Interview
Francisco Ferreira: “We need to stir up
people’s values”
people’s values”
Published on April 22th, 2016
On Earth day, marked this year by the signing of the Paris Agreement by 150 countries, the Clima@EduMedia project publishes a conversation with Francisco Ferreira, a known environmentalist, teacher and researcher at the Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade Nova de Lisboa (Faculty of Sciences of the New University of Lisbon). After several years as the head of Quercus - Associação Nacional de Conservação da Natureza (National Association for Nature Conservation), the face of so many “green minutes” who, through the television, made the Portuguese aware of environmental issues, is currently leading ZERO - Associação Sistema Terrestre Sustentável (Sustainable Earth System Association). Francisco Ferreira tells us about his journey in this area, leaving a message about what is takes to alter the current climate change scenario.
What came first in your life: a passion for science or environment-related issues?
The two have always walked hand in hand, but it was the environmental concerns that motivated me earlier. At the time, I was in the 5th grade and, coincidentally, I started to get involved in awareness-raising activities, which also encompassed information gathering and data processing related to the environment. When I was in high school, a group of secondary education students was creating the Centre for Nature Protection, and along with a group of colleagues, I began participating in these activities. I remember, for example, doing bird watching for a sort of white stork census, a bird that today exists in abundance.
Later, in the 12th grade, I ran and took part in the first Encontro Juvenil de Ciência (Youth Science Meeting) and was elected president of the Associação Juvenil de Ciência (Youth Science Association). For me, science and environment, both in terms of public participation and University research have always been a very useful combination. Science, on the one hand, allowed me to cement many political positions, which in public terms, I inevitably adopted in the environmental associations I was involved with. I always thought it crucial for public action to be based on the best that science has to offer. It's a double passion that I have always tried to reconcile: the professional work of teaching, researching, and simultaneously, in my spare time, to develop an environmental civic activity.
And how are you able to reconcile this double passion: the militancy in the environmental field with teaching and research? Aren´t these areas very distinct?
It implies that your day has less time for leisure activities... This does not mean fewer hours of satisfaction. When you run for fun, you do not get tired. Obviously, there are always small losses on a personal level and in your scientific career. If I was more devoted to science, the results would be greater ... Of course, there are always costs. But there are gains in this double strand. For example, non-governmental organisations with international networking make use of a lot of scientific information and of the discussion of ideas that can enlighten our research and our work. Thus, we can increase and improve many of the methodologies used and increase our problem integration capacity. Climate, air pollution and environmental engineering are areas that have a huge challenge, which is precisely this ability to connect many problems and many issues in a systemic analysis. This integrated and multidisciplinary approach that I must use daily is advantageous.
Science helps civic activity and civic activity also ends up helping the scientific activity.
You are mainly known for your role as the head of the Quercus association. How did you become a pioneer in environmental protection and what was it like to pave the way?
From the ages of 10 to 16, I was attached to a youth centre for the protection of nature. Then, in Setúbal, I was linked to a regional environmental association named “Setúbal Verde” (“Setúbal Green”). I was not the founder of the Quercus, because it is the result of an amalgamation of a number of regional associations that took place in 1985, and I joined in 1987 with the “Setúbal Verde”. Since January this year, I'm on a new project, ZERO, which is a new step, a bit different and more comprehensive in relation to Quercus.
And what motivated the creation of this new association?
ZERO was created by me and by nearly hundred people. The idea was to bring together a number of individuals who were linked to universities in the areas of science and the environment but also economy and sociology. That answer implied a philosophy somewhat different from that of the Quercus. We felt, over the years, that the Quercus was not able to make a more strategic reflection on national and European issues regarding sustainable development. Or, at least, this was not its primary goal. ZERO will seek to respond to this new type of intervention. The goal is to broaden its scope.
“I believe awareness is increasing, but the action does not correspond to what one would expect.”
Your enthusiasm is evident. Do you feel responsible for the growing interest in environmental issues in Portugal?
I believe I do. Even now, and I'm not exaggerating, there is not a week that goes by when I do not have a session at a school, with teachers, with a group of adults who want to learn more about environmental issues. This is my everyday life. And in the Quercus, with the "Minuto Verde" (“Green Minute”) and "Minuto pela Terra" (“Minute for the Earth”), we had a very good chance of contact with people. There was a lot of feedback and I responded to emails that people sent me and sometimes even spoke to them personally.
And what is your perception: people are more interested in these issues? What differences have you noticed?
I believe awareness is increasing, but the action does not correspond to what one would expect. I have no doubt that, today, people are more sensitised, and that they also have greater environmental literacy, but at this point, I expected a bigger response.
And what went wrong?
We need to improve literacy and to develop awareness and education further. We need to stir up people's values. It is important to realise that the future of the planet has to do with the way we consume, with the decisions we make. It is not enough just to recycle or save water one time or another. It is our way of life and our values that are fundamental to our ability to provide an answer and improve the environment, as well as investing in sustainable development.
Compared to other countries, have you ever felt alone or misunderstood, or fighting against vested interests? What was that struggle like?
The battle is quite complicated. One thing is the knowledge that we have, which is given to us by science and another thing is our public, but also our political participation. The former is always tricky. My approach has been not to derail the dialogue, while at the same time being incisive regarding the changes the State and businesses need to make. One needs to be consistent, honest and face, without being aggressive, the interests that end up jeopardizing environmental issues.
What gave and still gives you more pleasure in the academic area?
One is certainly teaching. It gives me immense pleasure to teach. This climate area and the air quality, with which I work, is an even greater challenge, because scientific articles are published every day with more information and we have to constantly learn and convey new knowledge. Fortunately, the research that I develop is also very much applied and also very political. For instance, I have been involved in studies related to analysis of air quality that afterwards resulted in measures that touch the lives of people. In this case, it led to the creation of a zone of reduced emissions in central Lisbon with a bill that prevents older vehicles to travel in that area. All the projects that I have been involved in have a very practical approach and that brings me much joy.
On climate change, what are the steps that our country still has to take? What do we still have to change as a society?
There is yet much to be done. The real challenge, following the Paris Agreement, is to understand how we will lead Portugal to have a neutral emissions balance, as quickly as possible. This “quickly” can be in 2050 and this has to be thought out and planned with time. All the mitigation effort has to be simulated, evaluated and proposed to the politicians so that they can make the best decisions in order for us to have a country that reduces its energy dependence, that invests on renewables in combating climate change and, at the same time, that gradually adapts to the consequences of the changes that we are already witnessing. It's a huge challenge.
And from now on, what are the challenges that lie ahead?
I want to look at the link between environment, economy and social issues in a more careful and in-depth way, taking into account the goals for sustainable development set in New York last year. That is the challenge. It is in these areas that I want to know more, explore more and also start to encourage partnerships publicly and draw attention in this regard.
By: Renata Silva (with Cláudia Azevedo)
The two have always walked hand in hand, but it was the environmental concerns that motivated me earlier. At the time, I was in the 5th grade and, coincidentally, I started to get involved in awareness-raising activities, which also encompassed information gathering and data processing related to the environment. When I was in high school, a group of secondary education students was creating the Centre for Nature Protection, and along with a group of colleagues, I began participating in these activities. I remember, for example, doing bird watching for a sort of white stork census, a bird that today exists in abundance.
Later, in the 12th grade, I ran and took part in the first Encontro Juvenil de Ciência (Youth Science Meeting) and was elected president of the Associação Juvenil de Ciência (Youth Science Association). For me, science and environment, both in terms of public participation and University research have always been a very useful combination. Science, on the one hand, allowed me to cement many political positions, which in public terms, I inevitably adopted in the environmental associations I was involved with. I always thought it crucial for public action to be based on the best that science has to offer. It's a double passion that I have always tried to reconcile: the professional work of teaching, researching, and simultaneously, in my spare time, to develop an environmental civic activity.
And how are you able to reconcile this double passion: the militancy in the environmental field with teaching and research? Aren´t these areas very distinct?
It implies that your day has less time for leisure activities... This does not mean fewer hours of satisfaction. When you run for fun, you do not get tired. Obviously, there are always small losses on a personal level and in your scientific career. If I was more devoted to science, the results would be greater ... Of course, there are always costs. But there are gains in this double strand. For example, non-governmental organisations with international networking make use of a lot of scientific information and of the discussion of ideas that can enlighten our research and our work. Thus, we can increase and improve many of the methodologies used and increase our problem integration capacity. Climate, air pollution and environmental engineering are areas that have a huge challenge, which is precisely this ability to connect many problems and many issues in a systemic analysis. This integrated and multidisciplinary approach that I must use daily is advantageous.
Science helps civic activity and civic activity also ends up helping the scientific activity.
You are mainly known for your role as the head of the Quercus association. How did you become a pioneer in environmental protection and what was it like to pave the way?
From the ages of 10 to 16, I was attached to a youth centre for the protection of nature. Then, in Setúbal, I was linked to a regional environmental association named “Setúbal Verde” (“Setúbal Green”). I was not the founder of the Quercus, because it is the result of an amalgamation of a number of regional associations that took place in 1985, and I joined in 1987 with the “Setúbal Verde”. Since January this year, I'm on a new project, ZERO, which is a new step, a bit different and more comprehensive in relation to Quercus.
And what motivated the creation of this new association?
ZERO was created by me and by nearly hundred people. The idea was to bring together a number of individuals who were linked to universities in the areas of science and the environment but also economy and sociology. That answer implied a philosophy somewhat different from that of the Quercus. We felt, over the years, that the Quercus was not able to make a more strategic reflection on national and European issues regarding sustainable development. Or, at least, this was not its primary goal. ZERO will seek to respond to this new type of intervention. The goal is to broaden its scope.
“I believe awareness is increasing, but the action does not correspond to what one would expect.”
Your enthusiasm is evident. Do you feel responsible for the growing interest in environmental issues in Portugal?
I believe I do. Even now, and I'm not exaggerating, there is not a week that goes by when I do not have a session at a school, with teachers, with a group of adults who want to learn more about environmental issues. This is my everyday life. And in the Quercus, with the "Minuto Verde" (“Green Minute”) and "Minuto pela Terra" (“Minute for the Earth”), we had a very good chance of contact with people. There was a lot of feedback and I responded to emails that people sent me and sometimes even spoke to them personally.
And what is your perception: people are more interested in these issues? What differences have you noticed?
I believe awareness is increasing, but the action does not correspond to what one would expect. I have no doubt that, today, people are more sensitised, and that they also have greater environmental literacy, but at this point, I expected a bigger response.
And what went wrong?
We need to improve literacy and to develop awareness and education further. We need to stir up people's values. It is important to realise that the future of the planet has to do with the way we consume, with the decisions we make. It is not enough just to recycle or save water one time or another. It is our way of life and our values that are fundamental to our ability to provide an answer and improve the environment, as well as investing in sustainable development.
Compared to other countries, have you ever felt alone or misunderstood, or fighting against vested interests? What was that struggle like?
The battle is quite complicated. One thing is the knowledge that we have, which is given to us by science and another thing is our public, but also our political participation. The former is always tricky. My approach has been not to derail the dialogue, while at the same time being incisive regarding the changes the State and businesses need to make. One needs to be consistent, honest and face, without being aggressive, the interests that end up jeopardizing environmental issues.
What gave and still gives you more pleasure in the academic area?
One is certainly teaching. It gives me immense pleasure to teach. This climate area and the air quality, with which I work, is an even greater challenge, because scientific articles are published every day with more information and we have to constantly learn and convey new knowledge. Fortunately, the research that I develop is also very much applied and also very political. For instance, I have been involved in studies related to analysis of air quality that afterwards resulted in measures that touch the lives of people. In this case, it led to the creation of a zone of reduced emissions in central Lisbon with a bill that prevents older vehicles to travel in that area. All the projects that I have been involved in have a very practical approach and that brings me much joy.
On climate change, what are the steps that our country still has to take? What do we still have to change as a society?
There is yet much to be done. The real challenge, following the Paris Agreement, is to understand how we will lead Portugal to have a neutral emissions balance, as quickly as possible. This “quickly” can be in 2050 and this has to be thought out and planned with time. All the mitigation effort has to be simulated, evaluated and proposed to the politicians so that they can make the best decisions in order for us to have a country that reduces its energy dependence, that invests on renewables in combating climate change and, at the same time, that gradually adapts to the consequences of the changes that we are already witnessing. It's a huge challenge.
And from now on, what are the challenges that lie ahead?
I want to look at the link between environment, economy and social issues in a more careful and in-depth way, taking into account the goals for sustainable development set in New York last year. That is the challenge. It is in these areas that I want to know more, explore more and also start to encourage partnerships publicly and draw attention in this regard.
By: Renata Silva (with Cláudia Azevedo)