The ICA co-organised an international meeting convened by the United Nations General Assembly in Stockholm, Sweden, on 2 June.
The Stockholm+50 meeting marked the week of World Environment Day (5 June) as well as five decades from the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, which highlighted the importance of the environment for human wellbeing.
The event aimed to exchange concrete measures that governments are taking to redefine the priorities for a new economic system.
ICA Director General Bruno Roelants told delegates that cooperatives were “in a unique position to raise members' awareness about the importance of reducing their carbon footprints – and partnering with governments, as well as the diverse private sector, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions significantly”.
He mentioned some of the ways cooperatives had contributed to climate change adaptation – such as providing mutual insurance for crops; supporting diversification of crops, and improving watershed management. Mr Roelants added that cooperatives contribute towards mitigation, especially in the renewable energy, forestry and agroforestry sectors.
He said cooperatives can drive climate change prevention and mitigation through local management and democratic member control; local knowledge experience and environmental education in line with the 5th Cooperative Principle on Education, Training and Information.
“The cooperative movement is a sustainable entrepreneurial model, so governments should strongly and explicitly promote it by providing an appropriate legal and policy framework,” he said. “This is a call to strongly and explicitly promote the cooperative approach as a model of development that is not only inherently sustainable but also has the means to deliver. We hope that the incoming post-COVID period will be an opportunity to do so.”
Other speakers included Patrizia Heidegger, Director for Global Policies and Sustainability, European Environmental Bureau; Virginijus Sinkevičius, Environment Commissioner, European Commission; Sophie Howe, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales; Tshering Gyaltshen Penjor, Ambassador to the EU, Kingdom of Bhutan; Jennifer del Rosario-Malonzo, Executive Director, IBON International (Philippines); Nina Gualinga, Environmental Defender Kichwa community, Amazon Watch (Ecuador); Georgina Muñoz, Co-Chair, Global Call for Action Against Poverty, Co-President of Latindadd (Nicaragua); and Ebrima Sall, Executive Director, TrustAfrica (The Gambia).
Watch the full event here.
