It turns out that in mitigating many aspects of climate change there are profits to be made, and eco-friendly entrepreneurs are stepping up to the challenge
What's great about global warming?
If you don’t know the answer to that question, you’re probably not an oil executive or fat-cat industrialist. Climate change is widely viewed as one of the biggest threats facing humanity, and its impact is already causing insecurity and panic worldwide. But while developed nations squabble over their finicky plans on how best to slash emissions by 2030, forward-thinking companies and tech-savvy entrepreneurs are figuring out how to capitalise on the chaos.
Instead of being consumed by doom and gloom, these entrepreneurs see impending Armageddon as a business opportunity. Commenting to a conference audience on the riches—in particular, oil and gas—beneath the planet’s icy wildernesses, a Shell executive once declared, “I will be one of those persons most cheering for an endless summer in Alaska.” You can’t help but admire capitalists and their optimism; even in the most dire of circumstances they’re able to find a silver lining.
Spurred on by thoughts of raging forest fires and rising sea levels, Big Pharma plans to profit from our dystopian future through medicines to treat diseases caused or spread by soaring temperatures and polluted air. “There will be expanded markets for products for tropical and weather-related diseases, including waterborne illness,” wrote drug company Merck & Co in a disclosure collected by CDP, a non-profit that asks businesses to report their environmental impact.
“As people begin to experience severe weather events with greater frequency, we expect an increasing need for confidence and preparedness in the arena of personal safety and the well-being of loved ones,” predicts Apple, adding eagerly that its iPhones “can serve as a flashlight or a siren; they can provide first aid instructions; they can act as a radio; and they can be charged for many days via car batteries or even hand cranks.” Alexa, add to cart.