Article

post cover image

Frans timmermanns delivering his keynote in Östersund, Sweden, on September 17.

From the Green Deal to "War and Peace": Frans Timmermans on the way forward

Former EU Climate Commissioner Frans Timmermans, one of the key architects of the European Green Deal, issued a strong call to accelerate climate action at the climate conference “Ways Forward in an Unstable World” on September 17.
Held annually since 2002 in Östersund, in northern Sweden, the conference Klimatseminariet (The Climate Seminar) brings a global-to-local perspective to climate action.
Timmermans’ message about the urgency of acting in time — and his rejection of the false argument that it is already too late to act — resonated strongly with the keynote that followed, delivered by Catarina Rolfsdotter-Jansson, Executive Producer and Program host, We Don't Have Time.

Speakers Catarina Rolfsdotter-Jansson and Frans Timmermans.

Speakers Catarina Rolfsdotter-Jansson and Frans Timmermans.


The former Commissioner stressed that Europe must stay the course on its climate targets and voiced concern about efforts to water down the EU’s regulatory framework.
Timmermans shared his thoughts on “where we are, why we got into trouble, and how we can get out of it.”
He also reflected on what he learned from re-reading Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace — and what the novel can teach us about navigating the turbulent times we face today.
📺 Watch the keynotes from Frans Timmermanns (in English) and Catarina Rolfsdotter-Jansson (in Swedish)
https://youtu.be/JcC35ju1kAw?t=2221



    Follow us

    © 2026 We Don't Have Time – All rights reserved.

    We Don’t Have Time is the world’s largest media platform for climate action – with a mission to democratize knowledge about climate solutions and inspire and mobilize global action toward a prosperous, fossil-free future. The content of the We Don't Have Time social network is user-generated. The We Don’t Have Time organization does not automatically endorse users’ opinions and claims. All users of We Don’t Have Time have subscribed to We Don’t Have Time’s Terms of Use, which, among other things, prohibits hateful, abusive, and violent content. If you discover content that violates our Terms of Use, please notify us immediately. The platform is operated by the company WeDontHaveTime AB (publ), whose majority shareholder is the WeDontHaveTime Foundation. The Foundation’s principal purpose is to contribute to a reduced climate impact and an ecologically sustainable environment. Our headquarters is located in Stockholm, Sweden.

    Please read our Privacy Policy and our Cookie Policy.