The International Environment Forum and the European Baha'i Business Forum were again partners in the Global Ethics Forum (http://globalethicsforum.org) held at the International Conference Centre Geneva on 28-29 June 2012, on the topic "Seeds for Successful Transformation: The Value of Values in Responsible Business", with 80 speakers and panelists from all over the world. The report of the forum with recommendations will eventually be published. The following are a few highlights from the forum of interest to IEF and EBBF.

The Governing Board of the International Environment Forum has issued five statements for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in Rio de Janeiro in June 2012

Preparing for Environmental Migration
Principles and Indicators for a Green Economy
Ethical Support to Policy Making
Science and Technology for Community Empowerment
Youth Need Reasons to Hope from Rio+20

The International Environment Forum held its 16th General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 18 June 2012, during the events surrounding the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20). The General Assembly met at the Pousada Mansao Riocentro hotel, Camorim - Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. See the 16th General Assembly report.

The national administrative body of the American Baha'i Community sent a third message on climate change in three years to all its members in March 2012 to raise awareness of the moral dimensions of this issue and to call for specific actions during Earth Week (22-29 April). It is collaborating with Interfaith Moral Action on Climate Change (http://www.interfaithactiononclimatechange.org/).

The IEF collaborated with the Baha'i International Community in the launching of action plans on climate change from the major religions at a celebration at Windsor Castle in 2009. One of the outcomes was a proposal from the Mayor of Jerusalem to create a network of pilgrimage cities, and this has now been launched with the aim of making pilgrimage a greener experience.

The Climate Ethics Campaign is aiming for 1,000 endorsements of its new climate change statement by November 30th, the day the campaign plans to officially release and circulate the statement on Capitol Hill.

A representative of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha‘is of the United States recently endorsed the statement, titled “Statement of Our Nation’s Moral Obligation to Address Climate Change”

Ottawa, 27 October 2011 — The Bahá’í Community of Canada has joined dozens of other faith communities and leaders in calling for new approaches to address the challenge of climate change. This initiative is among the first to bring together such a large and diverse number of religious leaders to speak with one voice to an issue of social concern.

Wilmette Institute Course
Sustainable Development and the Prosperity of Humankind

Lead Faculty: Arthur Lyon Dahl, Faculty: Karryn Olson-Ramanujan, Melinda Salazar, Carole Flood
Duration of course: Three months, Thursday, September 15, 2011 - Thursday, December 15, 2011
http://www.wilmetteinstitute.us.bahai.org/Courses.aspx
Co-sponsored by the International Environment Forum

IEF member Dr. Austin Bowden-Kerby from Fiji is one of the 3 winners in the Changemaker competition co-sponsored by the National Geographic Society. Austin has worked for many years in the Pacific Islands to help local communities, particularly village women, restore damaged coral reefs by selecting resistant corals and replanting them on the reef. He is now extending the project to the Caribbean. The Changemaker web site showing the project with the winner's cup is at http://www.changemakers.com/node/93448.