Supporting global commitments by investing in innovation and technology

At the beginning of December, the 24th Conference of Parties (COP24) took place in Katowice in Poland. It is always a exciting experience to attend a COP event. So many nationalities and organizations mobilized with a common vision and goal - to “make our climate great again”!

This year the COP24 is taking place with high expectations for concrete governmental and societal action against climate change. While the United States retired from the Paris Agreement in June 2017 and other countries found inspiration in different goals, our planet has never suffered as much from the effect of climate change as it does today. During the summer, northern Europe suffered from drought while the south faced flooding and storms. Japan, Canada, and Sweden faced heat waves and a few weeks ago, California was fighting against a “camp fire” blaze that killed 85 people and destroyed 14.000 residential homes. This is only the beginning.

Two months ago, the last IPCC (International Panel of Climate Change) report showed that CO2 emissions continue to increase despite the Paris Agreement’s objective to keep the global warming below 1.5° (maximum 2°). The report stipulated that to stay below this 1,5° increase of world average temperature, concrete actions must now be taken. Exceeding 1,5° will lead to a scenario where the impact and risk for natural, managed and human systems will be very high. A global warming reaching more than 2 degrees will lead the world to an unknown future where human beings may struggle with many unpredictable issues.

I have not written the above introduction to be pessimistic and to paint a sad and unknown future. I believe that we need to consider all these signals as an opportunity to make big decisions and act for the future we want to see.

Let’s dream and imagine a future where technology and innovation integrates with sustainability to develop positive solutions. A future where smart grid will support the development of renewable energy, where alternative mobility will be combined to propose zero emissions and efficient transport solutions. Where all of us will have access to non-industrial and organic food produced by local and social entrepreneurs using smart monitoring system to limit waste and energy needs, where services will replace product selling thanks to sharing platforms, and where all of us will become prosumers.

In Luxembourg, this dream scenario is already into motion. In 2016, The Luxembourg government presented its strategic study on the implementation of the third industrial revolution. This study developed with the support of Jeremy Rifkin clearly shows that maintaining a more sustainable society is possible and that the success lies in the development of innovative initiatives. A sustainable society can only be achievable thanks to the support of technology that is developed and proposed by small startups and small companies. The well-known quote of Ghandi “be the change you want to see in the world” is clearly written in the DNA of such enterprises.

So how do we support the development of such initiative? Even great ideas need finance to move into concrete action in order to start making an impact. Public and private finance should be mobilized to support the achievement of the transition to a more responsible and sustainable society. A recent report from UNCTAD (United Nation Conference on Trade And Development) demonstrated that the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 will required the annual sum on US$3,9 trillion. Many studies demonstrate that action on climate change and the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals should not be perceived as a cost, but as an investment that will create new market opportunities.

A report from the Business and Sustainable Development Commission showed that achieving the SDGs opens up US$12 trillion in market opportunities. The main economic system on which these opportunities will be created are food and agriculture, cities, energy and material, and health and well-being. The report elaborated that “To capture these opportunities in full, businesses need to pursue social and environmental sustainability as avidly as they pursue market share and shareholder value.”

We must now keep on feeding this new virtuous circle by supporting the development of innovative and sustainable activities. This concept is at the heart of the Mind & Market in Luxembourg Forum this year. For the first time, we will give the floor to green tech startups. They will be given the opportunity to present the impact that they would like to make. This edition highlighting impactful entrepreneurs is only the beginning, join us tomorrow to welcome and support the new generation of dreamers at the University of Luxembourg.