CEE April-June 2012

initiatives and institutions, including the strengthening of the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism (COM) and the creation of a Green Climate Fund , which will manage lon!;tterm finance mobilized to enable developing countries to address climate change. "Confidence is back," announced Calderon at the 3 a.m. conclusion of the climate talks, symbol izing what was widely hailed as a significant step forward in dimate negotiations after disappointment of the Copenhagen conference in 2009. Closer home, President Calderon has made clear his ambition to make Mexico a world leader on climate action. Under its Special Climate Change Programme, Mexico will replace nearly 2 million refrigerators and air conditioners, and more than 47 million incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps or other more efficient lighting technologies, by 2012. Science and innovation Dr Olga Speranska, Russia Russian scientist Dr. Olga Speranskaya has been garnering headlines worldwide for her work to reduce the harmful impact of toxic chemicals in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. Many former Soviet countries are home to vast stockpiles of highly toxic obsolete pesticides. Exposure to such pollutants can seriously damage human health and the environment. Dr Speranskaya formed a civil society network that has grown to indude NGOs, governmental bodies, and academicians. Its aim is to work on phasing out obsolete pesticides and other chemicals. The campaign succeeded in pushing national governments to ratify the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, which aims to eliminate the release of such products into the environment. Nine of twelve countries in the region ratified the Convention and now participate as full parties at its global meetings. She has also led campaigns to ban the burial and transport of hazardous chemicals. As co-chair of the International POPs Elimination Netowrk (IPEN), Dr. Speranskaya has helped NGOs implement more than 70 projects on toxic chemicals in Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia Ukraine and Uzbakistan. The NGOs have identified contaminated hotspots, analysed the health impacts of POP's developed proposals for mitigating these poisonous chemicals, and coordinated public participation the identification of unauthorized storage and use of banned and obsolete chemicals. Entrepreneurial vision Zhang Yue, Chairman and Founder, BROAD Group, China "Responsibility is more important than growth," runs one of the company mottos of China's Broad Group. Broad is a world leader in the manufacture of central air-conditioning systems that use diesel or natural gas instead of electricity to cool office buildings, shopping malls, and factories. BROAD states that its non-electric air conditioning units are 200 per cent more energy efficient and that C02 emissions are four times lower than traditional models. Broad, which is based in Changsha, Hunan Province, was established by Zhang Yue with a mere $3,000 in 1988. Today, the company's air conditioners are the market leader China and BROAD exports its product to some 60 countries around the world. As well as regularly featuring in lists of China's wealthiest people, founder Zhang Yue has become one of the most outspoken voices on the environment in china, advocating, among other things, for tighter government regulations on insulation and building standards and for the decentralization of power plants. BROAD prides itself on its green credentials and lists protecting the environment, energy conservation, and reducing greenhouse gases among its key company goals. Indeed, BROAD states that the cumulative effect of all its products sold to date has led to emissions savings of close to 90 million tonnes of C0 2 , 1 million tonnes of sulphur dioxide, and 10,000 tonnes of CFCs. Inspiration and action [co-winner] Louis Palmer, Switzerland Providing a green twist on Jules Vernes' famous voyage, adventurer Louis Palmer successfully led a fleet of electric vehicles around the world last year. The "Zero Race" teams crossed the globe in eighty days, highlighting two of the major environmental challenges facing the world today - the need for more sustainable transport and cleaner energy supplies. Teams from Australia, Germany, Switzerland, and South Korea took part in the race, which followed a course across four continents, before ending at the United Nations in Geneva in January 2011 . With their sleek modern design and high performance, the Zero Race vehicles embody the major advancements currently underway in the transport sector and how investment in green technology is a key component in tackling climate change. The Zero Race is only the latest chapter in Palmer's adventurous career. In 2004, with the help 49