Warsaw: The Next Bicycle-friendly City?
It is six years since former Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski warned fellow Poles to beware of a ‘world made up of cyclists and vegetarians’ – one he claimed had little in common with traditional Polish values. Although Waszczykowski has long since left office, his interview back then left scars, as a press officer for the Department of Urban Planning in Warsaw told the Tagesspiegel newspaper.
Climate Action Starts on Your Plate – Plant-Based Alternatives
Climate action starts on your plate and is thanks to a huge selection of plant-based alternatives very easy nowadays. Two EUKI projects raise awareness among young people and adults on this topic.
This report by REScoop.eu, the implementing organization of the EUKI project EUCENA, aims to understand the status quo of gender relations and the integration of women and men in energy communities. It also proposes strategies for mainstreaming gender in policy and practice.
Green(ing) H2: EU Workshop
From the community
© GreeningH2 Project
Accelerating the development of the European hydrogen market plays a crucial role in achieving energy resilience and climate neutrality. Despite the blueprint outlined, there are still many challenges and concerns which need to be addressed, to ensure the hydrogen strategy is designed and played out with a focus on sustainability. Hence, and building up on the series of national workshops organised in each consortium’s country, the partnering organisations of the Green(ing) H2 have launched an European level workshop. It aimed to discuss the Hydrogen Accelerator Plan, outlined by the European Commission in the RePowerEU Plan, and cross-check whether it fits with member states’ perspectives and plans by focussing on the consortium countries’ cases: Germany, Poland and Portugal. 14 July 22 | Agenda #registered: 110 EUKI funded project Green(ing) H2 hosted an outstanding panel of speakers to address different Member States’ Perspective on the EU Hydrogen Accelerator. Our panellists Esther Bollendorff, Ewa Mazur, Jeannette Uhlig, Henning Ehrenstein and Sofia G. Simões provided an insightful perspective on the German, Polish and Portuguese strategies for the hydrogen economy and how it contrasts and aligns with the Hydrogen Accelerator Plan outlined by the European Commission in the RePowerEU Plan. Here is a selection of key insights that we gathered:
EU WORKSHOP – Member States’ Perspective on the EU Hydrogen Accelerator
#attendees: 58
#panellists: 5
Project
EUKI funded project that partners 3 European NGOs – Instrat Foundation (Poland), Germanwatch (Germany) and ZERO (Portugal) focused on engaging civil society in the process of making European hydrogen infrastructure green, fair, and sustainable.
© Green(ing) H2 EU Workshop: Member States’ Perspective on the EU Hydrogen Accelerator
Germanwatch, Instrat Foundation and ZERO would like to thank all panellists for their contributions to the discussion and all attendees for their valuable questions.
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Green(ing) H2: National Workshops
Green(ing) H2 is a European Climate Initiative (EUKI) funded project that partners 3 European NGOs – Instrat Foundation (Poland), Germanwatch (Germany) and ZERO (Portugal) focused on promoting green Hydrogen to achieve climate neutrality by engaging civil society to make Europe’s H2 infrastructure green, fair and sustainable.
Training sessions for the new volunteers
September marked the arrival of 6 new volunteers from Germany and France to the Humus per la Biosfera project in Sicily. Most of them will stay for one year to contribute to our project on humus growth and environmental education with school children.
“When nobody talks, knows or hears about it, you might as well not do it”
Besides giving an inspirational speech in #EUKICON22’s panel discussion on the Future Tracks for a green transition, Sven Egenter spoke with us about the importance of communication in climate action.
The publication shows how to implement climate friendly kitchens in schools. The EUKI project Clikis Network has put together a handbook that can be used by schools, educators, administrative staff in schools to make better climate-friendly menus and to reduce the energy outputs. This is aligned with the EU goals on reducing carbon footprint.
On the occasion of its 5th anniversary, the European Climate Initiative (EUKI) published an interactive e-paper. In words and figures, it illustrates the idea behind the EUKI and presents two of the 179 climate action projects financed so far. Quotes from Federal Minister Dr. Robert Habeck and the director of the Polish think tank Forum Energii, Joana Pandera, outline the political framework of the initiative. The clickable icons provide you with further information on the annual call for project ideas, the EUKI Academy and the 8 topics of the EUKI.
Climate Action Connecting Europe – EUKI E-Paper 2022
Youth Activists against the Climate Crisis
From the community
Matej Zlatev
As the climate crisis becomes one of the most important global challenges we’re facing today, it’s more important than ever to engage as many people as possible in building solutions and working towards positive change. Young people especially are a major group with a lot of untapped potential in the area of climate activism, which is why WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) offices in Bulgaria, Romania, and Serbia, UNABG (United Nations Association of Bulgaria), and CEPF (Czech Environmental Partnership Foundation) are working with youth to help them develop into climate heroes for the future of the planet. For the second year in a row, the EUKI-supported Climate Heroes project worked with young people in Central and Eastern Europe, providing them with knowledge and support to start their own environmental initiatives. Climate Heroes: Youth Voices for Sustainable Living started last year, and in its first phase engaged 49 young people from the region, many of whom are still active in the field of climate change activism. During the project, they launched a total of 20 initiatives, the 12 most impactful were presented during the first regional forum which was hosted online in the autumn of 2021. Learn more about the first cycle of the project. This year, in the second round of the project, around 60 young people from the region participated in the educational and capacity-building project, then organized into groups and began working on their ideas for climate change mitigation. This year, it was possible to organize the regional forum in person, so their efforts culminated in a 3-day trip to meet their peers and fellow climate activists face to face. The regional forum was held in Brno, Czech Republic, where 33 selected participants from Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, and the Czech Republic were able to present their initiatives, exchange experiences, and share knowledge and ideas. Regional Climate Heroes Forum When asked about impressions, the overwhelming majority of participants had a positive experience and many of them highlighted the importance of connecting and meeting others with similar interests, sharing different perspectives, and learning from each other. “I found it interesting that the participants had different approaches to the problem of climate change. Each Initiative came to its solution in a beautiful and creative way,” one participant shared, while another added: “We can’t do much on our own, but we can do something and influence others”. Participants presented their work and achievements to the audience of their peers and to the jury, who selected three initiatives with the potential biggest climate impact. Along with the three awarded initiatives, two more initiatives received special recognition for best presentation at the forum. However, all of the work by the young people involved in the project was highlighted as relevant and crucial by the jury and the organizers, with the hope that these young people continue their good work, and inspire many others to get involved. We want young people to lead us to a brighter future because the future belongs to them! Other initiatives worked on topics such as raising awareness through digital campaigns, like Gen Eco with their social media networks and Together4Planet, through video campaigns. Sea Frame on the other hand took a more direct approach with its campaign to increase visibility and draw attention to environmental problems. KompostIN and Sustainable Food Revolution focused on food waste and food production and their impact on the environment. While Food for Earth goes to the root of the problem by tackling soil degradation. EcoHub is working on creating a climate change guide to help people reduce their carbon footprint, while the team behind Eko stopovačka used digital tools and quizzes to bring fun and games to learning about ecology. In addition to presenting their work and networking, participants had the opportunity to go on a mobility tour of the city and visit a sustainably developed neighborhood designed for climate change adaptation and mitigation. The regional forum was a great conclusion to months of learning, dedication, and innovation, but also a great chance for young people to find like-minded individuals, get inspired and motivated to continue in their fight against the climate crisis. As one of the participants commented during the Forum: “Anything you wanna do you can do and there are people who will support you, you just need to go find them and fight for what you want”.
Climate Heroes
VIDEO
The winning initiatives for 2022
Further information
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