A few months ago I received a telephone call from Tariq Banuri, head of the UN's Division for Sustainable Development.  At the time, I was wandering around the building site where my wife and I are constructing an eco- and climate-friendly house, outside of Stockholm.  "Can you talk now?" said Tariq.  I sat myself down … Continue reading Whatever Works: Of Green New Deals, Marshall Plans, and Energy Revolutions in Copenhagen at CoP-15

Note: This is the final installment in a six-part series. You might want to read them in sequence. My tent is back in the closet. The great circus tent used for the Tällberg Forum's plenary sessions is undoubtedly on its way back home to Italy. The Tällberg Companion -- the little book with schedules, participant … Continue reading Camping at Tällberg – Epilogue

John Elkington is leading a very lively discussion on aid and entrepreneurism. "Does aid work?" says a young Kenyan entrepreneur, whose name I missed (he is a late addition to the program). His answer is a clear no, backing up, strengthening, a point made by Iqbal Quadir. Quadir asked Sweden directly -- because the Deputy … Continue reading Camping at Tällberg – Episode 5: Cold Water Cooking

Morning again. Somehow folks crawled out of bed after dancing and drinking past midnight, and made their way to the big tent by 8:30 (it is full when I get there) to experience the climate change negotiations game run by Drew Jones and other colleagues. First, Drew Jones -- his voice almost wavers with emotion … Continue reading Camping at Tällberg – Episode 4: Stop Talking, Start Planting

Gro Harlem Brundtland is relating stories from her childhood -- as a Norwegian refugee in Stockholm during World War II, leading her little brother safely across streets, and the unexpected apology she received from her father, when she was 12 or 13, because he had cut her off in a debate and declared her simply … Continue reading Camping at Tällberg – Episode 3: An Evening of Standing Ovations

It's morning. I had a wonderful, quiet time by the Lake, sleeping, writing, playing guitar. (The photo was taken just after midnight, from my tentsite.) But now I walk (late) into the big tent of the Tällberg Forum. Global reality hits me like a desert wind. "The problem that we already thought was bad is … Continue reading Camping at Tällberg – Episode 2: A Bad Problem is Actually Much Worse

Bo Ekman formally opens the 2009 Tällberg Forum in his traditional way -- philosophically, and a bit theatrically. He asks us to just listen to the drip-drip-drip of a water drop, shown in video on the big screen. He reflects on the "the change of change" -- we used to think of nature as the … Continue reading Camping at Tällberg – Episode 1