From 600+ conversations with the world’s leading thinkers.
Africa is an enormous continent, larger than the US, China and Europe combined. It represents 20% of the global land mass, and only 10% of the world's population. It offers an un-crowded space of opportunities including minerals, natural resources, water and agriculture.
From 20,000 miles away however, you couldn't see any civilisation- just the land mass and those three colours… the brown of the land, the white of the clouds and the ice, and the crystal blue of the ocean. Earth was just suspended in the blackness of space and it was an incredibly beautiful sight.
There's a risk of underestimation if we only count the easily quantifiable elements. It's easy to dismiss minute pathways as insignificant due to their size, but with an infinite number, their collective impact can be substantial.
If you speak to heads of states and corporations about the costs, that will be incurred to protect the environment, they will never invite you again. If you come and speak their language about job-creation and profit, they will welcome you with open arms and tell you to start implementing.
We cannot use the existing models of development, because those existing models have brought us pollution, disparity of income, and significant challenge. Consumption-led economic development has been the narrative of the 20th century.
The most common misunderstanding is that the Arctic is just a frozen wilderness with a lot of ice and glaciers and a few polar bears roaming. On the contrary the Arctic is a very diverse part of our planet with multiple resources and economic opportunities, the home for over four million people of different nationalities and diverse ethnic origin.
We are the master race. We are the creatures who impose our will on virtually everything that lives and breathes. It's deeply shocking when you start to think about the scale of it.
The power of population is so superior to the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man, that premature death must in some shape or other visit the human race.
Not only is it your responsibility as a business to look after your people, environment, community and world.... But if you don't have these kinds of conversations? Shame on you.
If this wasn't a huge opportunity, I wouldn't waste my time- most of our investors wouldn't. If we were producing luxury meat that is only aimed at Michelin Star restaurants. The number of people that can afford to eating Michelin star restaurants is relatively few, you're not going to make an impact on the climate, you're not going make an impact on the future of our kids.
We can only solve our ecological problems by linking ecology and economy. If we can create the right economic environment, change will happen. If it's more profitable to be efficient than wasteful, we will be efficient.
When you have children, you have to ask yourself what the world will look like in the next 80-100 years, because people get that old these days if everything goes well. Last but not least, as a father I see it as my responsibility to think about my actions and my motives.