"Facing the Future: the Climate Summit in Copenhagen and beyond"

Conference "Facing the Future: the Climate Summit in Copenhagen and beyond" took place at the Central European University on November 4, 2009 in Budapest.

It preceded the World Science Forum starting on November 5, 2009 at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

The Conference, supported by the Swedish Embassy to Hungary with participation of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, World Science Forum and the Ombudsman for Future Generations, aimed for raising awareness and increasing understanding about what should and can be done to save our planet at the Copenhagen summit and beyond.

The Conference targeted a broad audience in Hungary including mainly students, but also NGOs and civil society, media as well as selected policy makers, diplomats and academics. It provided a platform for a dialogue on climate and energy issues between various generations, sectors and disciplines.

The Opening plenary session featured a panel of prominent keynote speakers who addressed the following questions:

1. The price of “business as usual” and what needs to be done at Copenhagen. The latest scientific evidence on the speed, scale, and the potential consequences of climate change and its impacts.  What would be the benchmarks for success or failure of the Copenhagen summit? What may happen after Copenhagen?
2. The options for action. What policies, practices and technologies can counteract climate change? What are their economic and other costs and benefits?

The Opening plenary was followed by a press-conference and a lunch hosted by the Swedish Embassy and the Ombudsman for Future Generations.

The afternoon break-out sessions were focusing on the following:

• The science of climate change and its impacts
• Technologies and practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions: sustainable construction
• Policies, politics and economics of dealing with climate change 
• Towards sustainable future: visions, scenarios, systems and pathways