Invited Presenters among other:
Hans-Joseph Fell, Hans Josef Fell has been a member of the Bundestag (German Parliament) since 1998. He is the chief representative of the Green Party in the Environment Committee of the Bundestag and deputy chairman of EUROSOLAR. In 1999, he drafted the Renewable Energy Bill. He has received numerous awards and edited several books. He studied sports and physics at Würzburg University and did alternative civilian service.Contribution
Plenary speech and workshop of 1 ½ hours"Everybody is in favour of climate protection, but only a few take adequate actions. Is it always the others who are responsible? Or: How shall we generate new social forces?"
Climate change is the most serious threat to human existence. But mankind hasn’t taken adequate measures to solve the problem, neither in politics nor on the levels of individual persons or civil society. It’s welcome if all social groups reflect about possible solutions and propose strategies. But technological and individual solutions do already exist: Renewable energies and energy saving measures could solve the climate problem in a rapid and cost-efficient manner if the decisive social forces became effective. It’s increasingly evident that rather psychological than technical obstacles hamper the solution of the climate problem. Therefore it’s more and more necessary that broad circles of society tackle the problem in order to develop strategies for a rapid solution. Climate scientists are trained in natural sciences, they can present scientific solutions but no strategies for the implementation of such solutions within society. With regard to this, psychological expertise is needed.
A conference which deals with the confrontation “I am… You are…” might highlight important psychological obstacles and identify approaches for solution. Are the environmentalists, who are aware of the problem, too confrontational and too cautionary? Do they assign blame too strongly so that they aren’t accepted by broad circles of society? Why do many people collectively behave in a manner that is so climate-destructive? Is it due to the lack of information, due to the profit seeking of the big corporations or due to the compliance of politicians? Is it hardened fronts that result in non-violent or violent demonstrations ahead of summit conferences? Are there any simple strategies which enable the people themselves to achieve climate protection? After all, almost everybody is in favour of it!
Both the speech and the workshop shall go further into these questions. Possible strategies for creating a broad public movement to fight global warming shall be discussed. Moreover we shall focus on the question of how politicians, managers and other decision-makers can be motivated to take adequate measures. Could modern psychological methods like Gestalt therapy and systemic constellations offer support?
The question is about the survival of mankind. During the conference, some ideas might be developed about how to break through the psychological barriers which stand in the way of an effective climate protection policy.
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