Contents

1. Anne Pettifor to speak at Cultivate tomorrow
2. Climate Group sets up campaigning organisation
3. Have Your Say on climate change policy
4. Discussion evenings in Dublin
5. Nic Marks on Wellbeing for Annual Feasta Lecture
6. Workshop planned on community currencies
7. Make YOUR submission to the Energy Green Paper
8. Membership

Ann Pettifor to speak at Cultivate tomorrow

Tuesday 24th October at 7.30pm
Cultivate centre, Temple Bar, Dublin

Ann Pettifor is a remarkable and inspiring woman, best known for the campaign she cofounded in 1996, which became the international Jubilee 2000 movement. In May 1998, Ann led a protest of more than 70,000 people in Birmingham, to form a human chain around the annual G8 Summit, demanding debt cancellation. A year later, the G8 agreed at their Cologne Summit to cancel, over time, $110bn of debt owed by 41 of the poorest countries. Jubilee 2000, "one of the most effective global campaigns" mobilized the first-ever global petition of 24 million signatures; the support of world leaders like Tony Blair, Bill Clinton, Gerhard Schroeder, the Pope, the Dalai Lama, Muslim leaders and the Archbishop of Canterbury, celebrities like Bono, Bob Geldof, Youssou n'Dour and Thom York, and many thousands of international policy makers.

Awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Newcastle in 2000 and an honorary Masters by the Archbishop of Canterbury in 2001, Ann has been granted the freedom of the city of Callao in Peru, the 2000 Pax Christi International Peace Prize, and honoured by Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition. Check out Ann's blog at annpettifor.blogspot.com.

Come and hear Ann Pettifor speak at the Cultivate centre, next Tuesday - 24th October at 7.30pm, admission €15, €12 concession for Feasta and Cultivate members. The lecture is one of the series Understanding the Economics of Sustainability, a Feasta course in association with Cultivate and Trócaire.

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Climate Group sets up campaigning organisation, Cap & Share

November 4th is World Climate Day, and Feasta members will be among those distributing leaflets at a massive rally planned for Trafalgar Square in London. But they won't be giving out Feasta leaflets. Instead, their flyers will carry the name Cap and Share, an organisation they have just set up to promote the idea that the world's emissions of greenhouse gases should be capped ­ limited ­ and the rights to the allowed amount of emissions distributed on an equal per capita basis to everyone on the planet. See http://www.feasta.org/documents/energy/November2005.htm.

The idea of having a separate campaigning organisation was born at a meeting the group held in Wales in early September. "The group has as many members living in Britain as in Ireland" says Bruce Darrell, who chaired the Welsh meeting, "so, since our January planning meeting had been held in Dublin, we thought we should meet on the other side of the Irish Sea."

During the planning weekend, the group held a public meeting in Machynlleth in co-operation with the Centre for Alternative Technology. "We didn't expect many people to come but the room was packed. Standing room only" Darrell says. An experienced campaigner, Will Howard, who went along joined the group and has been driving forward the Cap and Share Campaign ever since. A website, www.capandshare.org is being set up but it may not be live by the time you read this. However, drafts of two of the leaflets can be seen on a temporary site, http://ratchet.it/files/informationsheet1.pdf and http://ratchet.it/files/informationsheet2.pdf.

"Feasta would risk losing its charitable status if it conducted an extensive campaign" Darrell says. "It would also be bad for the organisation because it would force us to concentrate on a limited area. This would mean that we couldn't operate well as a think-tank which needs to take a wide view. That's why a new body was necessary".

The Irish end of the Cap and Share campaign will get off to a slower start. "We want to influence next year's elections" Emer O'Siochru says. Meanwhile, anyone interested in getting involved should email energy@feasta.org, or come to the Cap & Share campaign meeting. The presentation and feedback is on Tuesday, November 7th, at Cultivate in Temple bar at 7.30pm.

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Have your say on climate policy

The Irish government wants to know what you think Ireland should do about climate change and. Friends of the Earth has launched a website ,a href="http://www.climatepledge.ie" target="_blank">www.climatepledge.ie so that you can press for real action. It'll take you just a few minutes to tell the government that you think it's time to take the threat of climate change seriously. Ireland's climate pollution has risen by almost twice the amount allowed under the Kyoto Protocol. Now the Irish Government is saying it will develop a new Climate Change Strategy and they have invited the public to make recommendations. You can make a submission here, right now. You can send a submission based on Friends of the Earth's suggestions or you can promote Feasta's. It's up to you. You can register your concern in a couple of clicks or you can put together a whole policy portfolio. Either way, every submission adds to the pressure for the Government to take the issue more seriously . The push for real action to ensure Ireland does its fair share to prevent climate chaos starts here. http://en.euemissions.com/index.php/site/blog/

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Discussion Evenings in Dublin

Feasta discussion evenings have started in Dublin and will take place on the first Tuesday of each month. These informal gatherings have been started to satisfy a need within the Feasta membership for more opportunities for face-to-face meeting and interaction. These evenings do not replace any of the existing structures within Feasta, which include work groups, the executive committee, email lists and the soon to be launched web-based discussion boards. Instead they offer an additional forum for introducing new ideas, getting feedback on the development of projects, learning more about the work and ideas of other members and contributing to the collective thinking process that is so essential to Feasta's work. Perhaps most importantly, they offer an opportunity to meet other members and to engage in stimulating discussions. All members and potential members are invited to attend. Notice of each gathering will be sent out by email in advance of the monthly meeting.

For more information, or if you have a specific idea or project that you would like to discuss, please contact Bruce Darrell at 087 2270359 or bkd@indigo.ie.

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Name of 2006 Feasta Lecturer announced - Nic Marks

This year's Feasta lecture will be given by Nic Marks, head of the New Economics Foundation centre for wellbeing. Nic was the co-author of the first edition of the UK Index of Sustainable Economics Welfare, which nef co-published in 1994. He has been a close associate of Manfred Max Neef, the Chilean Ecological Economist for over a decade and the Wellbeing programme is in part seeking to operationalise some of Max Neef's ideas in the policy arena.

Ni was instrumental in developing The Happy Planet Index, the first ever index to combine environmental impact with wellbeing to measure the environmental efficiency with which country by country, people live long and happy lives. The lecture will take place on December 6th. More on this closer to the time.

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Workshop on community currencies

One of Feasta's core positions is that the present debt based money system is dysfunctional and needs to be replaced if we are ever to be able to live sustainably. We think that several currencies would be required to do a proper job and have proposed a new world currency, the ebcu, based on emissions rights, and, within the EU, supplementing the euro with over 200 regional currencies, one for each city and its hinterland. We also think that much more local, community currencies will also be required. Accordingly, Feasta has arranged for John Rogers, one of the world's leading experts on community currencies, to give a seminar on Friday, December 1st for community groups interested in finding out what such currencies might enable them to achieve. John is project co-ordinator of the Welsh Institute for Community Currencies, a partnership between University of Wales Newport, Valleys Kids and Time Banks UK, which is part-financed with European Regional Development Funds. The event is being held in conjunction with the Partners (Training for Transformation) organisation. More details will be posted on the Feasta website shortly. Attendance will be limited to 15, so if you are connected with a community organisation and would like to attend, please contact money@feasta.org to register your interest.

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Make YOUR submission to the energy Green Paper

The Green Paper is a consultative document which will lead to a more formal energy policy being published in a White paper early in the New Year. If you do think that climate change and energy security is an issue we all have a responsibility to address then you can read the Green Paper on the Governments website http://www.dcmnr.gov.ie/Energy

Feasta will be making a submission and you make your submission by the 1st of December. Submissions on the Green Paper should be sent not later than 1st December 2006 to:

Energy Green Paper Submissions,
Energy Planning Division,
Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources,
Adelaide Road,
Dublin 2
or (preferably) by email to EnergyGreenPaper2006@dcmnr.ie

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Membership

Membership of FEASTA gives you the opportunity to support the foundation's work and entitles you to two print newsletters, quarterly e-mail bulletins, and concessions on our events and publications.

€20 for a years membership
€10 concession for students and unwaged
€30 for a voluntary group or organisation
€65 for a funded group or organisation

If you are not a member please consider becoming one. Credit card payments accepted, and of course, donations are very welcome and much needed.