A world you like. With a climate you like

European Commissioner for Climate Action Connie Hedegaard launched a pan-European communication campaign with the support of more than 70 organisations from across Europe, including EuroCharity, under the slogan A world you like. With a climate you like, on Monday, October 8, 2012. The campaign seeks to put practical solutions at the centre of the climate change debate and demonstrate how climate action can increase welfare and bring economic benefits to European citizens.

"We have a choice: We can ACT on our knowledge about climate change. Or we can sit idly by and watch as things get worse. Both options come with a price tag. So why not create a world we like, with a climate we like - while we still have time? With this campaign we want to focus the debate on the solutions and find out what is holding us back from applying them," Commissioner Hedegaard said.

Michael Spanos, Managing Partner, EuroCharity, participated in the launch event, Visions for a world you like, which was held at London's City Hall. EuroCharity along with other campaign partners as well as citizens joined Commissioner Hedegaard, UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Davey and other speakers in London to kick off the debate on climate solutions. The discussions were streamed live on the campaign's Facebook page (www.facebook.com/EUClimateAction) and contributions can be made on Twitter at #worldulike.

Across Europe there are abundant examples of intelligent, innovative climate solutions that reduce CO2 pollution while also improving people's quality of life. For example, Stockholm's central rail station converts the excess body heat of commuters into heat for a nearby office building, reducing not only emissions but also the building's energy bill by 20-25%.

Such "win-win" solutions – where saving money, time and greenhouse gas emissions go hand in hand – are at the heart of the communication campaign, which will run until the end of 2013. The campaign aims to showcase existing cost-efficient solutions for achieving the EU's objective of an 80-95% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Centred on a Web site ( http://world-you-like.europa.eu/en/ ) soon to be available in all 23 EU languages (currently only available in English), the campaign is designed as a platform for participation where individuals, businesses and local groups will be able to upload, promote and discuss their low-carbon solutions and take part in a pan-European contest to find the best and most original ones.

Partnerships with like-minded organisations such as EuroCharity are a central part of the campaign. More than 70 organisations are already confirmed campaign partners, including business associations, universities, non-governmental organisations and government institutions. The Commission's intention is to enroll more partners as the campaign evolves.

More events will follow in a number of Member States, including Bulgaria, Italy, Poland and Portugal, in the course of 2012-2013.

Background

"A world you like. With a climate you like." is the European Commission campaign to promote climate action and a low-carbon economy run by the European Commission's Directorate-General (DG) for Climate Action. The campaign will run until the end of 2013 and aims to showcase existing cost-efficient solutions for achieving the EU's objective of an 80-95% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

It is a follow-up to the Commission's "Roadmap for moving to a competitive low-carbon economy in 2050" from March 2011, which sets out pathways for deep but cost-effective emission reductions by the main economic sectors.  The Roadmap shows that building a low-carbon economy will increase investments in clean technologies and infrastructure such as smart electricity grids, and will drastically lower import bills for oil and gas.

In the medium-term, by 2020, the EU aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20%, improve energy efficiency by 20% and boost the share of renewables in the energy mix to 20%. Currently, EU emissions are more than 17% below 1990 levels.

Further information

List of EU-wide projects: http://world-you-like.europa.eu/en/success-stories.

For more information about the Roadmap for moving to a competitive low-carbon economy in 2050, see DG Climate Action's Web site at http://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/roadmap/index_en.htm.

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