Prof. Dr. Dr. Klaus Töpfer

Klaus Töpfer is a German politician and environmental politics expert and former German Federal Minister for the Environment. From 1998 to 2006 he was executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The Copenhagen Summit once again showed that the road towards an global legally binding climate deal is a rocky one. While our politicians and senior diplomats struggle to find a political consensus, the world’s population is growing, energy consumption reaches record levels, and the worldwide competition for resources becomes fiercer. Limiting global warming to two degrees becomes more challenging every day. There is no time to stand still and wait for an international consensus at the top. We, as individuals, must learn, think and act now in order to reach a societal consensus for sustainable development.

The World Student Environmental Summit is an important step in this direction. It provides young and motivated students with a platform for the exchange of knowledge and ideas. The students have the chance to deepen their understanding of the complex interrelations between society, economy and environment. This knowledge will enable them to design their own environment and to prepare the world for the generations to come. Through controversial discussion and in a bottom-up fashion, the leaders of tomorrow are given the opportunity to trigger projects and initiatives at the local, regional and global level.

The exchange between students from different countries, with diverse perspectives and academic backgrounds, acting as representatives of different interest groups leads to the internalization of a multidimensional and multidisciplinary way of thinking about sustainability. The World Student Environmental Summit allows for the discovery of the other that would else wise have passed unperceived. I particularly encourage the participation of student representatives from developing and emerging countries. It is only through the regular exchange of ideas between individuals from industrialized, emerging and developing countries that equitable and sustainable global development can be achieved. This exchange cannot start early enough.

These are only few of the reasons why I wish the World Student Environmental Summit the best of success.