Category Archives: Resource Based Economy

Banking The partnership defies 20th century notions of a public private partnership, and offers a glimpse of the private sector tipping its hat to the sovereign function and prerogative in identifying and authenticating the beneficiaries of a digital service.

WhatsApp is going to integrate the Unified Payments Interface developed by the National Payments Corporation of India. Credit: Reuters/Twitter

A senior official in the Indian government hasconfirmed, via Twitter, that the soon-to-be launched payments system from WhatsApp would integrate the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

The worlds most popular messaging applications decision to use locally-designed architecture to send and receive money is momentous for reasons both technological and strategic. WhatsApp relies on the address books of users to send and receive messages, images or calls, so it could well have deployed an in-house mechanism to make digital payments from one phone number to another. Indeed, the Chinese messaging application WeChat has engineered exactly such a system WeChat Pay relying on user contacts and scanned QR codes to effect payments.

WhatsApp has instead chosen to adopt a homegrown product, and a UPI-driven platform will allow it to make payments through other personally-identifiable markers: Aadhaar numbers, account number/IFSC code and so on. It is yet unclear how the payment interface will be integrated into WhatsApp. WhatsApp has two options before it: in the manner of a PayTM, WhatsApp could fashion itself a digital wallet and link it to UPI addresses. But given this would necessitate an RBI license and would be a rather minimal use of the UPI interface, WhatsApp is likely to adopt UPI-driven payments in the same way as the BHIM (Bharat Interface for Money) app, and potentially process transactions from all manners of IDs: phone numbers, Facebook contacts, bank accounts or even Aadhaar numbers. No matter what the final configuration, WhatsApps embrace of UPI will have lasting consequences for Indias digital economy.

For starters, the WhatsApp-NPCI arrangement defies 20th-century notions of public-private partnership. In most turnkey or greenfield infrastructure and services delivery projects, the governmentsuppliesthe public assets with the last-mile operation run by the company in question. In WhatsApps case, the messaging platform has built a steady base of first-generation internet users, which the government will tap for digital financial inclusion. In other words, the massive datasets harvested by the private sector Googletoo has payment gateway designsof its own for the Indian market will be leveraged by the government for targeted interventions. This sort of collaboration ensures public agencies will not have to reinvent the wheel (and create overlapping databases) for the purposes of promoting financial inclusion.

But the WhatsApp-NPCI collaboration also raises the possibility of government collection and processing of financial and personal data through the private sector, the misuse of which is currently not contemplated by Indias IT laws. The provision of public utilities through technology companies also require a clarification on the responsibilities of the private sector: for instance, would they operate as essential services during internet shutdowns? In the event of a cyber attack on WhatsApps servers or firmware, who would guarantee the safety of digital payment gateways and how will real-time information sharing with government work? After all, the UPI is essentially sovereign property the private sector must be accountable for its use of the resource.

Build, and they will come?

WhatsApps adoption of a homegrown digital platform like UPI is also important for symbolic reasons. Silicon Valley suffers from an almost pathological determinism and irrepressible belief that technology designed in the Bay Area can offer solutions to most global problems. WhatsApp, by integrating UPI into its platform, has signalled to Silicon Valley peers that the Indian digital economy can offer mature technological solutions that augment their own. This should be a cue for Y Combinator to pilot its universal basic income project in Indian cities through the UPI platform, blockchain players including European companies like Guardtime to offer commercially scalable solutions that limit pilfering of funds in public sector projects, and AI-based technologies to work with state governments for creating predictive tools in health diagnostics.

In some sectors, as with health and education, the government can contribute through data sets, while in others, such as the financial sector, it can provide technologies that lead to greater inclusion and accountability. Even enlightened Silicon Valley engineers often pit technologyagainstpeople, attributing the failure of ingenious innovations to human resistance: India has an opportunity to prove technological designs that account for lived realities in its own cities and villages can influence social and economic interactions positively.

An Indian model of cyber sovereignty

From a strategic perspective, the use of sovereign markers by WhatsApp to effect digital payments is significant. The UPI is an Application Programming Interface that allows transfers of money from one virtual payment address to another. (That payment address may look different based on the app in question: for example, while using the BHIM app, a users payment address would be amsukumar@upi, and for a specific bank the address may be amsukumar@sbi. For WhatsApp payments effected through UPI it may be @WA.)

Whatever that address may look like, the UPI interface ensures the address resolution happens through a number of public markers: phone numbers, account numbers and IFSC codes, RuPay card numbers and possibly even Aadhaar numbers in the future. WhatsApp could probably effect payments through phone numbers or Facebook contacts if it wanted to the way its parent company has,by building a system from scratchand using Visa and MasterCard debit card information but its use of the UPI interface is an acknowledgment of these government-identified markers. At a time when governments across the world are increasingly tightening their control over the internet, the WhatsApp-NPCI arrangement could be billed by India as its own variant of cyber sovereignty.

Its Chinese version, which is being aggressively promoted by Beijing through forums such as the BRICS, is too heavy handed and intrusive for India to acknowledge. India can offer as an alternative a minimally-invasive arrangement where the private sector tips its hats to the sovereign function and the prerogative of the government in identifying or authenticating the beneficiaries of digital services.

And finally, WhatsApps UPI embrace is a shot across the bow to Chinese competitors like Tencent and Alibaba, who want to introduce their own digital payment systems in India. New Delhi will be naturally disposed towards foreign technologies that integrate indigenous solutions, so the development is likely to place political and market pressures on Chinese companies to follow suit.

For Beijing, which has run roughshod over digital economies with little care for homegrown technical standards, this would be a moment to pause and reflect.

Arun Mohan Sukumar heads the Cyber Initiative at the Observer Research Foundation. Disclosure: Facebook, WhatsApps parent company, is among ORF Cybers project funders.

Categories: Banking, Business, Digital, Economy, Featured

Tagged as: Ajay Kumar, Bhim, digital economy, Facebook, Finance Ministry, Modi, National Payments Corporation of India, NPCI, p2p payments, peer-to-peer, personal payments, RBI, UPI, Whatsapp

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WhatsApp's Integration of UPI-Based Payments Has Strategic Consequences for India's Digital Economy - The Wire

Hike along Bay Ocean Spit road, learn about coastal bays & estuaries, and discover the history of a lost town.This guided hike will also highlight the 50th anniversary of the Oregon Beach Bill, a legislation ensuring public access to all 363-miles of Oregon coastline, and inform on updates to closing gaps along the Oregon Coast Trail.

This ~5 mile journey is a moderate to easy hike that winds along and over dunes at the intersection of Tillamook Bay and the Pacific Ocean. Discover how the bay and dunes formed and changed over time, experience the story of a great town and its demise and more during this great beach and bay hike.

FREE and open to the public (registration required), the hike will be led by Chrissy Smith of Friends of Netarts Bay WEBS,Kristen Penner of Garibaldi Cultural Heritage Initiative, and Connie Soper, author of Exploring the Oregon Coast Trail. The event is part of theExplore Natureseries of hikes, walks, paddles and outdoor adventures. Hosted by a consortium of volunteer community and non-profit organizations, these meaningful nature-based experiences highlight the unique beauty of Tillamook County and the work being done to preserve and conserve the areas natural resources and natural resource-based economy.

Experience the unique landscape of our coastline, the story of a long lost town buried beneath the salal, and learn about new efforts to preserve Tillamooks historical legacies.Join us in discovering the natural wonders and history of this special place!

Note:

Date & Time: Hike is scheduled for August 16, 2017 from 1 p.m. 4 p.m.

Event Information: There are no bathrooms or drinking water facilities on this hike. Please bring water and snacks. Weather on the Oregon Coast is unpredictable and trails can be slick and muddy if it rains. Please be prepared and bring appropriate gear and clothing.

Difficulty: A majority of the hike route is relatively flat, graveled road and beach. There are two sections that require climbing steep sand banks (~1 mile in length). The trail can also be overgrown in sections. Please dress appropriately, wear sturdy shoes, and evaluate your comfort walking on soft, sandy trails.

Location: Near Cape Meares, OR. The park is a 20 minute drive from downtown Tillamook. Please register for driving directions.

Cost:No charge. Tax-exempt donations to Friends of Netarts Bay WEBS to enable programs like this are encouraged, but not required.

Registration: Required and available at EventBrite.com. For a link to the registration page, please visit ExploreNatureTillamookCoast.com or the Friends of Netarts Bay WEBS Facebook Event page.

Links:

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Explore Nature: Hike Bay Ocean Spit - North Coast Citizen

Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu

The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, has said the National Waste-to-Wealth Programme is aimed at creating jobs and improving livelihoods.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria, Onu made the statement at the at the launch of the programme for the South-East geopolitical zone in Umuahia last week.

He said the Federal Government was interested in encouraging the use of technologies to convert waste to wealth.

This programme would enable us to convert our waste to valuable economic goods and services will help create wealth and jobs, reduce poverty, help defeat hunger and stimulate national consciousness.

We have seen how waste threatens our happiness and destroys our property. We will help to see how waste generated by one household can become wealth for others, he said.

Onu said that the scheme was important for the advancement of socioeconomic growth of Nigeria because waste bred disorder and sickness.

He said the programme would be useful in the realisation of the Federal Governments aspirations to create wealth, provide employment and stimulate development through science and technology.

Onu said the initiative had been captured in the 2017 budget which was an indication that the Federal Government wanted to show entrepreneurs and potential investors that waste was useful.

He said the initiative would strengthen the place of science and technology and move the economy from resource-based to knowledge-based and innovation driven system.

Onu expressed delight over the collaboration between the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology and Abia Government.

He said that if properly guided, science and technology would yield transformational results for the country.

He urged Nigerians to embrace the programme as a first step toward great achievements for the people in the zone.

Onu said the spirit of enterprise in Abia was relevant for facilitating economic growth in Nigeria and this informed the choice of the state for the launch of the programme.

The inauguration which took place in Government House, Umuahia was attended by Gov Okezie Ikpeazu, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, and a former governor of Anambra, Mr Peter Obi.

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Waste -to-Wealth initiative aimed at creating jobs Onu - NIGERIAN TRIBUNE (press release) (blog)

By

December 18, 2013

Realtors in two northern B.C. boomtowns are frustrated by a lack of product in the face of huge buyer demand. Sherry Hart, broker/owner of Royal LePage Fort Nelson Realty said much of her time is spent trying find clients the ideal property when it is not being offered for sale. Harts said that in many cases owners are simply not prepared to sell, regardless of the terms being offered. There is vacant industrial land, but the lack of available contractors creates a dilemma for those wanting a turnkey building, she said. Fort Nelson is among the northern towns fueled by natural gas investments, including at least seven new LNG plants and related work. Fort St. John is a northern centre for the natural gas fields and BC Hydros proposed $7.9 billion Site C dam, which is about seven km. from the city. It can be frustrating at times, says Ron Rodgers, owner/managing broker for Northeast B.C. Real Estate. I had a group of investors in my office the other week with $4 million to spend and they were prepared to sign on the dotted line right away. However, I didnt have a list of investment opportunities for them to choose from. There are a lot of investors who are looking forcommercial and/or industrial real estate in the Fort St. John area, both locally and from out of town. Financing can also be a problem. Even with all of the attention and the huge potential of northern B.C., getting mortgages and financing is still problematic for many investors, developers and business owners because we are told by the banks that we have a resource based economy Rodgers said. Ironic, isnt it? There is still caution among smaller investors, Rodgers added. After all, no LNG plants have actually been built and Site C will be facing public hearings for months before a decision is made. Until full commitments are made for these projects and actual contracts are signed, there are not a lot of commercial real estate sales that have been completed. While there is a good demand for retail and office space, the highest demand in this area will always be for industrial space to accommodate the many businesses that service and develop the oil and gas reserves in this area. For a full report on boomtown real estate, see the January issue of Western Investor.

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Boomtown realtors frustrated by lack of product - Western Investor (subscription)

Why does a state with mass higher education is not needed

Russia is one of the few countries where higher education is accessible to most citizens. Thats just the demand for that knowledge is small. This is the conclusion reached by the authors of a joint study by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Sberbank, Worldskills and Global Education Futures.

Its most qualitative human capital of the Russian exports, but the one that remains untapped. A resource-based economy is absolutely not value knowledge, according to the study. Therefore, the incentives to master the difficult professions a bit. So, the doctor in Russia earn on average only 20% more of the driver. For comparison: in the USA the difference is 261%, Germany 172%, in the emerging Brazil 174%.

While the public higher education quality of personnel in Russia does not improve, analysts say. The new economy requires not only theoretical knowledge and programming skills, but also creative, analytical thinking, ability to work in conditions of uncertainty. Meanwhile, the current education system orients young people to technical and routine work teaches us to act according to the instructions.

As a result, the demand for these graduates is small. Many receive diplomas and work where diplomas are not needed. This does not need a long time to learn, stated in the study. According to analysts, 26% of graduates would as well learn less than five years. However, the Russian education system focused on enrollment, not on actual business needs, conclude the authors of the study.

There is another problem. Over 20 years of wide-ranging reforms, from 1995 to 2015, the structure of the labor market in Russia has changed slightly. The main employer is still the public sector, even in state-owned companies and small and medium business, and large new corporations, less than one third of all employees.

According to analysts BCG, the matter is compounded by the fact that unemployment in Russia is one of the lowest almost does not react to GDP changes. Worldwide if GDP is falling, unemployment is growing, we can even decrease. In such an environment, even if a person has a need for a new economy knowledge and skills, to apply them it would be nowhere. This means that in the future Russia can be claimed by any modern professional, summarize experts.

See also: Moscow Economic forum: challenges and solutions

You need to knowledge in Russia again became in demand, will lead the economy out of the impasse?

I work in higher education since 1974, says the Chairman of Russian economic society. SF Sharapova, Professor of international Finance (University) Valentin Katasonov. And for four decades to observe the process of its degradation. Part of this degradation stems from the fact that universities are not quite adequate applicants. But do the universities contribute their mite, and considerable.

So there is, in my opinion, because the goal of the current system of higher education is not the training of qualified specialists, and in the formation of a certain type of human consciousness.

Our universities form a person who should be most manageable. Not only in terms of their economic activities, but in the broadest sense. From this point of view, the system of higher education is the pipeline for release, sorry for the harshness, fools. Because the most valuable resource in a market economy, in my opinion, is a fool. No kidding, the market model is banal will not work.

For the first time in the observed pattern: when a person comes to the first year of University, apparently he still thinks, asks some questions. But by the end of a University course the average student is usually sick. He begins to stereotype, and to see the world as if through a narrow window.

Believe me, it hurts me to say on this topic. But I do believe that the current higher education system does not generate and destroys man.

SP: This system prepares specialists?

The fact of the matter is that the professionals it prepares. But the damage from this system outweigh the positive results.

SP: This is purely a Russian problem?

Oddly, no. We sometimes idealize the higher education system in the West. In fact, problems there are no less acute. In Spain about 50% of graduates cant find work in the specialty. In Russia the share of people with higher education who work in low-skilled areas, about the same as in OECD countries 20%.

See also: Karina Zhdanova brought the gold of the championship of Russia in Taekwondo

In short, this is a global problem. And I believe her roots stretching the learning process. Once in the West as in the USSR was a ten-year secondary education. Now in the American schools for 12 years. Once in our country was a five year system of training in higher education. Now it takes 6 years: four years undergraduate, two graduate.

Such tightness of the learning process in time only makes the chaos. And most importantly because of this young man much later enters the labour market.

SP: If the education system in Russia was normal, it would have had a multiplier effect on the economy?

Of course, not only on the economy. The education system needs to form the personality of the person. Keep in mind that in Soviet times the universities we are not only taught we were brought up. And no one was embarrassed. On the contrary, universities have emphasized that the conduct of not just the process of transferring some of the knowledge and skills, but also the process of education.

Without this education, I believe there can be no civil society. After all, the man is the primary as a citizen, not as a narrow specialist.

If in Russia there will be a full-fledged civil society, there will be a normal economy. I think that the destruction of the educational component is a major problem and the current system of education, and the country as a whole.

Primary still the structure of the economy, under which is formed the labor market, said the President of the Union of entrepreneurs and tenants of Russia Andrei Bunich. And you can say that there is full compliance. If the economy developed, it required a proactive, energetic, creative shots. If it is raw, it is enough to two thirds of the population was engaged in unproductive work. Hence the huge army of security guards in our country, hence the situation in which a significant part of the working-age population has no qualifications, and odd jobs.

This situation has changed dramatically, need to change the economy. Then rebuilt and the educational system, and knowledge it useful.

2017, micetimes.asia. All rights reserved

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A resource-based economy makes Russia a country of fools - http://www.MICEtimes.asia (press release)

By Joe Oliver

Last week, Canada received more bad news in its prolonged failure to export energy resources abroad. Petronas decided not to proceed with its $36-billion Pacific NorthWest LNG project, dealing a body blow to B.C. employment, economic growth, funding for social programs and revenue to First Nations. Understandably, the federal and provincial governments sounded defensive, characterizing it as a business decision based entirely on the decline in liquified natural gas prices.

However, Petronas had previously emphasized it considers the industrys long-term prospects, including costs, not just the current market. Furthermore, LNG projects are moving forward south of the border and in Australia. An initial project description was filed with the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) in February 2013, raising the question why it could not have been approved sooner when prices were higher and costs potentially lower. For the sponsor, it must have felt like death by a thousand cuts, with frustrating delays and ceaseless demands for concessions from politicians and regulators, as well as lawsuits from environmental and aboriginal opponents.

Norway green policies have not prevented it from exploiting its vast offshore resources

When I was minister of natural resources, our Conservative government legislated one project, one review in a defined time period, a significant regulatory improvement. Later, we provided an accelerated capital allowance for the projects facilities and extended export licenses. In contrast, the Liberal government denigrated the National Energy Board (NEB), politicized, duplicated and lengthened the consultation and review processes and broadened their scope. It is now considering the addition of social and cultural impacts, which would exacerbate uncertainty and delay.

Former premier Christy Clark imposed a provincial carbon tax and took her time in pressuring Petronas to commit up to $1 billion in investment over 20 years. For its part, the CEAAs numerous and onerous requests for information stopped the clock and added a one-and-a-half-year delay. Meanwhile, the B.C. NDP, later to form government, officially rejected the project. In September 2016, the federal cabinet finally gave its approval, subject to 190 conditions including a cap on carbon emissions. So, a lot of people contributed to killing the deal.

Lets put the project in perspective. Canada has enormous natural gas reserves (1,100 trillion cubic feet), enough for 350 years of domestic use at current consumption. It is just common sense that we export as much as we responsibly can, as soon as we can. However, according to the NEB, Canada will be a late entrant in the highly competitive global LNG market and the next several years will be critical to the development of the Canadian LNG industry. Unfortunately, only the $1.6-billion Woodfibre LNG project has any chance of being built in the next five years.

Canadas strategic challenge is that our sole customer, the U.S., has discovered vast domestic shale reserves. Its companies are buying our gas at the low Alberta border price and exporting gas at the higher Henry Hub price. A substantial oil price differential also exists between Western Canadian Select and international Brent. Our exporters only option is to pay U.S. pipeline tariffs and contract with Gulf Coast facilities. For Donald Trump, its a great deal. For Justin Trudeau, not so much.

That leads to Kinder Morgans $6.8-billion Trans Mountain pipeline extension, which would transport 890,00 barrels of oil a day to Burnaby, east of Vancouver, for export to Asia. The new minority NDP government promised its Green Party supporters it will immediately employ every tool available to stop its construction. To avoid being sued for bad faith, the government is cautious about how it handles permit approvals and its role in lawsuits launched by opponents. Nevertheless, its historical opposition was fierce and Green votes are crucial to keep it in power.

The$12-billionEnergy Eastpipelineis also encounteringNIMBYopposition. Itwould deliver 1.1 million barrels of crudefrom Western Canada toQuebecand New Brunswickfor refining, consumptionand export.

These are nation-building projects. Trudeau should look to Norway, whose passionate commitment to green policies has not prevented it from enthusiastically exploiting its vast offshore resources and becoming the worlds third-wealthiest country per capita. Canada is 19th.

In terms of safety, anewFraser Institutestudydemonstratesthat while global tanker shipmentsdoubledfrom 1970 to2015, spills plummetedby 98 per cent.Therefore, whena projects environmental impact hasbeenscientifically vetted,it is timefor the federal governmentto grab thenettleanduse all itsauthoritytoget itbuilt.Ambivalence doesnot cutit.

We urgently need a national campaign strategy and a federal champion to explain to Canadians what is at stake. Otherwise, time will pass without progress, lengthening a distressing record of lost opportunities. It would be an inexcusable failure for Canada to be the only resource-rich country incapable of exporting its resources for the benefit of its people.

Joe Oliver, chairman of investment dealer Echelon Wealth Partners, is the former minister of natural resources and minister of finance.

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How to smother a resource economy to death, starting with LNG - Financial Post

The first Model 3s were delivered this week, and with it, perhaps the beginning of the end of the internal combustion era. This might be the way horse stable owners felt when they first saw a Ford Model T. The new Tesla is as snazzy as the very expensive earlier models, but its price is a more affordable $35,000 rather than the upwards of $100,000 cost of more luxurious models. Elon Musk, like the late Steve Jobs, seems to know how to bring a product to market and create buzz around it. Like the iPhone and the first Model T, the trick seems to be to create a good that you know people need, or could easily learn to need. Marketing geniuses seem to have a feel for how to create and sell these goods. It seems more craft than science, but listening to Musk, you know he has that feel. Its true that a sustainable, renewable resource based economy requires fewer rather than more cars, but the cars we end up with need to be capable of running on electricity from renewable sources rather than gasoline refined from fossil fuels. The Tesla 3 is a big step in the right direction.

In the United States we need to build more and better mass transit options, but due to our land use development pattern in most of the country, personal transportation will always be part of our mix. The transition to personal electric vehicles will take decades, but clearly the marketing trick is to create a product that is loved by consumers and experts. The initial reviews of the Model 3 last week were nearly uniformly positive. Jack Stewart in Wired observed that:

This car feels like an automotive tipping point, a sign that electric vehiclesand hopefully, the infrastructure that supports themhave finally come into their own. Time will tell whether Musk & Co. can hit their deadlines and keep production lines hummingElon Musk revealed Friday at the Model 3s coming out party that over half a million people have now plonked down $1,000 to reserve their ownbut for now, it looks quite nice.

Tesla has to demonstrate the manufacturing capacity to build the new car effectively and efficiently, and for it to move beyond novelty, the issue of charging stations, especially for people without home garages must also be engaged. But it appears that the key battery technology needed for the electric car is here.

The growth of the electric vehicle market provides an example of how the transition to a renewable resource based economy will probably take place, particularly if you combine it with the sharing economy. As the vehicles range improves, and its reliability is established, we will start seeing it appear in ride-sharing services. So many more people will ride in a Tesla than will own one. Still, the Tesla is so beautiful that many people will want to buy it, own it and make sure their friends see it parked in their driveway. People will experience these vehicles via many different models of use. The transition will be very gradual. The pace of replacing the internal combustion engine will take decades. People replace their cars more slowly than they used to. According to Antonio Bent, Kevin Roth, and Yiou Zuo, the average lifetime for passenger cars has increased from 12.2 to 15.6 years between 1970s and 2000s. Cars last longer because they are made better than they used to, and while people often trade in old cars for new ones after a few years, the old cars remain in use through the used car market for many years. No one will simply toss out a car because electric cars are better and cheaper than gasoline powered cars. But the transition will take place as new electric vehicles beat out gasoline powered vehicles in the marketplace.

We will see a similar process as home solar energy battery installations become more affordable and reliable. Even if utilities refuse to buy back excess solar energy, if a homeowner can store it for their own use, its easy to see how over time, they will simply decide to disconnect from the grid. We may never get distributed generation, we may simply see decentralized home generation. At first, the homeowner will notice their electric bill going down, then they will replace their gas appliances with electric ones, and after a few years without using power from the grid theyll just disconnect. Weve seen this with landlines, we are seeing it with cable TV service. Electricity will be next. The pace of change will be determined by market forces and the price, reliability and attraction of new technologies.

Government and public policy could accelerate or impede the pace of change. We have seen Secretary of Energy Rick Perry try to define threats to the electric grid as a national security issue. He seems to want to prevent renewable energy from being sent to the grid. This position is absurd, but seems to be part of Trumps all out push to revive fossil fuels. Sad! It would be far better for the planet if the trend toward renewable energy was accelerated, but regardless of governments stance, it is easy to see the market appeal of low cost, completely decentralized energy.

Another key element of this transition is to ensure it is not limited to the wealthiest nations and that the environmental impact of products such as the new Tesla are monitored and minimized throughout the supply chain. As auto ownership in China, India and eventually Africa increase over the coming decades, a concerted effort is needed to leapfrog internal combustion technology and move directly into electric cars. A global economy with increased production and consumption of transport and other consumer items could devastate the planet if it is not managed sustainably. Developing a high throughput economy without massive environmental destruction is the single greatest challenge we will face in the 21st century.

The process of transitioning to such an economy is underway, and the introduction of vehicles such as the new Tesla is part of that process. The temptation to make short term profits at the expense of environmental destruction remains and should never be ignored. There are a variety of means available to counter this temptation. Visibility and exposure can be a powerful weapon to counter wanton ecological destruction. Videos of degraded rivers, toxic waste sites and other acts of destruction can be very powerful. Lower priced communication, information and the growth of environmental advocacy organizations around the world, enable consumers in the market place to learn about corporate polluters and then reflect their environmental values in their purchasing decisions.

None of this will be easy, simple or without setbacks. Earth systems observation, environmental monitoring, analysis and projection are critical to understanding the impact of human consumption. Education and communication of conditions and impacts are also critical. We need a more sophisticated understanding of the impact of our actions. When that understanding impairs the interests of powerful economic forces, we can expect powerful resistance to new knowledge and analysis. We have already seen that with tobacco and fossil fuels. Nevertheless, our dependence on science and technology for our well-being requires the use of science to understand its impact on natural systems and on our own health.

The new Tesla is a testament to human ingenuity and the power of a visionary entrepreneur. It provides an indication of what we are capable of and hopefully is an element of the broader transition we require. Lets celebrate this achievement and move on to the next one.

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Tesla's Model 3 And The Transition To Sustainability - HuffPost

Pippa Malmgren cannot get over the fact Australia has tied itself to the low-value end of the Chinese economy but doesnt want anything to do with Chinas greatest economic initiative since the Great Wall.

The former adviser to US Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama wants a China-obsessed Australia to wake up and smell the hard landing.

For Australia the big issues are Chinese, Dr Malmgren said on a visit to Sydney.

China has already had its hard landing its not a question of if and they realise theyre not competitive anymore.

Domestic consumption isnt happening in China, thats why theyre going abroad it isnt happening fast enough, yet why is Australia banking on that?

According to the former deputy head of global strategy at UBS who was among the few to call the GFC; selling her house and moving her family to rent before the 2007 crash Chinas middle class is not burgeoning the way people thought it would.

So instead China is building a middle class elsewhere.

Theyre building it in Burma, in Central Asia , in Western Europe, in Portugal. And this is critical, by the way, because you notice theyre not investing in Australia , Dr Malmgren said.

China has shifted the paradigm to its high-profile One Belt, One Road initiative , connecting regional economies, driving Chinese branding and interests and, importantly, building GDP outside the country.

And the commitment to the build-out of global infrastructure is truly mind blowing. Its massive, Dr Malmgren said.

I find it really interesting Australians are very happy about being tied to the Chinese economy but now the Chinese want to make GDP abroad, the Australians dont want to go with them.

So far the Federal Government has not signed an MOU, alongside 65 other countries, to take advantage of the most ambitious global infrastructure initiative in a generation.

Dr Malmgren said it was an opportunity for not just in the words of former Austrade chief economist Tim Harcourt selling rocks and crops, but for Australia to finally mature as an economy.

The author of Signals: How Everyday Signs Can Help Us Navigate the Worlds Turbulent Economy, has been scratching her head as to why Australia does not grow up and join the latest industrial revolution.

Youve been a resource-based economy and I really wonder, I always ask the question why dont the Australians move up the value-chain, she said.

I mean China has moved up the value-added ladder. They used to make cheap manufactured goods, now theyre going to make more sophisticated manufactured goods cars, white goods theyre going to build global brands, why does Australia always just stop half way?

Dr Malmgren said Australia was better placed than many nations with its skill sets and human capital but had failed to focus on manufacturing.

Theres no excuse anymore for Australian businesses not to be present on the global landscape, she said.

AAP

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China-obsessed Australia to wake up, smell hard landing - The West Australian

Dr Pippa Malmgren can't get over the fact Australia has tied itself to the low-value end of the Chinese economy but doesn't want anything to do with China's greatest economic initiative since the Great Wall.

The former adviser to US Presidents George W Bush and Barack Obama wants a China-obsessed Australia to wake up and smell the hard landing.

"For Australia the big issues are Chinese," Dr Malmgren said on a visit to Sydney.

"China has already had its hard landing - it's not a question of if - and they realise they're not competitive anymore.

"Domestic consumption isn't happening in China - that's why they're going abroad - it isn't happening fast enough, yet why is Australia banking on that?"

According to the former deputy head of global strategy at UBS - who was among the few to call the GFC, selling her house and moving her family to rent before the 2007 crash - China's middle class is not burgeoning the way people thought it would.

So instead China is building a middle class elsewhere.

"They're building it in Burma, in Central Asia, in Western Europe, in Portugal - and this is critical, by the way - because you notice they're not investing in Australia," Dr Malmgren said.

China has shifted the paradigm to its high-profile 'One Belt One Road' initiative, connecting regional economies, driving Chinese branding and interests and, importantly, building GDP outside the country.

"And the commitment to the build-out of global infrastructure is truly mind-blowing - it's massive," Dr Malmgren said.

"I find it really interesting Australians are very happy about being tied to the Chinese economy but now the Chinese want to make GDP abroad, the Australians don't want to go with them."

So far the federal government has not signed an MOU, alongside 65 other countries, to take advantage of the most ambitious global infrastructure initiative in a generation.

Dr Malmgren says it is an opportunity for not just - in the words of former Austrade chief economist Tim Harcourt - 'selling rocks and crops,' but for Australia to finally mature as an economy.

The author of 'Signals: How Everyday Signs Can Help Us Navigate the World's Turbulent Economy,' has been scratching her head as to why Australia doesn't grow up and join the latest industrial revolution.

"You've been a resource-based economy - and I really wonder, I always ask the question - why don't the Australians move up the value-chain?" she said.

"I mean China has moved up the value-added ladder. They used to make cheap manufactured goods, now they're going to make more sophisticated manufactured goods - cars, white goods - they're going to build global brands, why does Australia always just stop half way?"

Dr Malmgren says Australia is better placed than many nations with its skill sets and human capital but has failed to focus on manufacturing.

"There's no excuse anymore for Australian businesses not to be present on the global landscape," she said.

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Australia's China play wrong: US adviser - SBS

Forty-five years ago, the Club of Rome, an organisation of individuals who share a common concern for the future of humanity, published a study, The Limits to Growth, which initiated a debate about the impact of unlimited growth in population and demand for goods in a world with finite resources. The report was based on a study by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who used a computer model to track the worlds economy and environment.

Focusing on industrialisation, population, food, use of resources, pollution and modelled data up to 1970, they developed a range of scenarios up to 2100, taking into account steps taken to address environmental and resource issues. Without serious action, the model predicted overshoot and collapse before 2070. The Limits to Growth generated controversy. Not because the questions it raised about the problems of population control, environmental degradation, and resource exhaustion were unimportant, but because of its methodology: the reliance on computer models and its doomsday conclusions.

Averting overshoot and crash scenario, the study noted would require policies and investments in technology to alter the course. Essentially this 1970s study viewed economic growth as inimical to environmental protection and resource conservation. In the 1970s, this would mean foreclosing the path to economic growth and consigning billions to poverty forever The social consensus was in favour of economic growth.

Beginning in the late 1980s, this gave rise to the concept of sustainable development. This approach argued that economic growth can be compatible with environmental protection and resource conservation. The global conversation was also beginning to focus on climate change.

For a long time, the discussion on environment focused on climate change. It was as if there is only one environment brain cell. Now there is a growing realisation that climate change is important, but the resource crisis is becoming important as well, said Astrid Schomaker, director for global sustainable development, environment directorate-general, European Commission. The focus on climate change and sustainable development led to a re-engagement on the question of ensuring economic growth with the least impact on the environment. The resulting concept of resource efficiency calls for the use of natural resources in a sustainable manner and minimising impact on the environment. This approach does not suggest limiting growth but provides a pathway to promote production using fewer natural resources. The Sustainable Development Goals adopted by all countries in 2015 recognise the need to address this issue, hence the focus on resource efficiency.

This recognition received a political boost at the G20 Summit in Hamburg in early July, when world leaders agreed on initiating a G20 Resource Efficiency Dialogue. The dialogue will provide an opportunity to exchange good practices and national experiences to improve the efficiency and sustainability of natural resource use and to promote sustainable consumption and production patterns. Recognising its importance, the government established the Indian Resource Panel in 2015 as an advisory body under the ministry of environment, forest and climate change. Supported through Indo-German bilateral cooperation, the panel studied resource-related issues facing India and advised the government on a comprehensive strategy.

The panels work forms the basis of a strategy paper prepared by the government think tank, Niti Aayog, for a policy approach on resource efficiency. For developing countries like India, resource efficiency is particularly relevant. The rapid transformation of its economy, its growing population, increased pace of urbanisation, improved incomes and a growing middle class, and the governments plans for massive industrial push, each of these indicates growing demand for resources. In this context, the idea of using resources in a more efficient manner is the way forward. Indias per capita consumption of material, 4.2 tonnes, is lowless than half the global average. But given its larger population, Indias total resource consumption is quite high.

India is now the third-largest consumer of materials and consumption is expected to increase rapidly, with the majority of the people living in urban centres by 2050. The changing face of the Indian economy is another factor. Though agriculture continues to be the dominant employer, the share of industry and services in employment and GDP is rising. These are resource-intensive sectors, and the rise in disposable incomes has led to higher consumption patterns. Indias material requirements are projected to be 15 billion tonnes by 2030 and 25 billion tonnes by 2050.

The bulk of the increase is expected in fossil fuel, metals and minerals consumption, according to the Indian Resource Panel. India and the European Union have agreed to work together over the next three years to adapt international standards and best practices in business and foster the efficient and sustainable use of natural resources. This partnership will focus on drawing up action plans for resource efficiency. The partnership will focus on four areasmobility, particularly electric and hybrid vehicles; building and construction; renewable energy, especially photovoltaics; and waste, with a focus on plastics, packaging and e-waste. Finally, it hopes to give impetus to evidence-based policy advice that will feed into the governments broader resource efficiency strategy.

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How India is trying to conserve precious natural resources - Economic Times