What can You as a Rotarian do today for my great-grandchildren's habitat?
The District's Sustainability Committee presents completed, ongoing and planned local activities around Climate, Biological Diversity, More Efficient Resource Use as well as reflections and thoughts about how we can make Rotary's commitment to environmental issues visible and attract more people to participate.
Have you noticed that the climate has changed?
We have gotten warmer in recent years. This is due to an increased amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The heat not only affects us humans, but leads to melting of glaciers and thawing of permafrost areas. All this together means that we have got an imbalance in the atmosphere, on the surface of the earth and far down in the oceans.
It will become increasingly difficult to live in certain places and we will have climate migrants who, among other things, will come to Sweden, who managed to avoid changes relatively easily.
What does Rotary do?
Rotary has introduced a seventh focus area in The Rotary Foundation, TRF, to Protect the Environment. This means that clubs can apply for funds to carry out environmental projects. Rotary as an organization has actively started participating in COP meetings. The Conference of the Parties, COP, are annual meetings where the world's leaders from states, companies and organizations meet to find solutions that break today's negative climate trends.
We need more knowledge
We are some Rotarians in the district's Sustainability Committee who delved into the issue, read António Guterres' letter to his grandson, IPCC reports, the climate policy council's report, the climate book by Greta Thunberg, the ocean feeling by Isabella Lövin and a further number of books and reports to try to understand where we are i Rotary more locally can do for the climate.
Do you and your club want to join?
Contact the Sustainability Committee at hu2365@rotary.se
Here are links to the various documents.
António Guterres letter