How Fossils Fuel War? How to Build Peace: From Robert Schuman’s Coal and Steel Community to a Transition Towards Renewable Energies in the European Union

“The Laudato Si Movement is organizing a European webinar on April 23 from 7:30 to 9:00 PM CET, in partnership with Justice and Peace Europe and Pax Christi International. The webinar, titled ´How Fossils Fuel War? How to Build Peace: From Robert Schuman’s Coal and Steel Community to a Transition Towards Renewable Energies in the European Union,´ will be available live in English, French, Spanish, Italian, and Polish.

As the European Elections approach (June 6-9), this webinar will enable Europeans to reflect on their role as Christians in participating in civic and political life. It will highlight the figure of Robert Schuman, the Christian founding father of Europe, who committed himself to peace after World War II by creating the European Coal and Steel Community. The speaker for this segment will be Prof. Zbigniew Krysiak, head of the Institute of Schuman Thought. Today, Europe, like the rest of the world, is extremely dependent on fossil fuels, which are at the root of climate change and are the source of numerous conflicts and geopolitical dependencies. With the resurgence of war in Europe, we will take Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as an example of Europe’s gas dependency. The speaker for this part will be Svitlana Romanko, founder and director of the Ukrainian organization Razom We Stand, which emerged from the successful #StandWithUkraine campaign to end the global fossil fuel addiction that feeds Putin’s war machine. We will then explore how Europe can build peace in the future and in light of the upcoming EU elections through the ecological transition and the phasing out of fossil fuels. The speaker for this part will be Luca Jahier, former president of the European Economic and Social Committee.”

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Please note: The opinions expressed in regard to this event do not necessarily reflect the views of the Laudato Si Action Platform or any associated organizations.