‘Business as usual’ seems a most unlikely outcome as we look forward over the next 6 months. The pandemic may well bring further trials for us to endure. We also have to set budgets for the next few years, and so we will need new strategies and business models to respond to the Net Zero […]
Chemicals and the Economy
Auto industry provides a model for the transition to Net Zero
Flooding in China and Europe, record temperatures in the USA, wild fires – all these are signs that climate change is accelerating. After all, the world has gone from 2.5bn people in 1950 to 7.9bn today. That must have an effect. In this interview with Felicia Loo and John Richardson on ICIS News, I discuss […]
Europe’s Green Deal will transform its economy, as floods confirm urgency of tackling climate change
The floods raging in Germany and Benelux highlight the scale of the Climate Change challenge ahead. Last week, Europe announced its roadmap towards a Net Zero economy. It emphasised that achieving Net Zero, even by 2050, will be impossible if we don’t start now. As the Commission noted in presenting the strategy: “Climate change is […]
Governments continue to fail the Covid challenge
Governments have failed to properly protect their populations from the pandemic. Some have actively encouraged it, the rest have simply been incompetent. Today, their failure to vaccinate the world means poorer countries are now acting as a petri-dish – enabling more mutant variants to emerge. I first warned here of the pandemic threat on February […]
The blog’s 14th birthday – and the New Normal world it predicted has arrived
The blog has now been running for 14 years since the first post was written from Thailand at the end of June 2007. And quite a lot has happened since then: There was the 2008 financial crisis, one of the blog’s early forecasting successes This led to the publication of ‘Boom, Gloom and the New […]
ACS Chemistry & the Economy webinar on Thursday
Please join me for the next ACS Chemicals & Economy webinar on Thursday, at 2pm Eastern Standard Time, USA, when we will discuss: How businesses can be more successful by taking a more holistic view of the environment in which they operate How companies are refocusing due to the shifts in consumer demand and the […]
225 years ago today. The first ever vaccination – against smallpox, the great killer of the time
The pandemic has reminded us of the critical role played by vaccination in our lives. Its impact began 225 years ago today with Dr Edward Jenner’s discovery of smallpox vaccination. It literally changed the world. And today, we have a new opportunity to reshape our world. Please click here to download a more detailed PDF […]
Supply chains set to transform as companies start to reshore
Major new opportunities are starting to appear in today’s New Normal world, as I describe in a new analysis for the Institution of Chemical Engineers. Please click here to read the full article. We are set to enter a “New Normal” world as economies slowly reopen again with the arrival of Covid-19 vaccines. This will […]
Pandemic leads to ‘baby bust’ as births decline in most countries
A year ago, many were suggesting the lockdowns might produce a “baby boom” as couples spent more time together. But early data suggests the world is instead seeing a “baby bust”. As Nikkei Asia reports: “Births (in December/January) have fallen between 10% and 20% in such countries as Japan, France and Spain — and even […]
Smallpox was the first vaccination to change the world – now we have a new opportunity to improve our lives
Chart 1: Increased life expectancy led to a dramatic increase in GDP/capita The pandemic has reminded us of the critical role played by vaccination in our lives. But few realise the enormous impact made just 200 years ago by Dr Jenner’s discovery of smallpox vaccination. It literally changed the world. And today, we have a new […]