I honestly believe that we are at a tipping point and that within the next decade we will see significant behavioural changes. Two examples:
- the car-maker, Tesla, is now building more electric cars than all other manufacturers combined:
it's expected to make 500,000 vehicles this year. People are prepared to pay a premium to "go green" (in the UK, the entry model Tesla costs almost $50,000)
- Simultaneously, there is a growing movement to veganism: for example, the
number of vegans in the UK has grown sevenfold in the last three years.
Severe weather is becoming more severe and more frequent. At present there is a lot of power production we cannot do without: wind and solar are unreliable and we still need electrical power, say, in the evenings when Mr Sun has gone to bed.
However, much air travel is unnecessary. It may lead to enjoyable holidays, for example, but those hardly figure in
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Actually, I'd suggest that much business travel is not needed, either. In almost 40 years in business, I'd guess that a good half of the intercontinental business trips in my industry weren't vital. I'd guess that there's an even chance that by the time Heathrow's third runway is built, it will be surplus to needs.
Now, you might well say that it's China [or insert the country you like least here] that is the big polluter. Well, just as today reputable companies make sure your shoes aren't made by eight year olds working 12 hour days, it's going to be more common that products will include a charge related to the carbon (or water) footprint, which will encourage cleaner power.
This may all seem apocolyptic and you may well ask who the hell am I to judge? I spent almost 40 years as SLF and I love a good steak. I have just returned to the UK from a family holiday in Africa. But I see things changing, especially as regards climate, and the younger generation are in the forefront.