Welcome to the February edition of Future Thinking. As we set out in last month's newsletter, for the next three months we will be introducing our core focus areas within climate change; starting with energy and emissions (Renewables & EV), moving on to sustainable consumption (circular economy & smart cities) in March and then Food & Agri in April.
Global carbon emissions from fossil fuels have significantly increased over the past half a century. Indeed, since 1970 CO2 emissions have increased by about 90%, with emissions from fossil fuel combustion and industrial processes contributing about 78% of the total greenhouse gas emissions increase from 1970 to 2011. Agriculture, deforestation, and other land-use changes have been the second-largest contributors and emissions of non-CO2 greenhouse gases have also increased significantly since 1900.
This is not only creating long-term, and potentially irreversible, problems for our planet, but is also directly affecting the majority of the global population today. Millions of people lack access to sufficient energy entirely, with terrible consequences to themselves and the environment. A WHO study has also found that more than 90% of the world’s young people – 1.8 billion children – are breathing toxic air. Emissions leading to poor air quality is causing over 7 million premature deaths a year and storing up a public health time bomb for the next generation.
There is growing hope on the horizon as advances in AI and hardware increasingly drive both investor value and impact. The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a short-term reduction in emissions over the last 12 months and recent reports suggest that a number of countries, including Germany, UK, Sweden and Spain, are increasingly generating electricity from renewable sources rather than from fossil fuels. This is positive, but there is clear that there is a lot more that can - and needs to be done - in this area.
We are working with a number of leading companies in this field, focussing on Smart Cities, Transport, Clean Energy and Renewables and more. As we set out in last month's edition, the year ahead is our opportunity to take this further and support initiatives to build back better, support green jobs, and accelerate our path to net zero.
Thank you for joining us on this journey.
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Despite a dip in greenhouse gas emissions from the COVID-19 economic slowdown, the world is still heading for a catastrophic temperature rise above 3°C this century – far beyond the goals of the Paris Agreement. But UNEP's Emissions Gap points to hope in a green pandemic recovery and growing commitments to net-zero emissions. Can we catch up on climate action?
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FPC's Focus on Tackling Climate Change
Future Planet, working in partnership with scientists and founders emerging from the world’s top universities, is seeking those companies best able to meet this challenge and address the $50 trillion market opportunity created by the challenge of climate change.
The very essence of capitalism is to make more from less and the essence of responsible capitalism is to reduce unnecessary consumption and waste. A sustainable approach to emissions, consumption and the environment is not only profitable but will reduce untold suffering for billions of humans and their fellow creatures.
Future Planet brings together the world’s leading thinkers in these spaces and identities companies in focus areas most likely to make a valuable difference. Please read on below to learn more about our particular areas of focus for Energy and Emissions.
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A. Renewables
Renewable energy has a key role to play in the decarbonisation of the energy sector. Increasing the supply of renewable energy would allow us to replace carbon-intensive energy sources and significantly reduce global warming emissions.
A study by the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) explored the feasibility of generating 80 percent of the country’s electricity from renewable sources by 2050. The study found that renewable energy could help reduce the electricity sector’s emissions by approximately 81 percent.
There has been positive signs of progress - and exciting technology like Fusion and Solar Power is advancing - but there is still much work to be done.
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It is the greatest technological challenge ever undertaken by humankind. The quest to produce the ultimate energy solution…Fusion. It’s been called ‘bottling a star but so immense are the challenges, the goal of a power-producing fusion reactor has so far remained elusive and out of reach….until now
Click on the link above to watch the Curiosity Stream documentary preview
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B. Electric Vehicles
Transport emissions — which primarily involve road, rail, air and marine transportation — accounted for over 24% of global CO2 emissions in 2019. Road vehicles account for nearly three-quarters of transport CO2 emissions, and emissions from aviation and shipping continue to rise. There can be no doubt that decarbonization of the transport sector would create a cleaner, healthier and more affordable future for everyone.
Electric vehicles are poised to transform nearly every aspect of transportation, including fuel, carbon emissions, costs, repairs, and driving habits. The primary impetus now is decarbonization to address the climate change emergency, but it soon may also shift to economics because electric vehicles are anticipated to be cheaper and higher-performing than gasoline cars. And this move can be done without sacrificing the interconnectedness we've come to expect from modernity.
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Listen to FPC Advisory Board Member, Robin Chase, speaking about future of urban transportation in the world’s cities
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Challenge Investing
Within our universe, we have a significant number of companies that are helping to profitably address this significant and vitally important global challenge. If you’d like to invest in some of the most promising growth companies based on top research then please don't hesitate to get in touch.
This comes with very best wishes and a Happy New Year from everyone at Future Planet Capital.
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