Welcome to a new edition of KR Foundation’s newsletter.
This time we give you a run-down of all our exciting events at this year’s Folkemøde. We are bringing fresh, international perspectives to the Danish debate, and this year, we are happy to welcome Solitaire Townsend, founder of the creative agency Futerra & ad industry agitator, and renowned professor and economist Steve Keen.
We hope to see you on the beautiful island of Bornholm.
You can follow us on LinkedIn for more frequent updates.
Enjoy!
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Solitaire Townsend is an entrepreneur, sustainability expert, and author. She co-founded the change agency Futerra in 2001, one of the first sustainability agencies in the UK. She is a member of the United Nations Sustainable Lifestyles Taskforce and a London Leader for Sustainability. Her recent Ted Talk, ‘Are ad agencies, PR firms and lobbyists destroying the climate?’ has been viewed more the 1 million times in less than a month.
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Steve Keen is an Australian economist, professor, and author. In 2014, he became a professor and Head of the School of Economics, History and Politics at Kingston University in London, and is now retired. He considers himself a post-Keynesian economist, and is known for criticizing neoclassical economics as inconsistent, unscientific, and empirically unsupported. Keen has famously addressed the misconceptions in 2018 Nobel prize winner William Nordhaus’ analysis of the economic impacts of climate change.
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What is the responsibility of the creative industry in addressing climate change?
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Internationally, the City of Amsterdam has banned fossil advertising in the public space, and more than 300 agencies world-wide have signed ‘the Clean Creative's Pledge‘, which is a commitment to phase out fossil fuel clients. How is the creative industry in Denmark responding to these international trends? Is there an overlooked - and perhaps even obvious - opportunity for the creative industry to lead in the green transition in Denmark, and what does green leadership look like in the creative industries at all? These are some of the questions discussed when NGOs, policymakers, and industry voices take the stage at Politikens Scene.
Solitaire Townsend, Founder, Futerra
Kresten Schultz Jørgensen, CEO, Oxymoron
Mads Flarup Christensen, Executive Director, Greenpeace Nordic
Charlie Stjerneklar, CEO, Kreativitet & Kommunikation
Morten Helveg Petersen, Member of the European Parliament, Radikale Venstre
Connie Hedegaard, Chairman, KR Foundation & CONCITO
Time: Friday 13.00-14.00
Place: Politiken (N11)
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Badvertising or clean creatives?
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How do Danish, creative agencies working with communication, advertising, and public affairs respond to the international trend of agencies refusing to work for fossil fuel companies? Fossil fuel corporations are the world’s leading polluters and have for decades been known to lobby against climate action. Today, even as their campaigns often focus on renewable energy, up to 99 pct. of their financial investments are spent on finding and drilling for more oil and gas. The oil and gas industry is trying to change its image without changing its practices, with the advertising and PR industry actively helping them craft this image. What can be learned from the tendencies in other countries, and how should the Danish, creative industry respond?
Solitaire Townsend, Founder, Futerra
Rolf Lodberg, Partner, Advice
Morten Saxnæs, Partner, &CO
Clara Laurine Berg-Jensen, Activist, Den Grønne Ungdomsbevægelse
Time: Saturday 10.00-11.00
Place: Friday (K10)
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Climate impact or plain greenwashing?
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Many companies are actively promoting and advertising their climate initiatives and actions. But which initiatives and actions have real climate impact, and which are just plain greenwashing? How can creative agencies be certain that the companies they are helping craft a climate-friendly and green image are in fact living up to their promises? And what can civil society do to keep companies and agencies accountable?
Christina Blak, Partner, We Love People
Mads Flarup Christensen, Executive Director, Greenpeace Nordic
Charlie Stjerneklar, CEO, Kreativitet & Kommunikation
Time: Saturday 11.00-12.00
Place: Friday (K10)
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How economists have undermined climate action
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Have economists exacerbated the climate crisis? Acclaimed economist, Steve Keen, will give a talk about the role of economics in the climate crisis and the somewhat absurd assumptions behind some economists' conclusions that temperature increases as high as 6 degrees will only have relatively limited impact on the economy. Steve will also offer his perspectives on alternative economic approaches to the climate crisis.
Steve Keen, Economist
Time: Saturday 11.45-12.15
Place: Klimaskibet (H2)
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A conversation on the limits of current economic thinking
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How can an economics Nobel laureate conclude that 4 degrees warming is optimal for the world community when climate research shows that this would have detrimental consequences for billions of people? Does the current climate crisis require a showdown with our views on economic growth? And is it even possible? The debate is moderated by Bjarke Møller, longtime journalist, former editor-in-chief of Ugebrevet Mandag Morgen and soon-to-be director of Green Transition Denmark.
Steve Keen, Economist
Jens Sand Kirk, Project Director, DREAM
Jarl Krausing, International director, Concito
Bjarke Møller, Director of Green Transition Denmark
Time: Saturday 12.45-13.15
Place: Altinget (N5)
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Climate economics focuses on balancing the benefits and costs of climate action. While some economists conclude that a 4 degree rise in temperature is economically optimal, other economists point to the need for “degrowing” the economy to stay below 1.5 degrees of warming. Degrowth research focuses on reducing consumption in rich countries and creating a good life for all within planetary boundaries. Join the conversation on climate economics and degrowth when one of the world's leading critics of mainstream climate economics, professor and economist Steve Keen, visits Verdensmålenes Telt. Keen will be joined by PhD student and vice-president of Rethinking Economics Denmark, Joachim Peter Tilsted. Tilsted is an environmental economist, who has conducted research on green growth in a Danish perspective.
Steve Keen, Economist
Joachim Peter Tilsted, PhD student and vice-president of Rethinking Economics Denmark
Time: Saturday 19.00-19:45
Place: Verdensmålenes Telt (A1)
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