Global Footprint Network 2008 Year End Appeal

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

I hope your first days of 2009 will be filled with health and vitality. We at Global Footprint Network see the coming year as one of great potential, one in which your continued support can make the greatest impact on our long-term ecological and economic stability. We understand that during lean and uncertain times, many feel the prudent approach is to put ecological and environmental issues on the back burner. But we believe the opposite is true. Despite the great challenges we face, there is a wealth of opportunity. With the current shift in thinking about our economic system, we see this time as a possible turning point for birthing an economy working with – not against – natural capital.

The only defense we have against future economic collapse is the careful and transparent management of our ecological assets. This will ensure more equitable and lasting outcomes. Therefore, we continue to think big, and work to advance, on as large a scale as possible, the Ecological Footprint accounting tool to measure our existing “real wealth” and to ensure economic stability through environmental sustainability.

I want to share with you one of our most innovative and potentially transformational ideas yet. Currently, only 20 percent of the world’s population lives in Ecological Creditor countries. These are countries that have more biocapacity within their territory than it takes to feed their consumption Footprint. When I was born, more than 60 percent of the world’s population lived in Ecological Creditor countries. These countries possess wealth that is destined to become ever more significant as global competition for resources increases.

To help empower these countries, we are founding a summit of Ecological Creditor nations with the goal of shaping a new global discussion. By promoting negotiation between nations that have a surplus of ecological assets and those that do not, we can shift 21st century economic thinking from “developing versus developed countries” to ecological debtors and creditors. With the climate negotiations of Copenhagen 2009 rapidly approaching, this summit could become the “disruptive technology” needed to shift the bootless debate into a productive direction.

Global Footprint Network is poised to become a leader in this global discussion, and you can play an active role by supporting our organization today. Please take a moment to visit our new web site to make a donation today, measure your own Footprint , and review the record number of successful campaigns we’ve had in 2008:The China, Africa and India reports, the 2008 Earth Overshoot Day campaign on September 23, Living Planet Report 2008, The Ecological Footprint Atlas, and the release of our new National Footprint Accounts data with more detailed documentation and transparency than ever.

We are enormously grateful for your continued belief in our vision.

Warmly,

Mathis Wackernagel
Executive Director
Global Footprint Network