What are the results of the 2nd IEC 2026 preparatory conference?
The 2nd Preparatory Conference of the International Environmental Council (IEC 2026)
took place successfully on September 14, 2025, with around 50 participants from 12
countries! It was mainly conducted as an international ZOOM meeting.
In addition, there were two individual meetings on the same day (due to scheduling
reasons). The atmosphere at the conference was good, with discussions characterized by
solidarity and a focus on results. The preparatory process has been further
consolidated in terms of content and expanded internationally.
Weak points were the low participation of industrial workers and trade unionists as well as
young people. Due to the last-minute cancellation of translators, not all international
participants were able to follow the discussion, for which the coordination group would like
to apologize once again!
Online participants came from the following countries:
Italy, Portugal, Peru, Chile, Pakistan, Togo, Nigeria, Mauritania, another person from
Africa (country unclear), Germany. One-on-one meetings in the morning with
environmental activists from Afghanistan (now in Germany) and the Netherlands, both of
whom were unable to attend the conference but want to collaborate in the future.
Cancellations due to scheduling conflicts, but with continued interest, came from South
Africa, Russia, and China.
The most important results:
● The topics of the forums and workshops proposed so far were confirmed in their
entirety and defined more precisely in the discussion. The number of forums was
streamlined by combining similar topics. Above all, the discussion showed that
the increasing fascist attacks on the environmental movement are a global problem and
that the struggle against them must be given greater weight at the IEC.
● (The updated list of forums and workshops will be published here in multiple languages
as soon as it has been translated).
● The proposed financial guidelines and the principle of self-organization and
self-financing were confirmed. At the same time, a graduated system of solidarity-based
support for the travel expenses of participants with limited financial means was
established. (The financial guidelines will also be published here shortly).
● No decision has yet been reached on the question of the IEC country. Concerns about
long flight times for a large number of participants and security concerns in view of
global fascist developments were seriously discussed, and in this respect countries in
Europe were favored, but not exclusively.
● Strengthening the coordination group: S., an environmental activist from Togo, decided
at the end of the conference to join the coordination group, which now has an international
composition.
● Practical cooperation among IEC2026 supporters: It is proposed that on
International Environmental Action Day on November 15, in conjunction with
participation in a delegation to the COP30 protests in Belém, Brazil, actions be
carried out everywhere according to the capabilities of each location. These actions are
intended to raise awareness of IEC 2026 and recruit new supporters. For this purpose,
IEC2026 posters in several languages are available on the homepage, which are to be
used in every country or city for a mobilization photo – for later publication on the
homepage and in social media.