|
|
Effective grassroots non-governmental organizations deserve more credit for helping to promote positive societal change. That's why the Sierra Club has created this award. After all, our environment doesn't protect itself - civil society must actively be involved in the process. |
 |
Our goal is to give the first "Green Energy and Green Livelihoods Award" in early 2009 at a ceremony in Mumbai. The award will be accompanied by a $100K prize.
- Nomination Criteria And Guidelines
- Sierra Club India Advisory Council
- India Advisory Council Members
Why another environmental award? Why now?
Because India and the world now face one issue so overwhelming, so potentially devastating in consequence, that nothing less than civilization on our planet is under threat. That issue is global warming, and it is happening now. Western lifestyles, typified by the wasteful, inefficient use of the most polluting energy resources, have set a poor example for citizens in developing economies eager to improve their quality of life.
Nearly one half of India's population of 1.3 billion has no access to electricity, and many more suffer through regular power shortages. As both Indian and American newspapers have reported, roughly half a million Indians rely on animal waste and firewood as fuel for cooking. As a result said the New York Times, India's per capita carbon footprint remains a small fraction of that of the industrialized world -- the typical American produces almost 20 times the emissions of the average Indian -- and in turn empowers the central Indian argument for its right to consume more, not less, energy in the future. The reliance of both India and America on carbon fuel does not come without a steep long-term price for both countries, however.
India's 7,500 km (4,660 mile) coastline will be particularly hard-hit by storm surges and sea-level rise displacing millions, flooding low-lying areas, and damaging economic assets and infrastructure. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has reported that by the 2050s, freshwater availability is projected to decrease in Central, South, East and South-East Asia, particularly in large river basins. Climate change, the IPCC reports, is projected to multiply the pressures on natural resources and the environment associated with rapid urbanization, industrialization and economic development.
Former World Bank chief economist Nicholas Stern's 2006 report on the economic impact of climate change predicts that greenhouse gas emissions, if unchecked, would cause global temperatures to rise by 2-3 degrees centigrade in the next 50 years. In addition to diminishing India's agricultural output, this severe climate change would likely lead to more-and more devastating-natural disasters, as well as increased deaths due to higher occurrence of diseases. Additional IPCC reports predict that extreme weather could place 50 million people worldwide at risk of starvation by 2020, rising to an additional 132 million by 2050.
Despite such dire predictions, much of the world is moving ahead with far-reaching plans to build coal-fired power plants to fuel their booming economies, primarily because the fossil fuel is cheap and abundant. No solution to climate change, however, will be credible or effective without significant changes in this momentum and without investment in alternative energy sources, something India, China, and the United States must work on together.
Fortunately, India is a world leader in producing the kinds of green technology that can lead our countries into a brighter future. From wind to solar, biogas to alternative fuel vehicles, India is developing technologies that the world needs and this demand can in turn boost India's economic development. As one astute Indian corporate leader has already recognized, "green equals green."
Global threats require global solutions. The challenge for us all is to create partnerships that improve the quality of life for people while respecting and sustaining natural resources and systems. As organizations like the Sierra Club strive to drastically alter America's unsustainable resource consumption habits, it is essential that we also contribute innovative policy solutions for energy conservation and environmentally sustainable development efforts worldwide.
The Process
The award process will occur in close consultation with an Indian nominations board and a Sierra Club Prize Jury drawn from prominent Indian, America NRI and environmental experts. Sierra Club staff and representatives from the India-based recommendation committee will carefully research each nominee, perform due diligence with respect to each organization's authenticity and history of performance, and review the qualifications of staff and financial viability of each organization before recommending three semifinalists to the Sierra Club prize jury.
The new India and China partnership programs now under development are the Sierra Club's first staffed and funded foray into full-scale international relationships, and will go beyond the organization's historic emphasis on influencing U.S. environmental policy (although that will remain part of the mix).
The Nominators and Recommendation Committee
The Sierra Club will invite award nominations from 100 select environment and development community non-governmental organizations across India. The Sierra Club will collect award nominations sent to India.Program@sierraclub.org and then forward those nominations to a select body of leaders from the Indian community, including business, arts, entertainment, academic and non-governmental society. These 15-20 leaders will form the prize "Recommendation Committee" and will then choose three semifinalists to be sent to the non-resident Indian membership of the Sierra Club's India program advisory council. The winner will be chosen and announced at a ceremony in Mumbai in January of 2009.
Award Priority Criteria:
- Recent community-based organizational achievements that have broadened public support for green livelihoods, green economic empowerment, creating green jobs, adaptation of renewable energy alternatives and that inspired others are the basis for recognition.
- Grassroots initiatives are recognized rather than scientific, academic or governmental activities.
- Government employees are not eligible unless they are nominated for work done outside the scope of their official responsibilities.
- The award is not a lifetime achievement award.
- The award is not given posthumously.
Guidelines
The Sierra Club considers the following guidelines and priorities when reviewing nominations:
- We view grassroots organizations as those involved in efforts where positive change is created through community or citizen participation in the issues that affect them.
- Organizations with recent, specific environmental accomplishments which include the creation of sustainable communities, creation of green job and/or the development of green livelihoods within the last two years.
- Organizational leadership in a grassroots campaign that seeks to have, or results in, a significant impact at the regional, national or global level.
- Organizations represented by members of the community where they do their work.
- Organizations which are well respected by their communities and colleagues.
- Collaborative efforts with networks, other organizations, business and governments.
- Organizations whose current work or campaigns would be significantly strengthened by receiving the award.
- Organizations that effectively communicate the scope of their work to the general public.
Sierra Club India Program featured in Al Gore's Climate Project newsletter.
Article from Business India.
Photos courtesy Steve Mills.
Up to TopHOME | Email Signup | About Us | Contact Us | Terms of Use | © 2008 Sierra Club