease greenhouse gas emissions and significantly lower the demand on fossil fuels, our settlements –built when oil was cheap and abundant- must ‘relocalize’, or develop the systems which will enable the local production of food, energy, materials, employment, and goods. The Transition Movement has developed as a grassroots, community-based response to these challenges, grounded in the belief that a higher quality of life has the opportunity to emerge from a collaborative, community- directed transition to a lower-energy and locally-rooted future. In this study, I seek to explore the manifestation of the Transition Movement in Australia, through the development of four initiatives- Transition Sunshine Coast, Transition Blue Mountains, Transition Sydney, and Transition Bellingen. Through formal interviews with the active leaders of these Transition groups, I will document how the initiatives formed, their progress to date, their relationships with local community groups and councils, and the challenges they face. Through analysis of this data, I aim to identify the initiatives’ progress as related to the purposes they have evolved to fill within communities, their common challenges, and factors that could contribute to the continued spread of the Transition Movement in Australia.
    [Show full text]
  • Climate Emergency Centre Handbook
    Climate Emergency Centre Handbook 1 BUILD YOUR CLIMATE EMERGENCY CENTRE IN 10 STEPS ! https://climateemergencycentre.co.uk By www.Spacegenerators.org If you are looking to set up a CEC in your area, please download the Telegram app (https://telegram.org/ ) and join the CEC Start Ups Chat for advice and support including weekly meetings (Thursdays 7pm) for groups to feedback and share information. Join link- https://t.me/joinchat/NV1AllE2WIB88x-UjmPeiQ Introduction “Creating Space for Community Solutions” The Climate Emergency Centres (CECs) project enables the development of a self-funding Centre that brings together diverse groups and individuals in the local community to build solutions, relationships and resilience in the face of the Climate Emergency. Each CEC is autonomous, but supported by a network of CECs as the project grows. 2 OVERVIEW READ THIS - 2 page short overview v 2.4 CEC Project- Brief Overview This handbook is Draft V 8 a work in progress, feedback can be shared (email [email protected]) so that the project can evolve by crowd sourcing wisdom. We acknowledge there is work needed in many aspects of this evolving CEC Handbook. Many ideas are currently included with a view to selecting what works as we go. The Climate Emergency Centres (CEC) project has grown out of 30 years of grassroots environmental community centre projects, which began in 1992 after the Rio Earth Summit. At this critical time for our planet what is needed is the spaces and infrastructure to help people connect and gather resources to take action for a sustainable future. We aim to on board every local authority that has declared a Climate Emergency (330+ in the UK) https://www.climateemergency.uk to support its local community to set up self funding climate emergency and community solutions centres in every area.
    [Show full text]
  • 20130808 Walker Research Note Feola Nunes
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Central Archive at the University of Reading Walker Institute for Climate System Research Research Note 4 Date: August 2013 Failure and Success of Transition Initiatives: a study of the international replication of the Transition Movement G. Feola 1 3, R.J. Nunes 2 3. 1 Department of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Reading, UK 2 School of Real Estate and Planning, University of Reading, UK 3 Walker Institute for Climate System Research, University of Reading, UK The University of Reading’s Walker Institute for Climate System Research aims to enhance understanding and improve prediction of the risks and opportunities from our changing climate. www.walker-institute.ac.uk Walker Institute Research Note 4: Failure and Success of Transition Initiatives: a study of the international replication of the Transition Movement ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors are grateful to all members of the Transition Initiatives who took their time to participate in this study, and to those who did not but who sent constructive critics and comments that helped the authors improve the research. Celeste Salter, Michelle Bastian, Marco Mauri, Isabela Maria Gomez de Menezes, Holly Salvidge, Jesus Cordero-Salvado, Janine Baudach, Sophie Raynaud, and Rogerio Henrique de Abreu provided invaluable help at different stages of the survey design, translation and dissemination. The authors also thank Amy Burnett, Peter McManners and Gill Seyfang for their comments on an earlier version of this manuscript, and Joan Allibone for proof reading. The project was co-funded by the School of Human and Environmental Sciences and the School of Real Estate and Planning at the University of Reading.
    [Show full text]
  • European Solar Prize 2017
    European Solar Prize 2017 – Premio per la categoria Solar Architecture and urban planning al progetto Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center di Renzo Piano, proposto da Eurosolar Italia Breve resoconto dell’attività Promuovere la riuscita implementazione delle energie rinnovabili - con questa intenzione EUROSOLAR ha premiato città, comuni, architetti, società e società private, associazioni, organizzazioni e cooperative, giornalisti e, naturalmente, cittadini che sostengono attivamente la transizione energetica con il Premio Solare negli ultimi 24 anni. I pionieri ed i leader del settore sono messi al centro dell'attenzione del pubblico e illustrano come sia possibile un uso realistico e praticabile dell'energia rinnovabile e come possa contribuire alla completa trasformazione del sistema energetico. Verso la fine di ogni anno, i vincitori del premio sono invitati ad un evento celebrativo in una città europea. Precedentemente tenutasi a Praga e Barcellona, quest'anno l'edizione del Premio Solare Europeo si terrà a Vienna, coordinata da Eurosolar Austria. Per l’edizione 2017, Eurosolar Italia ha promosso la candidatura del progetto dello Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, realizzato ad Atene nel 2016 dall’architetto italiano Renzo Piano, per la categoria Solar Architecture and urban planning del Premio Solare Europeo 2017. Il progetto è risultato vincitore e verrà premiato nella Cerimonia ufficiale organizzata a Vienna per il 18 novembre dall’Eurosolar presso la Technical University Vienna (Tu the Sky). Al mattino, si terrà un simposio sul tema "La transizione energetica in Europa". I relatori presenteranno e discuteranno potenzialità e soluzioni per un sistema energetico europeo sostenibile nei settori dell'architettura solare, della pianificazione urbana, dell'energia economica e della politica energetica.
    [Show full text]
  • 100% Renewable
    100% Renewable — Edited by Peter Droege 234mm x 156mm trim size — PPC hardback — Spine width: 31mm — ISBN 978-1-84407-718-2 100% RENEWABLE 100% ‘This inspiring book is long overdue. It tackles The greatest challenge of our time is to build a an essential question for human survival in the world based on the sustainable use of renewable 21st century: will we be able to transform our power. Our massive dependence on fossil fuels lives, businesses, buildings, settlements and has upset the very climatic system that made the transport networks connecting them from human evolution possible. The global economy unsustainable, oil-based and greenhouse-gas- and its financial system are in jeopardy, running emitting into sustainable, fossil-fuel-free, zero- hot on overtly cheap yet increasingly costly and carbon metabolisms? This important volume and fast depleting oil. A 100% renewable world is its two dozen contributors show that this path is seen by many as an impossible dream in anything necessary, practical and affordable. Read this but the very long term. But not only do a growing book: its exciting, fresh insights will show you number of initiatives and plans dare to make the how to move from promise to practice.’ change but many have already achieved it. Marco KEinEr Director, Environment, Housing and Land This rich collection presents a series of pioneering Management Division, United nations efforts and their champions, and the paths to their Economic commission for Europe successes. Ranging from initiatives by individuals to visions for companies, communities and entire ‘100% renewable was always more than a Moon countries, it defeats tired economic and technical Shot or a Manhattan Project as we just could counter-arguments, showing how the schemes not imagine how it could ever happen.
    [Show full text]
  • Relevance and Potential of the Transition Movement
    Overview of responses from the Transition movement evaluation survey Relevance and potential of the Transition movement Image: Kyle Glenn on Unsplash March 2021 1 In November 2020 Transition Network launched an evaluation of the impact, relevance and potential of Transition. Our survey was open during November 2020, gathering 377 responses from 32 countries. This document presents an emerging, “rough analysis” overview of the survey responses, in relation to Relevance and Potential. A separate companion document presents the overview in relation to Impacts. There are other aspects we will continue to analyse, including evaluation reports sent in by Transition groups, the discussion groups held in December 2020, and academic papers. We will also be organising further ways to explore and discuss the emerging analysis. _______________ The first section of this report describes the story so far of the Evaluation project, where we are in an ongoing process. After this, there is an overview of the responses to each of the questions within the Relevance and Potential sections of the survey. This document then examines what survey responses reveal about the possible futures that people are expecting and preparing for. The document concludes with the eight emerging themes and tensions that we saw and described from the survey responses ahead of the December discussion groups, which still feel relevant. What do you think? CONTENTS The story so far, of the Evaluation project Overview of survey respondents Impacts of Transition Relevance of Transition Q16. What is the Transition movement really good at, that is needed widely or urgently now, and over the next few years? Q17.
    [Show full text]