HSBC, the EU and Global Sustainability

[TheKnightWho]

Population forecasts seem to indicate a peak of around 9 to 10 billion, so I don't think food is the main problem given we can cope with feeding 7 billion at the moment. We've been discussing the food supply at length when surely the environmental cost of all these people on the earth is of greater concern. Do you believe that technology will fix the issues of global warming, waste and pollution?

I suspect it will, although the main issue is that whilst feeding more and more people has a clear immediate profit incentive, whereas solving climate change etc. does not, even though it would be beneficial to business in the very long-run.

So the answer is it can but whether it will in time is a totally different question and one I'm not sure of. However, the reason I brought up population is all this total rubbish about the country being full, when frankly Britain could never sustain more than a few million on its own, as when you add in new technology to boost that number you're already using foreign-made products or innovations. Now obviously no-one advocates shutting the borders and isolating ourselves, but the point is that some artificial middle-ground doesn't help anyone or really achieve anything either.

 

[radamfi]

In terms of cleaning up the electricity supply, international co-operation is greatly beneficial as the best sources of renewable energy are in places where few people live. For example geothermal in Iceland, hydroelectricity in Scotland and Norway, and solar power in north Africa. There are already cables proposed between Norway and Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.

 

[TheKnightWho]

In terms of cleaning up the electricity supply, international co-operation is greatly beneficial as the best sources of renewable energy are in places where few people live. For example geothermal in Iceland, hydroelectricity in Scotland and Norway, and solar power in north Africa. There are already cables proposed between Norway and Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.

The Norway-UK and second Norway-Germany links are under construction, with the Norway-Netherlands one already finished. There's also a proposed connection between the UK and Iceland.