It’s official: International Conference Registration is now available!

Versão Portuguesa

The BEUC – European Consumer Organisation, and its Portuguese member organisation DECO – Portuguese Association for Consumer Protection, are organizing, in Oporto at Alfandega Porto Congress Centre, Portugal, on 12 October 2018, the International Conference: Consumers and Environmental Justice. Free Participation with mandatory registration. Register here!

Conference

This conference will explore the unequal impact on different groups of consumers of environmental hazards, such as air pollution, extreme weather conditions and contaminants in food. It will look at these developments both from a prevention and an enforcement perspective, in order to identify implementable solutions for consumers.

The consumer detriment due to environmental hazards has increased in recent years. Not only because of ever more frequent extreme weather events. Other factors are the adoption (or absence) of public policies to mitigate their effect, as well the attitude of companies. Different groups of the population are affected differently by these policies and attitudes, generating asymmetries among citizens.

This conference intends to launch a reflection and a debate on the link between environmental justice and consumer policy and on the role that both consumer associations and public and private players should play on this environmental crisis.

Therefore, we wish to have a wide range of experts to discuss several issues, such as Extreme Weather Events and Insurances, Environmental Health and Redress Mechanisms, Emissions of Air Pollutants and Public Enforcement, Healthy Food and The Risk of Exclusion.

 

Programme

9:00 – Welcome and Registration

9:30 – Opening Session | Enforcing Consumer Rights While Facing Environmental Challenges

• Rui Moreira, President of OPorto’s Municipality
• Vasco Colaço, President of DECO – Portuguese Association for Consumer Protection
• João Matos Fernandes, Portuguese Minister of the Environment

10:00 – Building Equitable and Sustainable Cities

• Keynote speaker – Majora Carter, CEO at Majora Carter Group LLC

10:45 – Coffee-break & networking

11:15 – Environmental Justice: A Consumers’ Right

• Chair – Arminda Sousa Deusdado, Managing Editor of the TV Programme “Biosfera”, RTP 2
  
• Speakers:
  • Luisa Schmidt, Sociologist and Researcher at ICS-ULisboa – Institute of Social Sciences of the University of Lisbon
  • Jouni Nissinen, President of EEB – The European Environmental Bureau
  • Örjan Brinkman, President of BEUC – The European Consumer Organisation

12:30 – Lunch

14:00 – Breakout session 1 | Extreme Weather Events and Insurances

• Chair – Ana Santiago, Publisher and journalist from «Água & Ambiente» Magazine
• Testemonial – Nádia Piazza, President of the Association of the Victims of the Wild Fires of Pedrogão Grande
• Speakers:
  • Elsa Dias, Head of Unit – Consumers and Economic Agents’ Rights of the Portuguese Justice Ombudsman
  • José Leão, Coordinator of the Commission on Catastrophic Risks at APS -The Portuguese Association of Insurers
  • Michaela Koller, Director General of Insurance Europe

14:00 – Breakout Session 2 | Environmental Health and Redress Mechanisms

• Chair – Ana Rute Peixinho, Journalist from the Portuguese Press News – LUSA
• Testimonial – Joaquim Perdigoto Ramos, President of the Association of Vila Franca de Xira’s Legionella Victims
  
• Speakers:
  • Francisco George, President of the Portuguese Red Cross
  • João Alves, Prosecutor at The Portuguese MP; Head of the Collective Redress Department
  • Luísa Crisigiovanni, Secretary General at ALTROCONSUMO – Italian Consumer Association
    

15:00 – Coffee Break & Networking

15:15 – Breakout Session 3 | Emissions of Air Pollutants and Public Enforcement

• Chair – Marina Pimentel, Director of the Programe «Em Nome da Lei» of Renascença Radio
• Testimonial – Alexandre Marvão, Project Officer and Expert in Safety at DECOPROTESTE
  
• Speakers:
  • António Cavaco, Director of the Economic-Statistical Department at ACAP – The Portuguese Automobile Association
  • Filipe Araújo, Vice President of Oporto’s Municipality
  • Marion Jungbluth, Head of the mobility team of VZBV – The Federation of German Consumer Organisation

15:15 – Breakout Session 4 | Safe Food and the Risk of Exclusion

• Chair – Céu Neves, Journalist of the newspaper «Diário de Notícias»
• Testimonial – Karine De Crescenzo, Public Affairs Manager at UFC-Que Choisir – French Consumers’ Association
  
• Speakers:
  • Alfredo Cunhal Sendim, Portuguese Farmer
  • Mariana Dias Simpson, Policy Consultant at FAO – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
  • Mónica Truninger, Sociologist and Researcher at ICS-ULisboa – Institute of Social Sciences of the University of Lisbon

16:15 – Networking

16:30 – A New Policy for the Environmental Justice : Breakout Sessions Conclusions Presentation

• Paulo Fonseca, Head of Legal and Economic Department at DECO – Portuguese Association for Consumer Protection

17:00 – Closing Session

• Jorge Cancela, Member of DECOs’ Board
• Monique Goyens, Director General of BEUC – European Consumer Organization

Date, Time and Location

Fri 12 October 2018 | 09:00 – 18:00 WEST

ALFANDEGA PORTO CONGRESS CENTRE

Registration