Discussions began in Asia for the second day of the Global Boardroom, where we discussed population decline and the region as a key climate battleground. As the day progressed we debated whether we're in a second cold war and the global supply chain crisis. A few insights you might have missed include:
Emphasis should be placed on educating and empowering the younger generations as opposed to focusing on concerns surrounding declining populations
Wolfgang Lutz, Founding Director, Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital: “Demographic metabolism: it’s the better educated, young groups of people, every five years move up in the age permit . . . so slowly the less educated elderly pass away and the better educated move up the age permit . . . this is when you have rapid economic growth.”Nancy Qian, James J. O'Connor Professor, Kellogg MEDS: "Having a lower population is both inevitable and necessary, and it’s good for the environment if you think about it — it means fewer mouths to feed, the land has to produce less food, fewer cars on the road, less utilities being used, less emissions.”
All eyes are on China and whether it will reach its emissions targets. Simultaneously, countries across the region are looking to become less reliant on Chinese technology for their own energy transition
Richard Lancaster, CEO, CLP Group: “A key thing to look at in China is what goes into their five-year plans and electricity has been something which has always been prioritised in their five-year plans. They have pretty much hit all of their targets going back to their first plan in the 1950s.”
Sumant Sinha, Chairman and Managing Director, ReNew Power: “As far as India is concerned we started importing solar modules from China. At some point the Indian government realised that the market size in India is big enough that we should actually be looking at developing our own equipment manufacturing industries.”
It is unclear as to what new world order we are living in since the end of the cold war
Norbert Röttgen, Chairman, Foreign Affairs Committee, German Bundestag: “We are really observing and witnessing a struggle about power, influence and world order, so I do not see that much of a historic déjà vu, but it’s really something new. We are living under the condition of globalisation, the economic and other interdependencies are more tightly knit than ever before.”
More innovation, automation and digitalisation in supply chain management is still needed and companies must be prepared to pay the price
Gunilla Saltin, CEO, Uncoated Paper, Mondi Group: “Covid forced us to be innovative and use digital solutions that we probably would have used five years from now or three years from now . . . It was also an opportunity . . . not just a problem.”
To catch up on the sessions you might have missed read our full summary here.