Speakers at the 2011 SLOW LIFE Symposium
At the Ecological Sequestration Trust we are passionate about increasing the speed and scale of change towards a low-carbon, resource efficient future. It was wonderful to spend quality time with like-minded people at the SLOW LIFE Symposium.
Leadership is critical and it is hard not to be humbled by President Mohamed Nasheed’s willingness to step forward on the global stage to demonstrate a low carbon transition and champion the plight of small island states, if others do not follow suit.
We need to adopt a closed loop system inspired by nature. A system where every output by a living organism is also an input which replenishes the whole environment. To assure our own long-term well-being, we need to emulate the ecology of natural systems.
The Trust’s mission is to demonstrate practical solutions, built on this approach though demonstration projects that are economically and ecologically sustainable. Whilst our initial focus has been on urban scenarios in the BRIC economies, it is just as applicable to small island states.
I left the Maldives energised to help President Nasheed and the leaders of other small island states by expanding the scope of our programme. The Trust can act as a ‘planning integrator’. And we will be able to provide the planning & implementation tools necessary to achieve this. I offered to work with the Carbon War Room and other Symposium attendees to support the President. We will work to find a Patron to underpin this effort and those of other NGO’s.