For the first time, environment fills the top 5 places in the World Economic Forum’s global risk report on the list of concerns likely to have a major impact over the next decade. Looking past the crisis management required in the first half of 2020, how we choose to go forward will be critical. We have a short time window for action and there is a need for all participants to be proactive. But to be effective any actions will need to be taken in collaboration with other stakeholders so that we are building harmony across countries and industries, driving efficiencies and improving sustainability.
2019 was the second-warmest year on record (just 0.04°C behind 2016), and in Europe and Asia we recorded December 2019, January and February 2020 as the warmest winters ever. This information comes from NASA and the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). Much of Europe has seen unusually high temperatures for the time of year, with Norway for example showing 19°C in January (more than 25°C above the monthly average).
The European Green Deal defines the Europe’s journey towards being carbon-neutral by 2050. It is likely that economic growth will be separated from resource usage, and that the carbon-neutral political commitment will be turned into a legal obligation as well as a trigger for investment.
Heat waves, extreme precipitation, snowfall and cold spells, storms, floods, landslides, fog, wave heights, and more are affecting the supply chain. There is no way to escape, no ”safe” transport mode that is and will not be increasingly impacted.
We are hosted by the United Nations in Geneva to discuss with stakeholders from emerging economies and developed countries how we can achieve better performance together. By 2030 freight volume will have grown by 70% globally.
Billions of people will have higher lifestyle expectations, and new mobility aspirations. Projects like the China’s One Belt, One Road will connect more than half of the world’s population and roughly a quarter of the goods and services that move around the globe through maritime links and physical roads. Transport is not just one, but covers several of, the Sustainable Development Goals.
