BE A PART OF THE SOLUTION, NOT THE PROBLEM!

Dear readers,

The EESC's most recent Civil Society Prize was dedicated to a theme that is especially close to my heart – climate action.
One would think that the reality of the climate crisis would have struck home by now and would have become such a widely accepted fact that the whole world would have already been united in the attempt to avoid its own destruction. But although many efforts have been undertaken in this direction, we are still not doing enough.

This is why it is important to keep repeating that climate change may soon reach a point of no return and that it may well threaten the existence of the world as we know it.

This is why I can never stress enough how important it is to unite all our forces to do something about climate change. And it is a responsibility that none of us is exempt from.

The EESC believes that the success of the European Green Deal – under which the EU has pledged to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 – depends on action and commitment by all actors. Grassroots organisations and individuals play a critical role in helping to bring about a shift in norms and behaviours, making local economies greener or driving the transition at the local or regional level.

By dedicating the Civil Society Prize 2021 to climate action, the EESC wanted to honour and showcase the non-state climate efforts made so far.

We sought the winners among projects that support a just and green transition to a low-carbon economy. The goal was to encourage ongoing projects and inspire new ones, and I believe we have achieved it!

What we received is a wealth of ideas that give us hope that maybe we can win this battle. We have received projects from all corners of Europe battling climate change in inspiring and creative ways. It was not easy to pick the winners and we feel that each of our candidates deserves recognition. You can read more about all of them in our brochure dedicated to this year's prize.

We chose to crown five projects which are all impressive, each in their own way, and which tackle some of the most pressing issues we are facing when we talk about transition to a climate-neutral economy and society.

Through their important work, our five winners encourage sustainable investments and point to the valuable role of older generations; they tackle energy poverty by giving a voice to the energy poor; they make circular economy happen on the ground while at the same time actively promoting social justice; they combat urban heating by launching inventive and interactive apps or bring to the table all players in the energy transition, forcing them to have meaningful debates and find a plausible solution.

At the award ceremony held on 9 December in Brussels, I therefore felt especially privileged to have had the honour of handing out the prizes to our five winners. In this issue you can read more about their fantastic projects and you can get to know them in the interviews we did with them. We will also be launching a podcast where each of them will tell us about their future plans and how the EESC prize has motivated them to continue with their work.

In this issue you can also read about one of the winners of 2020 Civil Solidarity Prize who have just been given a prestigious climate award in the UK. We were especially touched to hear how the EESC prize made a difference for them, enabling them to continue with their projects and embark on new ones, which have started to earn them praise and recognition. This is what makes us not only proud but also even more determined to continue with our prize and with shining a spotlight on the fantastic work that civil society organisations and people are doing on the ground on all sorts of issues and across our European Union!

Enjoy the read and remember – we all have to chip in and give our due in this fight against climate change, however small or big our efforts or even sacrifices may be. We are all a part of the solution, let's stop being a part of the problem!

Cillian Lohan
EESC vice-president for communication