2022 marked 50 years since the first UN Climate Conference agreed to take action after the publication of various reports warned about the dangers of unsustainable consumption and growth. We’ve spent the last 50 years largely doing the opposite of what we should have been doing, with #2022 setting a new record for #fossilfuel use. In 2022 we started paying the price, a cost that will continue to rise until we take real action.
2022 was about the harsh realities of life, a wake-up call that we are dependent on and part of #nature , all together on one small ship, sailing a universe with no other safe harbour discovered. So it’s probably best if we don’t keep destroying that ship, because whether you’re in the 1st class cabin or 3rd class, if the ship goes down and there’s nowhere else to go, everyone drowns. To quote Guterres “Moments of great difficulty are also moments of great opportunity”
2022 has taught us that thinking and talking isn’t enough, sitting back and ignoring the problems or letting others fight our wars hasn’t worked, it’s time for those that care to act. “The window to take urgent climate action is closing rapidly”. When that window closes, we will be trapped in a world of rising poverty, hunger, shortages, wars over dwindling resources, mass migration, and government controls that make the recent #covid restrictions and authoritarianism look like a libertarian summer camp. Except for a handful of “lucky” people who can fly to live on Mars, with #elonmusk providing the inflight entertainment.
2023 is the year when hopes and opportunities are turned into action. When the #technology and solutions are created and deployed to solve the problems - profitably - so that the projects are financeable and cash flows can be used to continue to grow. When financiers develop new tools and products to get projects funded, and give investors and others the ability to deploy capital where it is needed.
In the decades ahead, children will ask their parents what they did during the crisis of the 2020s. Will you answer that you posted pics on social media of you enjoying the last days of the dying world, or will you make your children and yourself proud? The solution to the world’s problems will not come from the UN, presidents,or other leaders, nor an institution nor corporation – they just respond to what we do. We, the people, are the problem and the solution. The 8 billion of us, that individually and together have the power to change everything.
What will I be doing in 2023? So far, I have a few things to keep me and our partners and team busy:
- Food – when people ask me why I spend so much time talking about food, it’s because it is the foundation of everything else – without food security, no society can prosper. So we are investing in and working with businesses in food technologies, production and distribution, fertilizers, potash, healthy food, protein alternatives, payment systems, logistics, trading companies – everything from seed to stomach, and everywhere.
- Water – many places around the world face water issues – too much, too little, too polluted. The US is no exception, with the shortages impacting not just people, but the farms that are an important part of the global food supply chain. We’re working on a major infrastructure project in the US, tapping into the incentives under the IRA and other programs, to bring water sustainably to the parched farms and towns in America
- Nearly a billion people are projected to move from village to cities in Africa, following the urbanization trend of other societies. It’s vital for all of us that those cities are built sustainably. So we are working with Smart City experts to bring together all the solutions needed to build sustainable cities, in Africa and elsewhere.
- When times are hard, women tend to be hit harder. We’re working on several projects to provide safe communities, work and education for victims of trafficking, and funding for female entrepreneurs.
- It’s amazing how little knowledge there is about what is going on in the world, and the many things that can and are being done to improve things. So it’s time to get the message out there – about sustainability, Africa, and how people can be involved. We’re working with a team of media and entertainment professionals to expand their business into these areas.
- I once lived on a little island kingdom off the coast of Europe, that at times showed greatness and leadership, especially in finance and sustainability, and had a history of working around the world. It has been a long time since I was in the UK, but in 2023 we will be listing one of our projects on what used to be the biggest exchange in the world, the London Stock Exchange.
- These past few weeks, I’ve received hundreds of messages from partners and contacts in China, as it re-opens and people are able to travel in & out of China. Projects and businesses we put on hold are now beginning to blossom again, and seeds planted over many years can now begin to grow in the more fertile environment after the 3-year winter.
- We are using more and more energy and materials, as populations and consumption grows. So finding new ways to create energy, and new materials and ways to make what we consume, is vital. We are working with brilliant scientists, engineers, researchers and businesses who are working on new ways to make the world go round.
- Taking carbon out of the air is a quick fix to climate change. The US Government has introduced funding mechanisms for doing that, alongside existing programs, which has created a range of solutions and projects for carbon capture.
- Education has always been my passion, whether it be passing on knowledge and experience to small group, in lecture halls, or at conferences; or investing in and building education businesses online and offline that provide people with the skills they need to prosper. As economies around the world worsen in 2023, we will be increasing our education programs to help people adapt and re-skill and train them for the new opportunities.
- After the last 3 years, it’s hard not to talk about and be involved in health projects, whether physical or mental.
All of this requires #funding , so we will be working with our partners to launch a series of #funds and investment vehicles, as well as developing #carbon #finance and #digitalassets tools and products. Feel free to reach out if you would like to be involved, it takes all of us to make a difference.
Best wishes to you and your loved ones for 2023, and for our shared future.