FAQS about the Stockholm Conference 1972

10. Are we in time to save the Earth?

Despite all the negative aspects collected in this set of frequently asked questions, we must recognize that there is a greater public awareness today than 50 years ago about global warming, climate change and related issues. The same can be said about climate education, recycling, people’s awareness. Today there are several movements that fight against climate change, in which thousands of children, adolescents and young people participate. But we can see the greatest progress in the energy transition that is in full swing, something that we cannot say about the deforestation of forests, the Achilles heel of humanity.

The production of photovoltaic panels for solar energy and the installation of wind power towers are an unstoppable reality. The production of cars and other electric transport is growing. Almost all car factories are competing strongly to conquer the electromobility market. As for the countries, there are already announcements of the ban on internal combustion cars between 2030 and 2050.

The Green Hydrogen is the star of energy transition

A number of companies and countries are working to increase H2V production to lower the costs and prices needed to compete with fossil fuels. Let’s see:

In December 2020, six world leading companies announced the formation of The Green Hydrogen Catapult, (Wikipedia) a global coalition that will accelerate the scale and production of H2V, multiplying it fifty times in the next six years, helping to transform the most carbon-intensive industries world, including power generation, chemicals, steelmaking, and air and sea transportation.

In December 2021, H2 Green Steel and Iberdrola announce €2.3 billion Green hydrogen venture to build a plant with an installed capacity of 1 GW H2V to supply a direct reduction steel furnace with the capacity to produce nearly two million tons of steel per year.

The Shell oil company has already begun to take steps to join the energy transition club. “The oil giant signed an agreement with Germany’s Thyssenkrupp to carry out the construction of a huge 200 MW hydrogen electrolysis plant in the port of Rotterdam, in the Netherlands.”

Recently, the Ningxia Baofeng Energy Group, which operates in China “mainly dedicated to the production of coal and the sale of chemical products, has launched one of the largest green hydrogen projects in the world (…), has managed to put into operation a huge 150 MW alkaline electrolyzer powered by 200 MW solar panels.”

Another case is that of the Chinese oil giant Sinopec, “commits $470m to 300MW hydrogen electrolyzer in China State-owned oil giant Sinopec has started construction on an electrolyzer to produce 20,000 tons of green hydrogen per year in China”.

Oil companies could go from villains to heroes of decarbonization, article by SGK-PLANET

 

Annexe

Complete texts of the 7 Proclamation and the 26 Principles of Stockholm Declaration

The 7 Proclamation of Stockholm Declaration

1. Man is both the work and the creator of the environment that surrounds him, which gives him material sustenance and offers him the opportunity to develop intellectually, morally, socially and spiritually. In the long and tortuous evolution of the human race on this planet, a stage has been reached when, thanks to the rapid acceleration of science and technology, man has acquired the power to transform, in innumerable ways and on a vast scale. unprecedented, when it surrounds him. Both aspects of the human environment, the natural and the artificial, are essential to the well-being of man and to the enjoyment of fundamental human rights, including the right to life itself.
2. The protection and improvement of the human environment is a fundamental issue that affects the welfare of the peoples and the economic development of the entire world, an urgent desire of the peoples of the whole world and a duty of all governments.
3. Man must constantly recapitulate his experience and continue to discover, invent, create and progress. Today, the ability of man to transform his surroundings, used with discernment, can bring to all peoples the benefits of development, and offer them the opportunity to ennoble their existence. Wrongly or unwisely applied, the same power can cause incalculable damage to the human being and to the environment of him. All around us we see the evidence of damage caused by man in many regions of the earth multiplying: dangerous levels of contamination of water, air, land and living beings, great disturbances of the ecological balance of the biosphere; destruction and depletion of irreplaceable resources and serious deficiencies, harmful to the physical, mental and social health of man, in the environment created by him, especially in the one in which he lives and works.
4. In developing countries, most environmental problems are motivated by underdevelopment. Millions of people continue to live far below the minimum levels necessary for a decent human existence, deprived of adequate food and clothing, housing and education, sanitation and hygiene. Therefore, developing countries must direct their efforts towards development, bearing in mind their priorities and the need to safeguard and improve the environment. To the same end, the industrialized countries must strive to reduce the distance that separates them from the developing countries. In industrialized countries, environmental problems are generally related to industrialization and technological development.
5. The natural growth of the population continually poses problems relating to the preservation of the environment, and appropriate policies and measures must be adopted, as appropriate, to deal with these problems. Of all that exists in the world, human beings are the most valuable. They are the ones who promote social progress, create social wealth, develop science and technology and, with their hard work, continuously transform the human environment. With social progress and advances in production, science and technology, man’s ability to improve the environment increases with each passing day.
6. We have reached a moment in history when we must guide our actions throughout the world with greater care in minding the consequences they may have for the environment. Through ignorance or indifference we can cause immense and irreparable damage to the terrestrial environment on which our lives and well-being depend. On the contrary, with deeper knowledge and more prudent action, we can secure for ourselves and our posterity better conditions of life in an environment more consonant with the needs and aspirations of man. The prospects for raising the quality of the environment and creating a satisfying life are great. What is needed is enthusiasm, but at the same time, serenity of mind, hard work, but systematic. To reach the fullness of his freedom within nature, man must apply his knowledge to forge, in harmony with it, a better environment. The defense and improvement of the human environment for present and future generations has become the overriding goal of mankind, to be pursued in parallel with the already established fundamental goals of peace and economic and social development throughout the world, and in accordance with them.

The 26 Principles of Stockholm Declaration

Principle 1 — Man has the fundamental right to freedom equality and adequate conditions of life, in an environment of a quality that permits a life of dignity and well-being, and he bears a solemn responsibility to protect and improve the environment for present and future generations. In this respect, policies promoting, or perpetuating apartheid, racial segregation, discrimination, colonial and other forms of oppression and foreign domination stand condemned and must be eliminated.

Principle 2 — The natural resources of the earth, including the air, water, land, flora and fauna and especially representative samples of natural ecosystems, must be safeguarded for the benefit of present and future generations through careful planning or management, as appropriate.

Principle 3 — The capacity of the earth to produce vital renewable resources must be maintained and, wherever practicable, restored or improved.

Principle 4 — Man has a special responsibility to safeguard and wisely manage the heritage of wildlife and its habitat, which are now gravely imperiled by a combination of adverse factors. Nature conservation, including wildlife, must therefore receive importance in planning for economic development.

Principle 5 — The non-renewable resources of the earth must be employed in such a way as to guard against the danger of their future exhaustion and to ensure that benefits from such employment are shared by all mankind.

Principle 6 — The discharge of toxic substances or of other substances and the release of heat, in such quantities or concentrations as to exceed the capacity of the environment to render them harmless, must be halted in order to ensure that serious or irreversible damage is not inflicted upon ecosystems. The just struggle of the peoples of ill countries against pollution should be supported.

Principle 7 — States shall take all possible steps to prevent pollution of the seas by substances that are liable to create hazards to human health, to harm living resources and marine life, to damage amenities or to interfere with other legitimate uses of the sea.

Principle 8 — Economic and social development is essential for ensuring a favorable living and working environment for man and for creating conditions on earth that are necessary for the improvement of the quality of life.

Principle 9 — Environmental deficiencies generated by the conditions of under-development and natural disasters pose grave problems and can best be remedied by accelerated development through the transfer of substantial quantities of financial and technological assistance as a supplement to the domestic effort of the developing countries and such timely assistance as may be required.

Principle 10 — For the developing countries, stability of prices and adequate earnings for primary commodities and raw materials are essential to environmental management since economic factors as well as ecological processes must be taken into account.

Principle 11 — The environmental policies of all States should enhance and not adversely affect the present or future development potential of developing countries, nor should they hamper the attainment of better living conditions for all, and appropriate steps should be taken by States and international organizations with a view to reaching agreement on meeting the possible national and international economic consequences resulting from the application of environmental measures. Principle.

Principle 12 — Resources should be made available to preserve and improve the environment, taking into account the circumstances and particular requirements of developing countries and any costs which may emanate- from their incorporating environmental safeguards into their development planning and the need for making available to them, upon their request, additional international technical and financial assistance for this purpose.

Principle 13 — In order to achieve a more rational management of resources and thus to improve the environment, States should adopt an integrated and coordinated approach to their development planning so as to ensure that development is compatible with the need to protect and improve environment for the benefit of their population.

Principle 14 — Rational planning constitutes an essential tool for reconciling any conflict between the needs of development and the need to protect and improve the environment.

Principle 15 — Planning must be applied to human settlements and urbanization with a view to avoiding adverse effects on the environment and obtaining maximum social, economic and environmental benefits for all. In this respect projects which are designed for colonialist and racist domination must be abandoned.

Principle 16 — Demographic policies which are without prejudice to basic human rights, and which are deemed appropriate by Governments concerned should be applied in those regions where the rate of population growth or excessive population concentrations are likely to have adverse effects on the environment of the human environment and impede development.

Principle 17 — Appropriate national institutions must be entrusted with the task of planning, managing, or controlling the 9 environmental resources of States with a view to enhancing environmental quality.

Principle 18 — Science and technology, as part of their contribution to economic and social development, must be applied to the identification, avoidance and control of environmental risks and the solution of environmental problems and for the common good of mankind.

Principle 19 — Education in environmental matters, for the younger generation as well as adults, giving due consideration to the underprivileged, is essential in order to broaden the basis for an enlightened opinion and responsible conduct by individuals, enterprises, and communities in protecting and improving the environment in its full human dimension. It is also essential that mass media of communications avoid contributing to the deterioration of the environment, but, on the contrary, disseminates information of an educational nature on the need to project and improve the environment in order to enable mal to develop in every respect.

Principle 20 — Scientific research and development in the context of environmental problems, both national and multinational, must be promoted in all countries, especially the developing countries. In this connection, the free flow of up-to-date scientific information and transfer of experience must be supported and assisted, to facilitate.

the solution of environmental problems; environmental technologies should be made available to developing countries on 38 terms which would encourage their wide dissemination without constituting an economic burden on the developing countries.

Principle 21 — States have, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law, the sovereign right to exploit their own resources pursuant to their own environmental policies, and the responsibility to ensure that activities within their jurisdiction or control do not cause damage to the environment of other States or of areas beyond the limits of national jurisdiction.

Principle 22 — States shall cooperate to develop further the international law regarding liability and compensation for the victims of pollution and other environmental damage caused by activities within the jurisdiction or control of such States to areas beyond their jurisdiction.

Principle 23 — Without prejudice to such criteria as may be agreed upon by the international community, or to standards which will have to be determined nationally, it will be essential in all cases to consider the systems of values prevailing in each country, and the extent of the applicability of standards which are valid for the most advanced countries but which may be inappropriate and of unwarranted social cost for the developing countries.

Principle 24 — International matters concerning the protection and improvement of the environment should be handled in a cooperative spirit by all countries, big and small, on an equal footing. Cooperation through multilateral or bilateral arrangements or other appropriate means is essential to effectively control, prevent, reduce and eliminate adverse environmental effects resulting from activities conducted in all spheres, in such a way, that due account is taken of the sovereignty and interests of all States.

Principle 25 — States shall ensure that international organizations play a coordinated, efficient and dynamic role for the protection and improvement of the environment.

Principle 26 — Man and his environment must be spared the effects of nuclear weapons and all other means of mass destruction. States must strive to reach prompt agreement, in the relevant international org.