ECP’s Annual Debate
Does individual action matter in the fight against climate change, or should governments be doing more through legislation? This was the topic of ECP annual debate, students from year 4 and 5, with Mgr. Březovská, Ministry of the Environment, Ing. Karlík, Arnika, and RNDr. Hollan, Czech Academy of Sciences.
“The world experts clearly proved our climate changes fast and they provided reasons for the changes. If the human society wants to survive, people have to change the way they think. It is important to realize that people can have comfortable lives while using less energy” – a quote by RNDr. Hollan
Ing. Vlastimil Karlík has worked for environmental NGOs since 1997, at first for an organization called Children of the Earth (Děti Země). In 2001, he was a co-founder and a first chairman of Arnika association till 2005. Since 2010, he has also been a representative of Arnika and statutory representative (secretary) of another Czech NGO – Coalition for Rivers. His special fields of interest are nature protection (especially issues of river and wetland protection, river restoration and Natura 2000 network) and adaptation to climate change. He is also a member of the board of Green Circle (the umbrella organization for Czech environmental NGOs).
RNDr. Jan Hollan, Ph.D. graduated from the Masaryk University in Brno and later gained Ph.D. at the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the Technical University in Brno. He has been lecturing and writing on the whole scope of climate change since 1990. He has also been teaching on environmental issues including energy efficiency at Masaryk University since 2005. He published a textbook on climate change for the Faculty of Education. His environmental career included educating the public about global changes through the institution called Global Change Research Institute AV ČR, working as a climatologist at the Veronica eco institute as well as being a leader in a project mapping light pollution and negative effects of artificial light on nature of the Czech Republic.
Mgr. Romana Březovská is a graduate of both the Charles University in Prague and Sciences Po Paris, currently working at the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic. She has been working at the Department of Energy and Climate Protection for over 9 months now, focusing on the links between global, (inter)national and local climate action. A determined optimist, her main interests include meeting new inspirational people and intense tea drinking. She considers herself a lifelong learner with a passion for sustainable development and sustainable consumption.
