Glion, Switzerland - July 10, 2009 - Last week in Switzerland, all four former leaders of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), along with current UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner, joined a group of emerging environmental leaders in strongly urging a new wave of action in the 21st century.

This unprecedented meeting, the Global Environmental Governance Forum hosted by the Global Environmental Governance Project, marked the first time that all five executive directors of UNEP have gathered together in one place. "This meeting sought to inspire and foster a new wave of leadership in global environmental governance, drawing on the knowledge of several generations of environmental leaders," said Maria Ivanova, director of the forum and the Global Environmental Governance Project, the joint initiative of The College of William and Mary and the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy.

The meeting in Switzerland drew an extraordinary group of environmental leaders from the past 40 years, including senior diplomats who have shaped today's international environmental laws and structures, those currently working to reshape the system for the century ahead, and a key group of young and emerging environmental leaders, including five Catto Fellows of the Aspen Institute.

Speaking at the close of three intense days of cross-generational discussion, the Catto Fellows and other young leaders offered practical ideas on how to kick-start a deep change in the way the world economy works to prioritize human welfare and on how to finally secure a long-lasting, sustainable approach to the use and preservation of our environment, which is the fundamental basis of that human welfare. "We will need to be as radical in our thinking as the first generation of doers were, and we will need to take action through our networks, using new media and all the tools we have at our disposal," said Plato Yip, an Aspen Institute Catto Fellow and director of environmental investments at Olympus Capital in Hong Kong. He and his cohort of young leaders stressed the need to secure greater accountability on environment-related commitments and advocated for more focus on environmental issues in broader international decision making and structures. "And we need to be making investments in the right places - investing in skills, in young people from all fields, and in our leaders," said Yip.

Leaders present at the meeting included Maurice Strong, the Secretary-General of the first United Nations Conference on the Human Environment and the Rio Earth Summit and founding executive director of UNEP; world renowned scientist Mostafa Tolba, who served as UNEP executive director for 17 years; Elizabeth Dowdeswell, former UNEP executive director and former Canadian deputy minister of the Environment; Klaus Töpfer, former German minister of the Environment and former UNEP executive director; and current UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner. Other participants included Gus Speth, dean of the Yale's School of Forestry & Environmental Studies; Mohamed El-Ashry, CEO of the Global Environment Facility from its inception to 2003; Yolanda Kakabadse, the president of the WWF International; and Julia Marton-Lefèvre, director-general of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

"The problems that we identified 40 years ago have now become far more acute, to the point where they literally threaten the future of life on Earth," remarked Dr. Strong, widely considered the founder of the global environmental movement.

While the group identified the current challenges to environmental governance at the meeting, leaders also pointed to a wide variety of solutions and ideas. "While the issues are complex and seemingly intractable, there are also many reasons for optimism," said William Ruckelshaus, the first administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency. "We have made important strides on environmental issues, and we need to keep moving forward with new solutions."

From October 27 to 28, 2009, in Washington, DC, the Aspen Institute, the Catto Fellowship Program of the Aspen Institute, and the Aspen Institute's Italian partner, Aspen Italia, will host a related meeting, the Aspen Institute International Forum on Global Environmental Governance, to explore how reform concepts and innovative thinking can improve international environmental problem solving and governance. This forum will convene leading former and standing foreign, environmental, and finance ministers; high-level government officials; and influential international business and NGO leaders to promote and advance leadership and innovation in global environmental governance. The Forum will also tap the enthusiasm and momentum around climate change, illustrating ways that reforming the current governance system can help achieve worldwide emissions-reduction goals. For more information on this meeting, please contact Catto Fellowship Project Manager and Energy and Environment Program Communications Manager Elizabeth Judge at elizabeth.judge@aspeninstitute.org.

The Catto Fellowship Program: The Catto Fellowship Program for Environmental Leaders is a two-year intensive leadership program that seeks to find creative solutions to global environmental problems by gathering 20 emerging leaders from business, government, and civil society to work collaboratively across public, private, and nonprofit lines.

The Aspen Institute: All Aspen Institute policy meetings share a common belief: Effective leadership is a product of problem-solving through thoughtful dialogue, shared values, and an intentional search for new outcomes.

The Aspen Institute mission is twofold: to foster values-based leadership, encouraging individuals to reflect on the ideals and ideas that define a good society, and to provide a neutral and balanced venue for discussing and acting on critical issues. The Aspen Institute does this primarily in four ways: seminars, young-leader fellowships around the globe, policy programs, and public conferences and events. The Institute is based in Washington, DC, Aspen, CO, and on the Wye River on Maryland's Eastern Shore and has an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org.

The Global Environmental Governance Project, a joint initiative of The College of William and Mary and the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy, aims to facilitate thought and action for strengthening environmental policymaking at the global level. Students and faculty conduct research that is theoretically based, empirically tested, and policy relevant. The Project provides a clearinghouse of environmental governance information for scholars, researchers, students, policymakers, and diplomats. It also incorporates the knowledge generated by students at William and Mary and Yale.

The Aspen Institute Energy and Environment Program provides nonpartisan leadership and a neutral forum for improving energy and environmental policy making through intentional, values-based dialogue. Through its policy work, public programs such as the Aspen Environment Forum, and the Catto Fellowship, an environmental leadership initiative, the Energy and Environment Program creates impartial venues for global leaders to engage in informed discussion around some of the most important and complex issues of our time.

The Aspen Institute mission is twofold: to foster values-based leadership, encouraging individuals to reflect on the ideals and ideas that define a good society, and to provide a neutral and balanced venue for discussing and acting on critical issues. The Aspen Institute does this primarily in four ways: seminars, young-leader fellowships around the globe, policy programs and public conferences and events. The Institute is based in Washington, DC, Aspen, Colorado, and on the Wye River on Maryland's Eastern Shore and has an international network of partners.

For more information on the Aspen Institute Energy and Environment Program visit www.aspeninstitute.org/ee.

Aspen Institute

Aspen Institute

The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC. Its mission is to foster leadership based on enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for dealing with critical issues. The Institute has campuses in Aspen, Colorado, and on the Wye River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. It also maintains offices in New York City and has an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org or follow on Twitter @AspenInstitute.

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