DEFENDING SCIENCE…
...IN AN AGE OF MISINFORMATION
Florida and Italy just banned cultured meat. Germany got out of nuclear and made itself more dependent on fossil coal and gas. A court in the Philippines blocked farmers from planting lifesaving Golden Rice. Right-wing politicians are pushing a culture war against desperately-needed climate action.
What’s the common thread running through these issues?
We’re seeing a widespread assault on scientific truth and innovation in environmental policy, right at the very moment we face a climate and ecological emergency. At WePlanet our mission is to combat misinformation and defend the integrity of science, whether it’s in climate, food or ecology. We are committed to fighting both doomerism that paralyzes action and denial that rejects the urgency of the planet’s ecological crisis.
WHAT WE WANT
This is a new kind of environmentalism. Our motto is 'Liberate nature, elevate humanity'. Instead of austerity, we aspire to an environmentally sustainable abundance. We want to see animal products replaced with alternative proteins to spare land for rewilding and ecosystem restoration, and to reduce emissions from livestock. We want to see a huge upscaling of clean technologies to achieve zero carbon energy abundance. We support equitable development in the Global South, from clean cooking to food security to universal electrification. We see the potential for a sustainable green future to be more economically prosperous and equitable.
GLOBAL PROSPERITY​
One in ten people live in extreme poverty. Yet, we all deserve a good life. There may be much talk about ensuring human welfare, but international policies often put a brake on development in the Global South. That’s not just a disgrace for people living there. Poverty hurts the natural environment. Prosperity allows for protecting it.
We want all humans to be able to enjoy prosperity and wellbeing. So let’s end poverty now.
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Provide abundant and affordable energy supplies to the poor. Make increased access, low costs, and reliability top priorities in low-income countries.
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Make zero-carbon energy feasible. The wealthy part of the world should work to ensure the growth of all clean energy options in emerging countries.
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Support the modernisation of agriculture to improve food security, eradicate poverty, promote economic development, and preserve nature.
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Strengthen resilience against extreme weather, as people in poverty are especially vulnerable due to lack of resources to protect themselves.
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Focus international development cooperation on ending poverty and improving quality of life.
CLEAN ENERGY FOR ALL
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More than two thirds of our greenhouse gas emissions come from energy production and use. This is mostly due to burning coal, natural gas and oil, harming our health and our environment. So far, Europe has failed to make much progress, while making energy more expensive and less reliable. This is not an example for the rest of the world.
Human wellbeing depends on the availability of affordable and reliable energy. So, let’s create an abundant, clean energy system with a small environmental footprint!
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Stop discriminating against nuclear energy, an effective and proven way to phase out fossil fuels and reduce emissions.
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Reduce CO2 emissions to a level compatible with the Paris Agreement. Policies should focus on outcome, not technology.
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Strengthen and expand Europe’s emissions trading system (ETS) into more sectors such as house heating and transportation fuels.
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Avoid “carbon leakage” and set up a system of taxing imported goods and services at Europe’s borders from countries with higher emissions.
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Support new clean technologies and innovation in a smart and efficient way.
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Avoid energy poverty and ensure a just transition, especially for those most affected.
SET NATURE FREE​
Too much land is given to produce food or energy. Despite our worsening ecological crisis, current policies force farmers and landowners into outdated practices that leave our ecosystems under constant threat. Today, conserving nature is nowhere near enough. We need to do better.
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By finding ways to produce energy and food on far less land, we can create more wilderness. Let's restore nature, reintroduce missing species and rewild the land!
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Redirect the billions spent annually subsidising animal agriculture to support rewilding and nature restoration instead.
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Restore nature on a large scale. Make a Europe-wide rewilding plan. Decision-makers must plan for and fund landscape-scale nature restoration projects.
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Aim for climate restoration. At scale, natural climate solutions could draw down enough carbon to make our emissions net negative, helping restore our climate.
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Fund a just transition. Generously support workers and communities – not legacy industries – to ensure a rewilded Europe that leaves people better off.
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Enhance democracy. Empower local stakeholders to engage in rewilding through consultation or forms of participatory democracy.
LAND SPARING AGRICULTURE​
More than half of all habitable land is used for agriculture – growing crops, providing pastures, producing feed for livestock. If we continue expanding current farming practices and meat-heavy dietary patterns, we could soon run out of wilderness. There’s no escaping it: the greatest threat to wildlife is farming.
Yet, we can feed a growing world population while creating space for ecosystems to recover and flourish. Let’s transform the way we produce food!
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Stop agricultural expansion. Embrace new protein sources, support diets rich in vegetables, and encourage smarter use of agricultural land.
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Abolish meat subsidies. Invest in alternative proteins to alleviate animal suffering and reduce both emissions and the use of land and water.
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Change restrictive, outdated regulations so Europeans can partake in food innovation and use modern genomic methods with environmental benefits.
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Concentrate farming on the most productive lands and allow for sustainable intensification. Give marginal lands to low-yield farming or return them to nature.
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Rewild and protect half the globe. Use land spared from agriculture for conservation and restoration of ecosystems aimed at increasing biodiversity.