"Carbon pricing is the silver bullet to solve climate change"
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Jay Carter-Cole & Dani Martinez: "If we all do a little, we all gain a lot"
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Vulcan Productions helps create stories to inspire people to move the planet towards a better future. In 2016, the Film4Climate Global Video Competition invited aspiring filmmakers to express their vision for a sustainable future by creating a short film or video about climate action. We talked to filmmakers Jay Carter-Coles and Dani Martinez to hear what inspired them to make Your Choice, the lessons they learned and how we all can make a difference in the climate change fight.  

Jay Carter-Coles & Dani Martinez

     

  What inspired you to make this film?
 
Dani:  Since I was a child, I have always been concerned about climate change. When Antony, CEO from Real World Visuals, told us about the Film4Climate contest, we found that there was a special prize for the theme: Put a Price on Carbon, and that was what we wanted to go for. We wanted to create awareness about carbon emissions and carbon pricing as a way to address the problem caused by them. On the way, we discovered so much about what carbon pricing actually is and how implementing pricing solutions would help in reversing climate change.
 
  Why is climate change important to you?
 
Jay:  Climate change is important to me because when I have children, I want them to live in a world where certain species do not only exist in history books. A world where they can breathe clean air and live a healthy life.
 
Dani:  To me, I grew up in Andalusia region of Spain where having access to water could become a problem if there was not enough rain. With climate change, this problem is becoming even more serious. I want to create awareness about climate change so people begin thinking about how they can take action to help.
 
 
  What is one thing that you wish people knew about your region of the world and how it is being effected by climate change?
 
Dani:  Since I can remember, my home has been impacted by droughts. Today, this problem is getting even worse. With climate change, the risk of torrential downpour has also increased. This poses a different problem for our region’s agriculture, which is the main source of income. Not having water is obviously a problem but when the rain ones all at once, that can destroy thousands of farming acres as well.
 
Jay:  Not many people know that North Sea Birds in the England are starving due to warming waters decreasing the population of sand eels and ridding the seas of plankton, the major food source the birds.    
 
  What is one thing you learned from embarking on this film?
 
Jay:  I learned two things: There’s a lot being done in the fight against climate change, but there’s still a lot of work left. 
 
 
  What is one thing people can do to make a difference?
 
Dani:  I think that the best way for people to do their bit is trying to reduce their annual carbon footprint. Daily, you find hundreds of people going to work in their cars on their own, while sharing a lift or riding a bike could seriously help reducing carbon emissions. Also, by riding a bike, they wouldn't have to be stuck in traffic for ages, so it is a win-win situation!
 
Jay:  Start small. You don't need to invest lots of money in solar panels for your house or an electric car (but if you have the money, do it!). You can make a difference by using electric only when necessary, walking to the shops instead of driving or sharing a lift to work with a friend! 
 
If we all do a little, we all gain a lot.
 
 
"It's our generation duty to engage people to think about climate change and act against it." "You have to start taking action now, start taking responsibility, because if we don't, let you know it may not be us who suffers, but might be your kids, or your grand kinds, or their kids. So pay now, or pay later; your choice," Jay Carter-Coles and Dani Martinez say in this video.
Photo4Climate Contest: Are you #All4theGreen?
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In the lead-up to the #All4TheGreen G7 Environment Week in Bologna - a week dedicated to discussing and celebrating the environment during the G7 Summit, this u

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Special Blue Prize
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<p>Connect4Climate, in partnership with the High-Level Panel on Water, announces the <strong>#All4TheGreen Photo4Climate Contest Special Blue Prize</strong>. We are awarding a special Blue Prize for the best photo of anything related to water in your life. It could be clean water, dirty water, lack of water; how water insecurity can lead to fragility and violence; how the lack of running water and sanitation leads to disease and stunting. How too much or too little water leads to environmental disasters and suffering. How do you value water?</p>

<p style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Photo4Climate #All4theGreen Special Blue Prize" src="/sites/default/files/images/%23All4theGreen-Special-Blue-Prize-New-York.jpg" style="width: 856px; height: 800px;"></p>

<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>“If the photographer is interested in the people in front of his lens, and if he is compassionate, it’s already a lot. The instrument is not the camera but the photographer.” — Eve Arnold</em></strong></p>

<h2><span style="color:#008000;"><strong>Prize</strong></span></h2>

<p><strong>A trip to New York City</strong> for the&nbsp;72nd Session of the UN General Assembly (<a href="http://sdg.iisd.org/events/72nd-session-of-the-un-general-assembly-unga…; target="_blank">UNGA</a>), September 2017. Winner to be announced June 8th, World Oceans Day.&nbsp;<strong><span style="color:#008000;">[DEADLINE EXTENDED TO JUNE 6th; THE WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON JUNE 8th]</span></strong></p>

<h2><span style="color:#008000;">About the High-Level Panel on Water</span></h2>

<p>The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim convened a <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/HLPWater&quot; target="_blank">High-Level Panel on Water (HLPW)</a> in January 2016. One of its objectives is to develop a set of shared principles to motivate and encourage governments, business, and civil society to consider water’s multiple values and to guide the transparent incorporation of these values into decision-making</p>

<p>We need to accelerate a change in the way people use and manage water! The HLPW aims to provide the leadership required to champion a comprehensive, inclusive, and collaborative way of developing and managing water resources, and improving water and sanitation related services. The members of the panel are of Heads of State from Australia, Bangladesh, Hungary.</p>

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Jury
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<p style="font-size: 13.008px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Leigh Vogel, photographer" src="/sites/default/files/images/Leigh-Vogel-Photographer-Connect4Climate.jpg" style="height: 150px; width: 150px;"></p>

<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Leigh Vogel,</strong> Photographer</p>

<p>Leigh Vogel is a photographer based in Washington, D.C. and on assignment in the US and abroad, photographing news, sports, destination travel, and portraits for agencies and clients including The Associated Press, Getty Images, UPI, Brandywine Valley, and for Connect4Climate. Serving as the President of the Women Photojournalists of Washington, Leigh's personal work consists of human rights and animal rights imagery and is the Photography Fellow at Georgetown University's Center for Social Impact Communication.</p>

<p style="font-size: 13.008px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Reza Deghati, Photographer, ALL4THEGREEN jury" src="/sites/default/files/images/legacy/Reza-Deghati-All4TheGreen-Jury-2017.jpg" style="width: 150px; height: 149px;"></p>

<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Reza Deghati</strong>, Photographer</p>

<div>Reza Deghati was born in Tabriz, Iran,&nbsp;of Azerbaijani origin. Over the last three decades, many of Reza’s photographs have been on the covers of National Geographic Magazine, with much more featured in major international publications. He is also the author of seventeen books, including War+Peace, the first in a series entitled Masters of Photography by National Geographic, and most recently, Sindhbad, Reza's adaptation of the seven journeys of this mystical character from the classic tale, A Thousand and One Nights. Childhood Promise is the story of discovery, narrated by three people, about a promise made by Reza to his son, Delazad. In 2001, he founded Aina (Persian for The Mirror), an international non-profit organization dedicated to educating and empowering Afghan women and children through the media. National Geographic awarded him the title of National Geographic Fellow.&nbsp;In 2006 and in 2008, Reza became a senior fellow of the Ashoka Foundation, and in May 2009, received the Honorary Degree of Doctor Honoris Causa&nbsp;from the American University of Paris (AUP) for his achievements in journalism and humanitarianism. In October 2009, he received the Lucie Award&nbsp;for Achievement in Documentary from the New York-based Lucie Foundation and in May 2010, in New York, the Infinity Award of ICP (International Center of Photography) honoured Reza for his latest report on Afghanistan; “Once upon a time, the Russian Empire”, in Photojournalism category. Reza is currently planning a new photography project with residents of the Sicilian suburb of Librino, as well as another major project in Burkina Faso. Reza's photographs have been exhibited in major cities throughout the world, and he has been the recipient of numerous humanitarian and photographic awards.</div>

<p style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/images/Daniel-Rodrigues-Photographer.jpg" style="width: 150px; height: 158px;"></p>

<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Daniel Rodrigues</strong>, Photographer</p>

<p>Portuguese born in Compiègne, France, in 1987, <a href="https://www.danielrodriguesphoto.com/&quot; target="_blank">Daniel Rodrigues</a> lives in Portugal, near Porto, since he is 10 years old. Daniel Rodrigues became a professional photographer after the passage by the Portuguese Institute of Photography (2010). His career started in the Portuguese newspaper, Correio da Manhã, and he also worked in Global Imagens agency, responsible for photographs in newspapers as Jornal de Notícias, Diário de Notícias and O Jogo. He is an award-winning photographer who in 2013 won the first place in the World Press Photo, Daily Life category, in 2015 the third place as Photographer of the Year in POYi, in 2017 a third place as Photographer of the Year in NPPA - Best of Photojournalism and among many other awards. The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Al Jazeera, Helsingin Sanomat, Die Welt, Daily Mail, CNN, BBC, Folha de São Paulo, Courrier Internacional, Expresso, Visão Magazine, among others, are where he already has published photos. Daniel is currently based in Portugal. He works as a freelance photographer all around the world and a contributor photographer for the New York Times since May 2015.</p>

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Buscamos las mejores fotos de nuestro planeta (Spanish version)
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<p>Previo a la&nbsp;Semana del Medio Ambiente&nbsp;#All4TheGreen&nbsp;G7 en Bolonia, Italia, un espacio dedicado a discutir y celebrar el medio ambiente durante la Cumbre del G7, el próximo mes de junio,&nbsp;<strong>Connect4Climate</strong>&nbsp;invita a todos los apasionados por el planeta, a compartir las fotografías más sorprendentes como una declaración y celebración de Nuestra Casa.</p>

<p>El concurso&nbsp;<strong>#All4TheGreen</strong> Photo4Climate&nbsp;invita a las personas a usar sus cámaras como un instrumento de cambio, como una herramienta para explorar la belleza e importancia de nuestro planeta, desde un paisaje, un nacimiento de agua, un bosque local, un océano, un lugar de herencia cultural o un ambiente de ciudad. Las fotografías deben servir como un mensaje visual para concienciar sobre los problemas ambientales y el cambio climático, fomentar la acción y también proponer soluciones potenciales para proteger esos lugares.</p>

<p>Los participantes deben enviar sus piezas visuales compartiéndolas en sus cuentas de Instagram usando el hashtag&nbsp;<strong>#All4TheGreen</strong>. Agregando una descripción sobre lo que se ve, dónde fue tomada la foto, y qué significado tiene.</p>

<p style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Share with us your climate story, Photo4Climate Instagram Photo Challenge, #All4theGreen" src="/sites/default/files/images/share-with-us-your-climate-story-all4thegreen.jpg" style="width: 800px; height: 800px;"></p>

<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>¿Por qué es importante para ti para el desarrollo verde?</strong></p>

<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>¿Cuál es tu compromiso con el medio ambiente?</strong></p>

<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>¿Qué es #All4TheGreen?</strong></p>

<p>El concurso estará abierto hasta el 31 de mayo&nbsp;y los finalistas serán anunciados el 5 de junio durante el Día Mundial del Medio Ambiente. Además, serán exhibidos durante la&nbsp;Semana por el Medio Ambiente #All4TheGreen en Bolonia, Italia del 5 al 12 de junio. La foto ganadora recibirá reconocimiento en todos los eventos de Connect4Climate, y será promocionada en las plataformas de&nbsp;Connect4Climate. <strong><span style="color:#008000;">[FECHA LÍMITE EXTENDIDA HASTA EL 6 DE JUNIO. EL VENCEDOR SERÁ ANUNCIADO EN EL 8 DE JUNIO]</span></strong></p>

<h3><span style="color:#008000;">Cómo Participar</span></h3>

<p><strong style="font-size: 13.008000373840332px;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</strong>1. Sigue&nbsp;@Connect4Climate&nbsp;en Instagram</p>

<p><strong style="font-size: 13.008000373840332px;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</strong>2. Toma una foto relacionada con el tema (All4TheGreen) y compártela en Instagram. La foto debe ser original y de tu autoría. Las fotos serán usadas bajo las políticas de Instagram.</p>

<p><strong style="font-size: 13.008000373840332px;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</strong>3. En el encabezado describe qué ves, dónde fue tomada la foto y qué significa para ti.</p>

<p><strong style="font-size: 13.008000373840332px;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</strong>4. Usa el hashtag #All4TheGreen</p>

<p><strong style="font-size: 13.008000373840332px;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</strong>5. <u>No olvides tener tu cuenta como “pública”.</u></p>

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Benjamin Pfohl: Read this filmmaker's vision for our planet's future
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Vulcan Productions helps create stories to inspire people to move the planet towards a better future. In 2016, the Film4Climate Global Video Competition invited aspiring filmmakers to express their vision for a sustainable future by creating a short film or video about climate action. We recently talked to German filmmaker Benjamin Pfohl to hear what inspired him to make Eternal Summer, the lessons he learned and how climate change is impacting his life. 

Benjamin Pfohl

  What inspired you to make this film?

First of all, I wanted to do my part in preventing climate change and I wanted to do so with what I can do best, through filmmaking. I wanted people to get aware of what is at stake. After watching many other climate films, which mostly address their audiences with information about the matter, I wanted to do something different. I think to change a person’s mind, it has to come from the heart. So, I confronted the audience with an emotional, dystopian vision of a world past climate change and combined it with a fictional, contrary speech of how we think about the future today.

  Why is climate change important to you? 

The world is full of conflicts and problems and will always be, but living on this planet is the one thing where life itself starts. It’s the one thing that will stay. So I think the most important thing is to keep this world safe and vivid. I see mankind more as a guest on this planet and therefore we need to behave like such. It is a symbiotic connection and we need to do all that is possible to protect it.

  What is one thing that you wish people knew about your region of the world and how it is being affected by climate change? 

I am lucky to live in a region that isn't affected by obvious climate change as much as others are. Still, even central Europe is affected by climate change and the harmful actions people and companies do to nature such as shaping rivers to canals and remodeling whole landscapes through open-pit mining. There is a change going on and I hope that we stop these actions in the near future. 

  What is one thing you learned from embarking on this film?

Filmmaking is a very expensive endeavor and getting this film done without the needed budget was a tough thing at first. Going deeper into production, we found so many people who cared about climate change that they were willing to spend their time or money on the project. I learned that a lot of people actually care about this world, which gave me hope that there is a change to come.

  What is one thing people can do to make a difference?

First, we need global acknowledgment that climate change is happening. Then, everyone needs to find the things they can change to do their part in preventing it. As a filmmaker, I used my craft to make Eternal Summer. And as a private person, I try to do the little things: I don’t own a car, but take public transportation or bike. For longer distances, I prefer going by bus or train instead of flying whenever possible. I use electricity from alternative energies and buy regional products whenever I can. But again, every single life gives different opportunities to act.

Q&A with the filmmakers behind "Sunday Thoughts"
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Vulcan Productions helps create stories to inspire people to move the planet towards a better future. In 2016, the Film4Climate Global Video Competition invited aspiring filmmakers to express their vision f

Film4Climate Global Video Competition Call to Action (90 sec)

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UN Environment launches Young Champions of the Earth Competition
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The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has launched Young Champions of the Earth, a new initiative to spot young, talented people between the ages of 18 and 30 and support their inspiring ideas to save the environment.

Young Champions of the Earth is a global stage for young people to showcase technological inventions and innovative business models that improve our planet's health. The initiative aims to counter the negative discourse on the environment and inspire the next generation of environmental leaders.

Young Champions of the Earth is sponsored by Covestro, one of the world’s leading polymer companies and a strong proponent of innovation for environmental sustainability.

Each year, six young people – one from each of UN Environment’s global regions – will be named Young Champions of the Earth. These winners will each receive US$15,000 in seed funding as well as intensive training and tailored mentoring to help bring their big environmental ideas to life.

The winners will be selected by a global jury that includes UN Environment Executive Director Erik Solheim and Covestro CEO Patrick Thomas. Winners will be invited to attend the Champions of the Earth Gala Dinner, to be held in Nairobi in December 2017.

The application period opens on 22 April and will close on 18 June.

As I’ve seen time and again, when young people are given opportunities and support, they can be powerful catalysts for change. It is our hope that Young Champions of the Earth will inspire thousands of young people around the world to develop innovative ways to tackle the environmental issues that matter to them.

- Erik Solheim, UN Environment Executive Director

I am delighted to support UN Environment on this excellent initiative. Sustainable thinking and acting is critical in preserving our planet and improving the safety and quality of millions of people. Covestro seeks to contribute to this goal with products and technologies that benefit society and reduce the impact on the environment. This is the basis of our vision ‘To make the world a brighter place’ – and Young Champions invites the enthusiastic participation of all who care for our future.

- Patrick Thomas, Covestro CEO

Africa's Youth for Sustainable Development Goals (CSAYN Togo training session)

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In September 2015, world leaders adopted the world’s first ever Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS), also known as the Global Goals consisting of 17 goals that are designed to end poverty, halt climate change and fight injustice and inequality. The Global Goals are the biggest attempt in the history of mankind to make the world a better place. We all have a role to play in making these SDGs a reality.

Young people have the power to create change

Connect4Climate is a World Bank Group Multi-Donor Trust Fund powered by Italy’s Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security and Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development that drives climate action through advocacy, partnerships, and creative communications.

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