This initiative - promoted by the GeoProgress Journal, published by Geoprogress, a non-profit research organization - is focusing in 2020 and 2021 on some key issues for sustainable global development. Among these, the priority is undoubtedly to adjust and gradually rebalance the international environmental system and in particular where and how to find the financial means to promote this rebalancing. Additional key points are: the promotion of sustainable development for all, coping with the unsustainability of the current economic development, which requires everywhere the research and dissemination of sounder technologies but not least the search for alternative models of development.
For this purpose, Geoprogress intends to update the proposal to build the international Environment Fund (IEF) conceived as an international instrument for rebalancing and regulating the terrestrial ecosystem.
“The IEF would act as a compensation fund and regulator of the environmental balance between nations, based upon a criterion of equity and international justice. This would be supplied by countries that are, environmentally speaking, debtors (essentially the industrialized nations) in proportion to their environmental deficit and per-capita income, and should finance the relevant projects and environmental policies of countries that are environmental creditors, in relation to their environmental surplus, to their per-capita income, and to their efforts in favour of protecting the environment for all humanity”.
The main actions planned towards this goal are:
1) Call for papers, useful for the construction and operation of the I.E.F (abstract by 30 August 2021)
2) Workshop for the discussion of the papers and of specific corrections-integrations to the original IEF proposal; definition of a new proposal to be submitted to national and international institutions (27 October 2021);
3) Special Issue of the GeoProgress Journal, for publication of the scientific contributions, prior submission to referees, and other papers and results, as documents of the Workshop
4) International Conference at the European Union Parliament or at other international organizations, with the participation of MEPs and of representatives of governments from different countries (by December 2021).
Call for papers
Assuming the motivations and the outline of the original proposal, as illustrated by F. Adamo in GeoProgress Journal, 2017, i.1. the multiple knowledge required for the construction and operation of the I.E.F. - to which scholars and experts from various disciplines (from natural sciences to statistics, economics and finance, geography and law) are invited to contribute - should allow to obtain in particular:
1) an updated definition of the countries that are environmentally debtors and creditors, which should no longer be limited to CO2 emissions alone (an indicator that remains fundamental and whose acceptance would already be an important step forward): the emissions corresponding to the difference between imports and exports of tangible goods should be added. Particularly useful and appreciated would be papers on setting up the criteria for the distinction of countries and the amount of their respective environmental debts or credits, for the conversion of environmental debt into financial debt or in an annual amount of money to be paid to the IEF, for setting the maximum amount available from the IEF for the financing of projects for the protection and improvement of the natural environment, and projects for sustainable local development, for each creditor country; define virtuous behavior by debtor countries (for example emission reduction thresholds, reforestations) worthy of prizes that further incentivize them to improve their ecological conditions.
2) illustration and critical analysis of the current financial mechanisms used by ecologically debtor countries to accomplish their financial engagements in favor of our common environment, the amount of these engagements; the definition of which of the current known mechanisms and of other possible new ones are consistent with the ethic assumptions of the IEF and could be used as revenues to feed the International Environment Fund (IEF) by each type of country according to its socio-economic conditions. The mechanisms suggested in the original proposal of the IEF2 and others in use or that are expected to be valuable are the subject of the analysis. Referring to the financial mechanisms in use it would be useful to know in which countries they are employed and the amount of annual revenues that derives from them.
3) the redefinition of the organization and administration of the Fund, of the priorities of environmental problems and therefore: of the actions to be financed in the ecologically creditor countries, on projects presented by public and private or mixed subjects of the country concerned or in partnership or by international bodies; of the monitoring system.
Geoprogress invites scholars and experts of various disciplines to contribute towards the above objectives and / or develop related themes, by sending to info@geoprogress.eu
a) scientific papers (max 16 pages in word, Times New Roman, 12): state-of-the-art research papers, original and quantitative studies that provide knowledge for the construction or operation of the IEF and anyway contribute to develop connected themes. These should be used as integration of the new IEF proposal and submitted to referees for publication as articles in a Special issue of the GeoProgress Journal on “Finance for a fair and healthy international environment system”
b) short papers (max 5 pages in word Times New Roman, 12): that suggest corrections/ integrations to the original IEF proposal.
Deadlines for sending full text of your papers your contributions : 20 October 2021
