Voices of participants – personal experiences and learnings

Thirty years ago, when I was 24, I couldn’t imagine a world we have today. Changes can happen faster than one would have thought then. In 2022, we had the driest summer we ever had with the consequence that the river Rhine dried up for a period of two months. Storms and hurricanes increased tremendously and caused many people’s death worldwide. That was the tipping point for changes in politics. Taking a first large alliance in 2017 as inspiration, more European and other countries in 2027 stepped out of coal, followed by the oil and gas phase-out three years later. This trend spread over the whole world. Thus, as fast as the motor vehicles emerged on the market in a timeframe of one decade, so fast they disappeared again in 2035 and were replaced by electric ones (Mommers). Looking back, this important turnaround in terms of environmental policies was crucial for the globe.