It’s often thought that clean energy represents a transition from cheap, abundant fossil fuels to expensive, scarce renewables. In this analysis, we will explore how this fear has it exactly backwards: in reality, the clean energy disruption will usher in a fundamental transformation in the way we produce energy, one that can revolutionalize the specific …
It’s often believed that the clean energy disruption could be fundamentally constrained by resource scarcity in the form of insurmountable raw materials and mineral bottlenecks. Increasingly, some argue that it entails a net decrease in the energy available to societies, and therefore warn of an unavoidable decline in material prosperity in coming decades. In the …
Decarbonizing the global economy at first glance looks like an overwhelming task, given that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions come from everywhere – every product, technology, industry, service, and sub-sector. But at RethinkX, based on our insights into the interface between societal change and technology disruptions, we have found that this challenge can be met rapidly …
How to Decarbonize the Global Economy in 15 Years: A RethinkX Guide for COP26 Read More »
You would probably not willingly drink contaminated water or eat rotten food. But every day billions of people breathe polluted air and do not stop to think twice about it. That’s why air pollution is slashing the lives of billions of people around the world by up to six years, according to a recent study …
As our world leaders prepare to gather at the UN climate conference (COP26) this fall to discuss future action on climate change, there is one major question on the table. Will we as a global society come together to take control of the situation and prevent catastrophic climate change, or are we too far gone? …
At UN climate summit, we must choose clean prosperity or climate catastrophe Read More »
North Atlantic right whales face an increasing risk of extinction due to climate change. According to a new study by scientists at Cornell University, warming oceans have driven the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale population from its traditional and protected habitat in the Gulf of Maine into cooler waters of the Gulf of St. …
Despite Growing Extinction Risk, This is How Whales Could Flourish Like Never Before Read More »
What do the marmalade you put on your toast and the vitamin you perhaps take at the same time have in common? Both have an ingredient called citric acid, an ubiquitous, weak organic acid. Indeed, citric acid is the molecule that led to the technology which enabled the mass production of penicillin. Citric acid is …
Sugar is one of the world’s most glorious ingredients. Deliciously sweet, it brings flavour and texture to so many of the dishes and products we love. But as we all know, sugar has a dark side. Alongside health issues like obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay, sugar is a volatile and highly political commodity. Over the …
Sweet Saccharine: Could sweet protein disrupt sugar? Read More »
Public perception can be a fickle thing. Behaviours, products, practices and technologies go in and out of favour all the time, and over the years, the morals and values of the majority change. Social acceptance of homosexuality, women voting, or racial integration was once deemed unimaginable but is now ubiquitous – a social license was …
How do chocolate goodies keep their sheen and creamy texture, even while sitting on store shelves? Increasingly, the answer is palm oil (and palm kernel oil), the world’s most widely consumed vegetable oil[1]. In our report Rethinking Food and Agriculture 2020-2030, we discuss how precision fermentation (PF) is rapidly improving in cost and capabilities so …
Precision Fermentation and the Disruption of the Palm Oil Industry Read More »
