Category Archives: Resource Based Economy

Reserve Bank of Fiji. [image: File Photo]

The Reserve Bank of Fiji says remittances, including mobile money transfers, rose by 18.7 percent to total $529.3 million in the year to August.

This is compared to an 8.4 percent growth of $445.8 million in the corresponding period in 2020.

The RBF says larger inflows from personal transfers from overseas to people in Fiji underpin the annual increase in inward remittances.

Funds transferred through the mobile money platform totalled $102.7 million in the first eight months of this year.

Meanwhile the RBF says the relaxation of COVID restrictions yesterday together with plans to reopen Fijis international borders in November, is expected to provide much-needed support to the domestic economy in the upcoming months.

It says latest sectoral data also continue to show mixed outcomes, with resource-based sectors performing relatively well.

Output in the timber industry remained strong, evident in the annual growth in pine logs by 88.7 percent, woodchips by 75.1 percent, and mahogany production by 91.8 percent cumulative to August, while a temporarily inoperable sawmill affected sawn timber production by 11.1 percent in the same period.

The RBF says improved efficiency also underpinned the annually higher production of gold by 12.2 percent and sugar by 0.7 percent.

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Remittances rise by 18.7% to total $529.3 million in the year to August RBF - Fijivillage

We talk about a lot of emerging technologies in Winning Investor Daily.

Things like blockchain, the Internet of Things (IoT), 5G, cryptocurrencies and self-driving cars.

These are what we call disruptive industries.

They remake or even destroy old ways of business that havent changed in decades. Sometimes, they even create an entirely new way of life.

But these technologies arent going to give us control over the global economy.

Theres only one tech that will: Digitarium.

You may have never heard this term before. After all, it doesnt have the flash and hype of self-driving cars.

But theres a reason The Economist calls it the worlds most valuable resource.

You see, all of the technologies we mentioned earlier rely on Digitarium to function.

This resource could create 11 million jobs and boost the economy by $3 trillion. It could even save an estimated 10 million lives a year.

And one California-based firm is leading the Digitarium industry.

Big companies around the country are clamoring to get its services. As a result, its revenue is up 135% over the past five years. And its growth wont stop there.

Ian King has all of the information on Digitarium and this in-demand company.

He also has a special report on how you can stake your claim to this exciting industrys 5,000% growth.

Ian just released a new free presentation with all of the details. Click hereto watch it now before this industry takes off and leaves you on the sidelines.

And if you missed any of our experts insights this week, keep reading!

This week, Winning Investor Daily covered some of exciting new tech opportunities.

Web 3.0 Puts You in Control of the Internet

Web 2.0 is the internet we use right now. And its dominated by social media. While much of social media is free, the real cost is our private data. But with the birth of Web 3.0, the internet is on track to become much less invasive.

Regulations Could Make the Crypto Markets Even Stronger

To the United States and China, cryptocurrencies are a threat to financial stability. The U.S. has tried to regulate crypto, while China has banned it altogether. But this may actually be helping the crypto markets

This Food Tech Is a $1 Trillion Market

Synthetic biology is a term for genetically engineering microbes. Its used in food and agriculture, but its potential applications are unlimited. And theres one under-the-radar investment you can make in this tech today.

Technology Is Changing Everything Even Farming

The $10 trillion farming industry hasnt changed since the 1970s. Our outdated agriculture tech wastes billions of dollars a year. But now, data-rich technologies are helping farms work smarter.

Cryptos Are Reshaping the $172 Billion Gaming Market

Play-to-earn games let you exchange virtual items for Ethereum. And theyre reshaping the crypto narrative, as well as the $172 billion gaming industry. In this video, Ian King and Steve Fernandez discuss gaming and the crypto markets.

Best Wishes,

The Winning Investor Daily Team

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Invest in the World's Most Valuable Resource - Banyan Hill Publishing

By FORTUNATE MUYAMBIBy PHILIP OSANOBy JULIUS ECURU

The Covid-19 pandemic has had devastating impact on the economy of African countries, many of which registered negative economic growth rates for the first time in many decades, according to the African Economic Outlook 2021.

The silver lining of the pandemic is that it has opened opportunities to envisage a new future based on green and sustainable growth as countries emerge from the crisis. Countries are rethinking how to make their economies resilient to external shocks like the pandemic, and other concerns like locust invasions and climate change.

We believe that developing a sustainable bioeconomy pathway, which involves the use of scientific knowledge to add social and economic value to biological resources, would be a good strategy for the continent, and is key to achieving the goals envisioned in the African Unions Green Recovery Action Plan.

The rich biological resource base, a large proportion of arable land compared to other regions of the world, and a highly talented youthful workforce in sub-Saharan Africa gives the region a competitive advantage in developing a sustainable bioeconomy.

Nearly 90 percent of human medicines used in the region are imported and rely on stable global supply chains to deliver products at the right time. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has shown that global supply chains can be fragile in the face of a health crisis. Therefore, there is a need for the region to have the capability to develop homegrown solutions to emerging health problems, like the manufacturing of essential medicines, vaccines, and other products. A sustainable bioeconomy offers part of the solution.

We highlight some of the emerging bioeconomy opportunities in healthcare delivery, bio-packaging, and the role of policy in fostering bioeconomy development.

Africa can build a bio-based healthcare sector that addresses regional priorities. Countries, local industry and development partners can mobilise resources, including local talent and leveraging international partnerships to develop solutions, based on locally sourced pharmaceutical ingredients from a vast array of traditional and indigenous knowledge systems.

At the University of Burundi, for instance, scientists are working with industry to develop low cost, highly efficient and innovative mosquito-repellent products that help control and reduce malaria incidence. The repellant is based on essential oils extracted from Catnip and other locally grown plants.

Reducing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions is another challenge that presents opportunities for the African bioeconomy. The actions by countries in the region like Rwanda, Uganda, and Kenya to put in place policy and regulatory measures, which limit the use, manufacturing and import of plastic bags, is creating incentives for alternative bio-based packaging products. Fabric-based bags, non-woven bags, pulp paper-based bags, woven bags (using sisal and cotton fibres), and recycled textile material are now commonly used in the region.

Entrepreneurs in Kenya are investing in the novel production of cassava bags made from cassava starch that is biodegradable within six months.

Cassava bags can now be produced locally from waste cassava peeling residues.

A growing bio-packaging industry using bio-based materials from renewable resources from the region has the potential to generate jobs and incomes locally as well as reducing post-harvest losses in the agri-food sector.

The successful realisation of sustainable bioeconomy in the region, moving from promise to practice, will require governments, industry, and the private sector to do things differently.

There is a need to create a conducive policy environment at both the regional and national levels.

Fortunate Muyambi is the acting executive secretary of the East African Science and Technology Commission. Dr Philip Osano is the director, Stockholm Environment Institute Africa Centre. Dr Julius Ecuru is the manager for BioInnovate Africa

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Promise to action: Bioeconomy holds key to building resilience - The East African

A coalition of tribes and environmental groups asked the U.S. Department of the Interior to create new, stricter hard rock mining rules and to prioritize metal and rare earth recycling over mining.

The aim is torecovermaterials from cast-off cell phones, computers, monitors and even consumer batteries, reducing the demand for new mining operations and the waste, pollution and other environmental impacts they leave behind.

The group made use of a little-known provision in the federal Administrative Procedure Act, which gives an interested person the right to petition a federal agency to issue, amend or repeal a rule.

The Clinton administration issued similar restrictions within the Interior Department in its closing days.But, the incoming Bush administration was quick to reverse the rule with just a few exceptions related to bonding and exploration notices.

The group also wrote that regulations to administer the General Mining Act of 1872's provisionsshould be updated. The petition noted, for example, that the U.S. Forest Services mine permitting regulations have gone mostly unchangedsince they were initially published in 1974.

The group called for tougher regulations to evaluate mining permit applications as companies delve deeper into the earth, seeking ever-smaller metal-bearing ore bodies. The Environmental Protection Agency said the metal mining sector accounted for 41% of toxic substance releases and estimated that hard rock mines have contaminated about 40% of watersheds in the West.

Mines pay few or no royaltiesto extract the land's mineral and metal riches. A General Accounting Office report published in May 2020 found that 83% of the 872 mines operating on federal lands in 2018 paid no royalties to the government. Thats because under the 1872 mining law,these hard rock mines, known as locatable mines, are not required to pay royalties to the feds.

The other 17% of mines are located on lands leased from the government; these mines paid about $550 million in royalties in the fiscal year 2018.

A mining claim can be made on public lands managed by both the Interior Department and the U.S. Forest Service, an Agriculture Department agency.Alli Melton, a staff attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said the group asked for the rule change from the Interior Department because it is the lead agency charged with administrating the mining act.

The groups noted that a report from the Biden administration issued in June called for significant updates to mining laws and regulations.

The petition also asked the Biden administration to establish meaningful tribal consultation, to better protectIndigenous resources and to work toward free, prior and informed consent from impacted communities.

President Joe Biden issued a letter to executive branch agencies shortly after he took office directing those agencies to comply with Clinton-era executive orders to engage in meaningful consultation with tribes. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland has also made increased tribal consultation a priority.

Cultural issues:Indigenous people find legal, cultural barriers to protect sacred spaces off triballands

The report also said that no comprehensive statutes govern lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper, gold, uranium and other minerals, and recommended reforming the 1872 mining act and updating mining regulations on public lands.

Any rule changes will likely not occur soon. Creating a new rule or revising a previous rule can take up to 10 years, and involve research, public comment periods, hearings or even court proceedings.Andany change to rules involving permits under a law or laws must follow the same formal procedures as granting or revoking a permit or license, including adjudication.

The Interior Department declined to commentregarding what might happen next, including an estimate of the timeline to evaluate the request.

The tribes and environmental groupsalso asked the administration to create or enhance policies that prioritize metals recycling and reuse over new mining.

The "mother lode" of materials essential to renewable energy production and storage is growing fast. The industrypublication Chemical and Engineering News said that in 2020 alone, China was expected togenerate about 500,000 metric tons of used lithium-ion batteries. By 2030, industry experts estimate that worldwide, 2 million tons ofbatteries will be discarded annually.

Experts say recycling these materials isan essential component in the growing "circular economy," in which consumers and manufacturers recycle and reuse products and materialsinstead of tossing them away and extracting new raw materials. Recyclingresults in less waste, less pollution from extractive industries and a smaller carbon footprint, according to the United Nations' Conference on Trade and Development.

Some recycling experts say the need for new mines could decrease with more"urban mining" diving deep into junk drawers, closets, attics and garages in search of cast-aside cell phones, computers, monitors, video games and even consumer batteries for reclaiming hard-to-mine metals and minerals.

Several U.S.-based companies are already working to prevent lithium, gold, cobalt, palladium and other metals and rare earths from being lost to landfills.

Craig Boswell, president of HOBI International, a firm that recycles electronics and other IT equipment, saidconsumers can recycle leftover electronics and be reassured the hard-to-mine metals and mineralsin those itemswont end up in a landfill.

You can recycle electronics at any Best Buy store, he said, noting that, most of the major original equipment manufacturers have recycling programs, using vetted companies such as mine.

If a consumer has an old device and wants to recycle it responsibly, the manufacturer will suggest local recycling centers. HOBI has a Phoenix facility that is currently moving to a larger facility.

Boswell said many cellular carriers have trade-in programs that give consumers a discount for returning their old devices.

A cell phone is a better source of gold than mining gold ore, said Billy Johnson, chief lobbyist of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, an industry organization. Its 10 times richer in gold per pound, and the economics of recycling are better.

The U.S. is trailing other countries in adopting lithium-ion battery recycling capabilities, according to JeffreySpangenberger,director of the ReCell Center, a consortium of industry, universityand government labs that are developing new processes to economically recycle lithium-ion batteries. The ReCell Center is also exploring evolving battery chemistries to be ahead of the recycling curve.

Most batteries that are going to come back for recycling from electric vehicles havent reached the end of their life yet, he said. Lithium-ion batteries first appeared in electric vehicles around 2012, while an electric vehicles life is about 12 years, Spangenberger said.

Battery recyclingis sprouting across the nation as capacity is added and new techniques come on line, although Spangenbergerbelieves many sources of metal still languish in junk drawers and closets. He thinks lithium recycling may increase over the decadebecause he expects car batteries to start moving to recycle centersin larger numbers over the next few years as they reach their end of life.

Spangenberger said recyclers typically produce metal salts that must be exported to make new batteries, which are then re-imported to the U.S. The ReCell Center is developing a new process called direct cathode recycle, in which the battery material is ready to cycle directly into a new battery.

Jaeheon Lee, associate professor of mining and geological engineering at the University of Arizona, agreed that the U.S. can do better in recycling.

There are huge opportunities to do urban mining, Lee said.

Cell phones, for example, probably contain gold and neodymium (an essential element for making rare earth magnets) in quantitiesa couple of orders of magnitude higher than conventional mined ore, he said.

Recycling becomes even more viable with the addition ofother batteries that usually end up in landfills, like alkaline andnickel-cadmium batteries, button batteries and even lithium-ion batteries from small electric-powered devicesto large electric vehicle batteries,he said.

Catalytic converters also contain precious metals like palladium, Lee said.

Recycling is also cheaper than mining fresh materials.

With hard rock mining, we have to mine and crush the ore, Lee said. Sometimes the crushing accounts for more than 50% of overall operating costs.

On the other hand, the urban resources are in very high concentrations and can be relatively easily separated, Lee said. So its going to be much cheaper than conventional hard rock mining.

Lee also pointed to the environmental benefits, such as avoiding the waste and toxicity of tailings.

There was the tailings dam failure in Brazil in 2019, which killed hundreds of people, he said. With urban mining, we dont need to deal with those huge amounts of tailings.

Lee said recycling should start with city or state governments since the U.S. needs the metal.

For example, I attended a symposium on Asian resource recycling technology where nations share their knowledge and experience about recycling not only metal but also sometimes even paper or plastic, he said.

Both Johnson and Boswell said public awareness of recycling devices that contain lithium, cobalt, gold, copper and other metals and rare earth will help power a renewable, circular energy economy.

We just need to get people to harvest them out of their basement, said Johnson.

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Tribes and environmental groups ask feds to favor metal recycling over new mines - The Arizona Republic

Governor KathyHochultoday announced the MITREEngenuityOpen Generation 5G Consortium will bring 5G to the New York State 50-mile unmanned aircraft systems corridor between Syracuse and Rome. Open Generation has determined this corridor is a prime location to launch the nation's first 5G unmanned aircraft systems testing range, a designation that will greatly enhance New York's position as a global leader in this emerging technology sector.

"Our drone corridor being selected for thelaunch of the nation's first 5G unmanned aircraft systemstesting range further positions our state -specifically the Central New York and the Mohawk Valley region -as the global leader in the market for this cutting-edge technology,"GovernorHochulsaid."Through our continued investment in the drone corridor, we are strengthening and growing our regional economies for generations to come."

NUAIR, a New York-based nonprofit organization that provides expertise in unmanned aircraft systems and is a member of Open Generation, manages New York's 50-mile unmanned aircraft systems corridor and is playing a vital role in advancing 5G innovation in unmanned aircraft systems, also known as UAS. With coordination from NUAIR, the corridor will include an experimentation hub with more than 100 square miles dedicated to 5G beyond-visual-line-of-site testing and long-range flight paths -a capability critical to the commercialization of safe and secure unmanned aircraft systems.

New York State established itself as the nation's premiere destination for drones and businesses at the forefront of innovation by making a $30 million investment in 2016 to develop the 50-mile flight traffic management system between Syracuse andGriffissInternational Airport in Rome. In total, the state has invested nearly $70 million over the past five years to advance the unmanned aircraft systems industry in Central New York and the Mohawk Valley.

New York receiving the 5G technology for its drone corridor represents a new milestone for the sector's continued development in the state. Within this corridor, strategic investments are accelerating industry growth by supporting emerging uses in key industries, including agriculture and forest management, transportation and logistics, media and film development, utilities and infrastructure, and public safety.

"Supporting innovative technology and emerging industries that will create the jobs of tomorrow is at the core of ESD's mission. Both the agency and our regional economic development councils have been very focused on growing the UAS industry in Central New York and the Mohawk Valley,"Empire State Development Chief Operating Officer and Executive Deputy Commissioner Kevin Younis said. "MITRE's selection for New York's Drone Corridor to receive first-in-the-nation 5G technology represents a new milestone for the sector's continued development in New York State."

"New York will be the first FAA-designated UAS test site with a bespoke 5G network,"NUAIR CEO Ken Stewart said. "The industry is looking for an FAA and FCC approved communications network that has the capability and reliability needed for safe commercial drone operations. 5G holds the promise of unlocking scalable, economically viable drone operations and we are confident that our work in New York will help determine if 5G is a suitable solution for the UAS industry."

"This first-in-the-nation 5G UAS test range will advance commercial UAS solutions and showcase the transformative potential of 5G,"saidCharles Clancy, senior vice president, general manager of MITRE Labs, and chief futurist."This initiative is a vital part of MITRE's work to accelerate our nation's development and deployment of advanced telecommunications technology."

Both the Central New York and Mohawk Valley Regions have world leading UASecosystemsand the technology, resources, and economic incentives needed to conduct advanced 5G testing. The U.S. Air Force has been actively flying large, unmanned aircraft out of Syracuse Airport since 2015 and the city has already started preparing for the 'fourth revolution' of drones and 5G technology, replacing their streetlights with 'smart' streetlights capable of supporting a 5G communications network.

Rome is home to the New York State Unmanned Aircraft Systems Test Site, one of only seven FAA-Designated unmanned aircraft systems test sites in the United States. Owned by Oneida County and managed by NUAIR, the site consists of a highly instrumented unmanned aircraft systems testing facility atGriffissInternational Airport in Rome and is part of New York's 50-mile unmanned aircraft systems traffic management corridor between Rome to Syracuse.

The test site is part of the ever-growing 3,500-acreGriffissBusiness and Technology Park, which is home to a multitude of high-tech, world-leading companies in cyber security, quantum computing, manufacturing and more. Sky Dome will complement the test site atGriffiss, providing year-round, indoor testing of advanced drone technologies, including artificial intelligence-based flight controls and autonomous swarms of small drones.

Many in the telecommunications industry consider 5G to be the ideal spectrum for unmanned aircraft systems operations and are looking to have it approved by the FAA and FCC for airborne use in airspace under 400 feet - the typical airspace used for commercial drone operations. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are other bands of unlicensed spectrum used to fly drones, but are not reliable enough for safe, long range drone operations.

The 5G testing in New York will help prove to the FAA and FCC that the 5G cellular network meets acceptable aviation safety requirements, like what would be required for a wired communication or point-to-point radio link.

The MITREEngenuityOpen Generation 5G Consortium brings together market leaders, innovative startups, industry associations, academics, and government liaisons to solve complex 5G challenges that no one company can solve alone. This 5G research and development collaborative is leading unmanned aircraft systems over 5G innovation with use-case centric development in areas like emergency response, infrastructure inspection, package delivery, and asset management, creating generational technological impact while unlocking massive economic value.

NUAIR Alliancepartners -including New York, Michigan, Massachusetts, DRONERESPONDERS, the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services -will help advance the reality of a cohesive 5G network for scalable unmanned aircraft systems operations. Proving the safety, reliability, and capabilities of 5G technology in the unmanned aircraft systems space will prove the ability to use 5G in many other private and public sectors including government agencies like the U.S. Department of Defense.

Senator Rachel Maysaid,"5G technology paired with drones has many possible beneficial commercial uses. This technology has the potential to greatly improve the deployment of drones for infrastructure monitoring, installation of solar technology, faster and more efficient delivery of goods, and many others. It is exciting to see continued investment in our region from innovators."

Senator JosephGriffosaid,"I am pleased that the MITREEngenuityOpen Generation 5G Consortium will install the nation's first 5GUncrewedAircraft System test network within the drone corridor managed by NUAIR. This additional resource will help to grow, enhance and further develop UAS and drone-related technology, networks and systems in the Mohawk Valley and Central New York."

Senator John W. Mannion said,"New York continues to grow its leadership position in UAS research and development through partnerships with next generation companies like MITREEngenuity. With our region hosting the nation's first 5G UAS testing range, Central New Yorkers are now developing, building, testing, and bringing to market leading technologies while competing - and winning - in a global industry. Thank you to Governor KathyHochul, MITRE, and ESD for your partnership and support for upstate New York."

Assemblyman and Transportation Committee Chairman William Magnarelli said,"The New York State drone corridor established itself as a global-leader in this cutting-edge technology market. The continued investment in this area, including bringing 5G to the corridor, will increase opportunities for advancement of these businesses in the Central New York and the Mohawk Valley, so that the drone corridor businesses can maintain their position at the forefront of innovation in this industry."

AssemblywomanPamela Huntersaid,"New York's continued investment in infrastructure that supports the UAS industry will ensure that CNY will lead in this field for many years to come. By testing UAS technology within 5G networks, we are preparing for and creating the future of this industry. I commend GovernorHochulfor facilitating this important project and look forward to seeing our region become an even greater innovation hub."

AssemblywomanMarianneButtenschonsaid,"Reliableuncrewedaircraft systems are critical to ensuring the cutting-edge developments in this field can be used to support businesses in the Mohawk Valley and across the state. 5G research, which will allow us to safely operate drones on long flight paths and beyond the line of sight, will advance the drone industry by leaps and bounds and expand the range of practical applications. I'll continue working with state leaders, local officials, and community partners to support the Mohawk Valley's flourishing UAS industry.''

Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahonsaid,"Central New York continues to be a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems and high-tech innovation. 5G technology holds the promise of enabling the reality of advanced drone operations like package and medical deliveries and I'm excited that Central New York is leading the way."

Oneida County Executive Anthony J.PicenteJr.said,"I am pleased that Oneida County's UAS Test site has been selected as the nation's first 5G UAS testing range and I look forward to the positive impact this project will have on UAS communication. Our test site atGriffissInternational Airport continues to be on the forefront of industry research, development and innovation and today's announcement elevates the status of our 50-mile corridor to Syracuse to even greater heights. I thank the MITREEngenuityOpen Generation Consortium for recognizing our potential and our partners at NUAIR for their continued support and leadership."

Syracuse Mayor Ben Walshsaid,"The addition of 5G to the UAS corridor adds to Syracuse's leadership in ultra-high speed wireless technology. Implementation of a 5G wireless network in the city of Syracuse is already well underway with more than 175 5G sites installed. On the city's south side, construction is advancing and hiring will begin soon at a technology manufacturing plant for 5G equipment. Having the fastest wireless service available to city residents and businesses is an important part of our Syracuse Surge strategy for inclusive growth in the New Economy. I thank GovernorHochul, Empire Statement Development and MITREEngenuityOpen Generation 5G Consortium for support and investment in creating the nation's first 5G UAS testing range between Syracuse and Rome."

RomeMayor Jacqueline M. Izzo said,"The selection of theGriffissUAS test site to establish 5G capability along the 50-mile drone corridor is yet another example that the financial commitments that have been made by New York State and local governments to advance this technology are paying off. NUAIR and its partners have proven time and time again that they are capable of carrying out large scale UAS research and development throughout the corridor, which is making a difference in the advancement of UAS throughout the United States and the addition of 5G will widen those R&D capabilities not only at theGriffisstest site, but throughout the50 miledrone corridor to Syracuse."

About MITREEngenuity

As MITRE's tech foundation for public good, MITREEngenuitycollaborates with the private sector on whole of nation challenges to deliver public interest solutions focused on infrastructure resilience and economic stability through large scale deep tech investments and executions including, threat-informed cybersecurity, digital health, secure microelectronics, quantum sensing, and the use case innovation of next generation communications.www.mitre-engenuity.org

About NUAIR

The Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance, Inc., or NUAIR, is a New York-based nonprofit organization that provides expertise in unmanned aircraft systems operations, aeronautical research, safety management and consulting services. NUAIR is responsible for the continued advancement of New York's 50-mile UAS Corridor and Advanced Air Mobility Proving Grounds, facilitating beyond visual line of sight testing and commercial drone operations. Headquartered in Syracuse, NUAIR manages operations of the FAA-designated New York Unmanned Aircraft Systems Test Site atGriffissInternational Airport in Rome, NY, responsible to the FAA and NASA to conduct operations for unmanned aircraft systems and advanced air mobility testing. Visitwww.nuair.orgto learn more.

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Governor Hochul Announces New York's 50-Mile Drone Corridor to Host First-in-the-Nation 5G Test Network for Unmanned Aircraft - ny.gov

According to Ravenswood's CEO Kipp Peppel, "We are excited to be here in the heart of the modeling and simulation community. We look forward to strengthening our partnerships through this unique intersection of industry, government, and academia to help solve the national security challenges of today and tomorrow."

Principal Engineer Stacy Corcoran, the chief architect of the Ravenswood product family, will lead the new Product Development Center. Together with UCF, Mr. Corcoran will work to rapidly grow Ravenswood's local engineering presence, with a focus on augmented reality, expeditionary networks, and data analytics. "I am eager to bring our technology and ideas from Silicon Valley and blend them with the rich experience and know-how of Orlando's modeling and simulation community to develop better solutions for our customers," says Corcoran.

Corcoran is joined in Orlando by Ms. Kathy Keyser (Ravenswood's Director of Contracts & Procurement) and Mr. Rob DeGaine (Senior Program Manager). "You have to be there with our customers to help them know what you are working on that could benefit them," says DeGaine.

Ravenswood Solutions is a wholly owned subsidiary of SRI International, the globally renowned research institute headquartered in Menlo Park, CA. For more than 25 years, the Ravenswood team has delivered high-performance modeling and simulation solutions for clients around the world. Launching the Orlando-based PDC is the next milestone in Ravenswood's drive to deliver innovative, open, cost-effective solutions tailored to each customer's needs.

For more information media should contact

Ravenswood Solutions: Naomi Atlas, 650-646-2895, [emailprotected]

UCF Business Incubation Program:Carol Ann Dykes Logue, 407-635-9882, [emailprotected] or Alan Byrd, Alan Byrd & Associates, 407-415-8470, [emailprotected]

About Ravenswood Solutions. Ravenswood Solutions, a subsidiary of SRI International, enables world-class performance through exceptional technology and partnership. Born in Silicon Valley, Ravenswood specializes in rapidly delivering data collection, visualization, and analysis capabilities to your point and time of need, anywhere in the world. For more than 25 years, Ravenswood has successfully converted research to revenue and fielded scalable, modular solutions for training, testing, and operations across a variety of defense and commercial applications. Our expert team of geeks and grunts is dedicated to ensuring you achieve your goals in an efficient and cost-effective manner. At Ravenswood, we are committed to delivering on-time, on-budget, with unparalleled performance.

About the UCF Business Incubation Program:The University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program is a community resource that provides early-stage companies with the tools, training and infrastructure to become financially stable, high growth/impact enterprises. Since 1999, this award-winning program has provided vital business development resources resulting in over 300 local startup companies reaching their potential faster and graduating into the community where they continue to grow and positively impact the local economy.

With seven facilities throughout the region, the UCF Business Incubation Program is an economic development partnership between the University of Central Florida, the Corridor, Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia Counties, and the cities of Kissimmee, Orlando and Winter Springs. For more information, visitwww.incubator.ucf.edu.

SOURCE Ravenswood Solutions

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Ravenswood Opens New Office within UCF Innovation District in Central Florida - PRNewswire

A long-forgotten industrial fermentation process is allowing a small share of climate-changing carbon pollution to be turned into household products, with the first items available this year.

Backers say the process, known as gas fermentation, uses carbon captured from the air, industrial smokestacks, municipal solid waste or other sources to create "green chemicals" that can be turned into plastics, soaps, fabrics, perfumes and more.

"A lot of people think stuff like this is science fiction. They don't realize there are already plants running," said Jennifer Holmgren, chief executive of LanzaTech, a "carbon recycling" company based in Chicago but with operations worldwide.

Holmgren said the company's process is similar to that used to make wine or beer, but instead of sugar its engineered microorganisms eat industrial emissions such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and more to produce ethanol.

That, in turn, can be used to make the basic components for a variety of everyday products that typically rely on fossil fuels as their building blocks.

In April, LanzaTech, together with Unilever and India Glycols, announced a new laundry detergent made using carbon emissions captured at a steel mill in China.

In July, sportswear company Lululemon Athletica announced it would start selling clothing made with polyester yarn created through LanzaTech's gas fermentation.

"It's really about the circular economy - we imagine a world where you take your waste back and reuse it," Holmgren told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Around the world, technological innovations to capture, store, reuse or replace carbon pollution are on the rise.

Last week, the world's largest plant designed to suck carbon dioxide from the air opened in Iceland, and President Joe Biden announced a goal of converting the U.S. airline industry to fully sustainable jet fuel by mid-century.

Synthetic biology - like that used to make LanzaTech's products - could play a key part in the transition away from fossil fuels and to a climate-smarter economy, backers say.

Michael Jewett, a professor of chemical and biological engineering at Northwestern University in Illinois, said that finding ways to use carbon emissions to replace the "raft of products made from chemicals from petroleum" could have a significant impact on climate change.

Researchers work on optimizing LanzaTechs fermentation process in a company lab.

Image: LanzaTech

Industrial gas fermentation dates back at least a century but the technology was ultimately overtaken by products based on cheap petroleum, said Jewett, whose lab has worked with LanzaTech.

Today carbon-based products include "the carpet we set our feet on in the morning, the toothbrush in our mouth, the shampoo for our hair, the clothes we wear and the detergents used for our laundry," said an April report from the Nova-Institute, a German research group looking at greening the chemical industry.

Currently 85% of carbon used in such products comes from fossil fuels, the report found. It estimated that demand for such items will more than double by mid-century.

LanzaTech, created in 2005, aims to supplant that need for fossil fuels by instead tapping carbon dioxide.

It currently has two commercial plants in China making more than 15 million gallons of ethanol a year, using carbon captured from the flues of an alloy and a steel plant.

The process is drawing attention from other companies, though Holmgren said none is as far along as LanzaTech, which also is working on producing greener jet fuel, perfumes and product packaging.

"We are seeing a rapid development of industrial biotechnologies, which is making high performance ingredients with a low CO2 impact much more accessible," Jonathan Hague, a vice president with Unilever Home Care, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a statement.

The U.S. government is now backing LanzaTech's efforts, this year awarding it a U.S. Department of Energy grant worth $4.1 million to try to bolster its ability to turn waste carbon dioxide into a fossil fuel substitute.

"We have to develop entirely new types of technologies to enable a new carbon economy - one that captures, efficiently uses and stores more carbon than it emits," said David Babson, a program director with department's Advanced Research Projects AgencyEnergy initiative, or ARPA-E.

"Traditionally ARPA-E and others have been thinking about new energy technologies as a means to replace petroleum or fossil carbon or to reduce emissions," he said.

But as it has become increasingly clear that global climate goals no longer can be met through emissions reductions alone, as globally emissions continue to rise, the initiative has also looked at ways to get climate change-driving emissions already in the air back out, he said.

"We have to engineer a bunch of negative emissions pathways," he said.

A machine introduces DNA designs into LanzaTechs bacteria.

Image: LanzaTech

"Upcycling" carbon emissions to create consumer products offers a potential $1 trillion annual market in the United States alone, according to a 2018 estimate from Carbon180, a carbon removals non-profit.

It points to fuels, building materials and plastics as some of the biggest opportunities.

But such industries are still nascent, said Noah Deich, co-founder and president of Carbon180, a carbon removals non-profit.

Captured carbon can be put to good use.

Image: Scottish Funding Council

He estimated there are dozens of startups and research projects today but few that have generated "meaningful" revenue.

LanzaTech is one of the few companies building full-scale commercial projects, Deich said, suggesting that lessons from the company's work will "help the whole industry move faster".

The world faces converging environmental crises: the accelerating destruction of nature, and climate change.

Natural climate solutions (NCS) investment in conservation and land management programmes that increase carbon storage and reduce carbon emissions offer an important way of addressing both crises and generate additional environmental and social benefits.

Research conducted for the Forums Nature and Net Zero report confirms estimates that NCS can provide one-third of the climate mitigation to reach a 1.5 and 2 pathway by 2030and at a lower cost than other forms of carbon dioxide removal. This report builds on the recommendations from the Taskforce for Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets, and identifies six actions to accelerate the scale-up of high-quality NCS and unlock markets through the combined efforts of business leaders, policymakers and civil society.

To foster collaboration, in 2019 the Forum and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development came together to establish the Natural Climate Solutions Alliance to convene public and private stakeholders with the purpose of identifying opportunities and barriers to investment into NCS.

NCS Alliance member organizations provided expert input to develop the Natural Climate Solutions for Corporates, a high-level guide to the credible use of NCS credits by businesses.

Get in touch to join our mission to unleash the power of nature.

He said the sector is at an "inflection point" as the technology advances and "the first wave of carbontech companies are moving beyond demonstration scale into commercial pilots".

Removing carbon from the atmosphere remains hugely expensive, he said, but turning captured carbon into consumer products can provide an important revenue stream, driving down the overall costs.

"These early efforts can flip the paradigm of carbon dioxide from pollutant to resource," he said.

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Pollution to products? Recycled carbon emissions are coming to consumer shelves - World Economic Forum

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When the Hazelwood coal-fired power station announced it would be shutting its doors in March 2017, it was Tony Abbott, from the backbenches, who demanded the federal government intervene.

The former prime minister, who 18 months earlier had been deposed by Malcolm Turnbull, said if the federal government was serious about tackling Australias looming energy crisis, then the last thing it should be doing was closing 20 per cent of Victorias baseload power supply, even if it did involve burning coal.

Nationals MP Darren Chester, whose electorate of Gippsland was home to the hundreds of workers employed at the 50-year-old plant, was furious at the call for a bailout, suggesting it was far too late and even the company didnt want it.

Nationals MP Darren Chester is taking a break from the party room.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

It is unhelpful for him to be providing false hope in my electorate when hundreds of workers are to be displaced, Chester said at the time.

Our focus as a government needs to be on developing alternative uses for the extremely valuable coal resource in the Latrobe Valley and investing in infrastructure that will create more jobs and opportunities for the region.

Chester knew then, as he still says now, that coal communities like his would one day have to come to terms with a rapidly changing economy. He wasnt cutting them loose by any stretch; he was simply preparing them for the inevitable shift.

Four years on and most of the Coalition are singing from the same song sheet. The world is changing and fossil fuels are no longer regarded as the future, even if they are not, just yet, a thing of the past.

But the climate remains vexed for the Nationals, who proudly represent regional Australia, and have in the past decade slowly grown their traditional appeal beyond farmers and graziers to encompass the resources sector.

Their leader Barnaby Joyce led the charge against the Gillard governments carbon tax and has for years cast doubt over man-made climate change. Now it has fallen to Joyce to negotiate what some of his colleagues fear could be the death knell for the resources sector in Australia: an agreement to transition to a carbon-neutral economy by 2050.

The pro-fossil fuels stance has delivered the Nationals electoral success, particularly in Queensland, where the Coalition holds 23 of 30 seats. The Sunshine state and resource-rich Western Australia are the only two states where the government holds the majority of seats. Its MPs know this well.

But Chesters dramatic decision to walk away from the federal Nationals party room this week is not based on the partys climate stance. His views are basically widely shared by many of his colleagues.

They are that the party must be at the table when negotiating any pact, regional Australia must not pay the price but that the Nationals cannot afford to be seen as climate deniers.

Victorian senator Bridget McKenzie says you wont hear her challenging climate science either. She just wants to make sure that the regional constituencies and industries she supports arent adversely affected by mandated climate targets.

Despite her personal attacks on some cool for climate Liberal colleagues this week, she hasnt spoken against net zero. She just wants to see the plan to get there.

Chester is still a Victorian National and a member of the Coalition, but he will not attend party room meetings for the foreseeable future.

His decision to step out, albeit temporarily, was a reflection of the spiteful, personality-driven internal spats within the party over the past five years. The move threatens to derail any climate debate the party has in the coming weeks.

Its out of sadness rather than anger. Its a degree of frustration, he said this week. The party room and the way its working at the moment is quite dysfunctional.

His criticism is reserved for some of his extreme right-wing colleagues, namely Queenslanders George Christensen and Matt Canavan, over their outspoken views about COVID-19 restrictions, vaccinations and climate. But the internal clashes run much deeper.

The lingering wounds from the ousting of Michael McCormack three months ago show no signs of healing any time soon. And it is that challenging backdrop Joyce now has to navigate if he is to reach any deal with his Liberal partners on Australias emissions targets.

Nationals MPs Mark Coulton, Michael McCormack and Darren Chester in JuneCredit:Alex Ellinghausen

The 21-member partyroom has for many years been at differing ends of the political spectrum on issues ranging from same-sex marriage and abortion to economic, COVID-19 and climate policy.

Im not sure why people are surprised that climate isnt settled within the Nats, one senior party source said this week. Just look at the past 10 years. Apart from the Greens none of these fights have been easy for political parties. And you need to have the fight.

There are many within the Nationals who arent giving up on coal, even coal-fired power, for a second. They think the idea of setting a target for net zero emissions is the stupidest thing a nation whose wealth is tied to a booming resource sector could do to itself.

Canavan, who says hes deadset against net zero, last week joined with retiring Flynn MP Ken ODowd and his potential successor, Colin Boyce, to call for a new taxpayer-funded coal-fired power generator on the site of the damaged Callide power station in central Queensland.

Another Queenslander, Resources Minister Keith Pitt, says hes just deadset against doing dumb things.

My colleagues will put forward their views, and at the moment its a blank canvas, Pitt said of the discussions set to occur in the Nationals partyroom this week.

So Joyce is wedged. The Liberals believe it is critical electorally for them to strengthen their climate credentials with voters who, party officials say, are telling pollsters more and more that they simply just want governments to get on with tackling climate change.

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It is not the top voting priority across the nation, but it has become critical in Liberal-held inner-city seats.

If Joyce wants to remain deputy prime minister after the election, a position he feels was unfairly taken from him for three years, then he has to consider the concerns of the Liberals when navigating his own partyroom.

Queensland MP David Littleproud, whose electorate of Maranoa boasts coal-fired power stations, gas fields and coal mines, this week went into the lions den for a Nationals minister Triple Js youth-oriented current affairs program Hack to defend the partys net zero debate.

My position is that Id, aspirationally, love to achieve it, he said.

There will be people with divergent views, from Matt Canavan, from me, from many other politicians. What I think youll find is that the majority of the room are more than open to listening to what that road map is.

Now Joyce, for so long a firebrand and agitator, has to play pragmatist and negotiator. The suspicions within the government are that while he is dealing in good faith, he will more than likely outsource some of his gripes to his old friends Canavan and Christensen to prosecute, simply to ensure hes driving the toughest bargain.

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The man who once warned of $100 lamb roasts now says he has no problems with any plan to get to net zero so long as it doesnt hurt regional Australia.

We have to make sure our economy can function, we have to make sure that we earn the money, Joyce said. We have to make sure we make people very aware of the consequences of getting it wrong.

If there are doubts that the climate has changed, the Nationals under Joyce may be the proof needed.

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Joyce striving to lead Nationals to peace deal on climate - Sydney Morning Herald

Editors Note: This is an excerpt from Book Review Roundtable: Nationalizing Natural Resources from our sister publication, theTexas National Security Review. Be sure to check out thefull roundtable.

Paasha Mahdavi, Power Grab: Political Survival through Extractive Resource Nationalization (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020)

For authoritarian rulers, revenue is the key to survival. With threats from below, as well as from allies and rivals, the foremost concern when it comes to remaining in office is securing sufficient funds to pay off potential challengers and giving oneself the requisite coercive power to repress opponents. In Power Grab, Paasha Mahdavi examines the role of natural resource rents, particularly via the nationalization of oil, in helping leaders to achieve those goals. The existing mechanisms underlying the resource curse, namely that natural resources reduce government accountability while also providing easily extractable rents for cooptation and coercion, are well known. Mahdavis contribution lies in explaining which types of leaders nationalize, the structure and process of that nationalization, and the role of timing and information in determining leader behavior. In particular, showing that leaders in more precarious situations are more likely to benefit from nationalization which, despite a potential loss of efficiency, increases their odds of remaining in power is an important corrective to the existing literature.

Aside from its theoretical contributions, the book also supports its argument with an impressive range of empirical approaches. The case studies particularly of Iran are masterful and present rich evidence based on deep archival research. The book also benefits from a multi-method approach that is rarely so well executed. The combination of thorough qualitative work and state-of-the-art statistical research leaves little doubt about the validity of Mahdavis argument. It also ties together diverse research strands in ways that yield new insights for a variety of different literatures. By crossing sub-disciplinary boundaries, Mahdavi has produced a theoretically innovative and empirically rigorous study that will leave a lasting impact on the discipline. Moreover, the book is highly readable and presents the argument and evidence in a logical way, anticipating potential criticism and offering responses in turn.

Which Resources Fit the Theory?

The main drawback of the book is that it relies too heavily on defining natural resources as oil. In fairness, this is the primary focus of the resource curse literature, and oil certainly provided the foundations for many of the most prominent authoritarian regimes of the 20th and early 21st centuries. Mahdavi discusses the limits of the applicability of his argument throughout the book, yet non-oil resources are not part of the core of his analysis, nor do they appear in the historical case studies. For example, natural gas and coal, like oil, have characteristics that make them highly profitable with little effort, which would make them fertile cases to compare with Mahdavis core oil cases. Reading the book, one wonders which resources would fit the theory, particularly since the universe of cases might be quite broad. If any extractive resource that creates these types of profits fit the scope of the theory for example, gemstones, lumber, or even highly capital-intensive forms of foreign direct investment then many of the nationalizations we see in authoritarian countries fit the same logic of ruler survival that we see behind the creation of national oil companies.

Perhaps more importantly, if the future is powered less by oil than by a distinct set of natural resources necessary for renewable energy and advanced energy storage, then the question of the flexibility of the theory becomes particularly important. Mahdavi alludes to the minerals that will power the clean energy transition, but it is unclear how distinct the rents from those minerals are from rents from oil or other fossil fuels. If the key natural resource characteristics underlying the argument in Power Grab are easily extractable rents in capital-intensive industries, then concentrated rents in lithium extraction should be no different from concentrated rents in oil production. This raises the question of whether leaders of countries with the minerals necessary for renewable energy technologies will take steps to nationalize those sectors as demand for their use grows, particularly if investment by foreign multinationals in those sectors increases. Would Muammar Qaddafis story in Libya have played out the same way if, instead of oil, he had had cobalt, as the rulers of the Congo currently possess? Given that the resources for the future energy transition are primarily minerals, would the causal mechanisms remain the same for them as for oil? Drawing clearer lines around the theory that Mahdavi offers will be useful for other scholars who attempt to adapt it to a wider range of cases. Moreover, it will clarify the predictive power of the theory and help to anticipate how authoritarian leaders in resource-rich countries will behave. That, in turn, will be crucial not only to the citizens of those countries, but also for understanding the future access that the rest of the world will have to the minerals that are essential for clean energy generation, as well as their availability and cost.

The Future of Resource-Fueled Authoritarianism

Beyond focusing on which resources fit Mahdavis theory, an additional concern is that of whether the theory is limited to a particular period of history. It is unclear whether the nationalizations of the past, which were often unilateral and carried out with little compensation from the host country, could be repeated in the future. Might not economic sanctions, deeper economic connectedness, and strengthened investment law (and enforcement) hamper such nationalizations? Hugo Chavez was certainly forceful in his efforts to consolidate Venezuelas state-owned oil company, Petrleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), but he was met with substantial resistance from the United States (although he did receive support from China, Cuba, and other countries seeking to both bolster authoritarian rule in Latin America and gain access to Venezuelas oil production). Nationalization would thus appear to be a historically bound process.

On the other hand, with the world in a period of democratic backsliding and emboldened authoritarianism, leaders will surely do whatever it takes to stay in power, and natural resources present a readily available source of necessary revenue. Oil will continue to fuel the global economy for decades to come, providing a steady source of revenue for leaders who seek rents for cooptation of allies and repression of enemies. Indeed, if Mahdavis theory is applicable to a wider range of resources, then authoritarian rulers have more opportunities to secure rents to stay in power. A broader range of natural resources, particularly minerals such as copper, coal, zinc, cobalt, and lithium, may provide the financial support for more authoritarian leaders as those minerals increase in value. Moreover, with natural resource nationalism on the rise, leaders will likely have the support of their populations in expropriating foreign companies in the resource sector. Given the rise of global populism and the increased willingness of leaders both authoritarian and democratic to pander to their constituents, effective statecraft appears to matter less than short-term access to rents, whether from oil or other natural resources.

The Emergence of Authoritarian Challengers

An additional critique has to do with the dynamics of authoritarian rule and the first stage of the process of seizing power that Mahdavi examines. His argument focuses primarily on efforts to stay in power once leaders gain office. It focuses much less on how these leaders emerge in the first place and how they take their first steps to secure their grip on office. No doubt, leaders such as Qaddafi (and the many challengers who attempted to displace him) were at least partially motivated by the resource rents that allowed them to secure power. Yet, as Qaddafi consolidated power, he did so in a way that closed the door to future opponents, and much more effectively than his competitors and predecessors. More broadly, how much of the difference between successful and failed leaders had to do with the leaders themselves, versus external factors such as oil prices, resource discoveries, actions by the United States or other international actors, or, as Mahdavi emphasizes, the diffusion of ideas and policy practices? And if such outside factors matter, can national governments or international organizations take any actions to prevent authoritarian consolidation and provide greater room for opposition parties, and perhaps even transitions to democracy? One also wonders about the degree to which these same effects help incumbents in democracies to stay in power, although these concerns fall outside of the limits of the theory and motivating cases of Mahdavis book.

Such phenomena are important to study to the degree that they are, in turn, affected by the potential flows of future resource rents. Although Mahdavi discusses existing research on preexisting institutional quality by Thad Dunning and Victor Menaldo, leader emergence and challenges to existing rule, particularly in the periods before successful rulers have consolidated their power, remain something of a black box. This presource curse literature, drawing on a term coined by James Cust and the related booty futures argument put forth by Michael Ross, highlights the importance of the emergence of rulers as an essential component of understanding how those leaders consolidate power. A two-stage model, while complicating the analysis, would explain not only the consolidation of authoritarian power, but also the emergence and success or failure of challengers. Future work combining the theories of Cust, Ross, and Mahdavi has the potential to yield additional insights.

Conclusion

Mahdavi has written a fascinating book that outlines an innovative theory of resource-fueled authoritarian survival, supported with ample empirical evidence and impressive qualitative work. While I find the argument persuasive, I have offered a number of critiques about the limits of that theory. In particular, questions remain as to whether the theory travels to different sets of natural resources, different time periods, and even different types of regimes.

These critiques should not detract from Power Grabs contribution. Instead, they are a sign that the argument provides inspiration for future work that will build on its findings. Indeed, much research remains to be done in this area, particularly in testing the limits of the theory for other natural resources. In addition, I hope that other scholars will continue to examine the dynamics of authoritarian emergence, building on these findings about the consolidation of power and authoritarian survival. I look forward to seeing Mahdavis future work on these topics and I expect other scholars to join him in continuing to try to understand the relationship between natural resource rents and authoritarian rule.

His argument has crucial implications for the world that we will build in the coming decades. To the degree that we can further understand authoritarian regimes, I hope that we can use those insights to undermine autocratic rule and foster democracy. Moreover, ensuring access to the minerals that underlie the transition to clean energy is crucial for mitigating the worst effects of climate change and setting the global economy on a more sustainable path. Because they tie in so centrally to these two major global political challenges, the questions that Mahdavi engages with are not only theoretically important, but also of normative significance.

Alexander Xander Slaski is a postdoctoral fellow at Leiden University.His research focuses on the political economy of foreign direct investment, investment incentives, and currency flows in the developing world, particularly Latin America.His current book project examines how multinationalfirms shape regulatory policy in developing economies.His work has been published or is forthcoming in the Review of International Organizations, the Review of International Political Economy, and International Studies Quarterly.

Image: U.S. Air Force (Photo by Senior Airman Jordan Castelan)

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Authoritarianism and Nationalizing Natural Resources - War on the Rocks

Before business and government leaders convened last week in New York City for Climate Week, the United Nations warned that emissions pledges are falling unacceptably short of the ambition required to avert climate catastrophe. As the natural world reaches irreversible tipping points and we rebuild from the COVID-19 pandemic, the circular economy presents an unparalleled opportunity.

Simply put, the circular economy is a model in which waste and pollution are designed out of the system. The idea takes inspiration from the elegance of natures cycles and the wisdom of Indigenous worldviews. Put into action, every object we use is either refurbished, disassembled to be reused, recycled into a new high-value product, or composted. When virgin materials are needed, regenerative and sustainably managed resources are prioritized. Examples of the circular economy are now emerging everywhere: from major companies repairing electronics and individuals mending clothes to buildings designed for disassembly and materials reuse.

While best known for their waste-curbing impacts, circular strategies could provide an invaluable solution by tackling the largely neglected 70% of global emissions connected to all the materials involved in our consumer society.

A report released earlier this year by non-profit Circle Economy found that doubling the globes circularity could cut global greenhouse gas emissions by 39% from 2019 levels, limiting global warming to below 2C. And, the benefits would go further: reductions in the consumption of virgin materials would help alleviate pollution, ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss.

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development has predicted that accelerating demand for finite natural resources will lead to future shortages, rising prices and supply chain interruptions. This could put $4.5 trillion of global economic growth at risk by 2030, according to global consultancy Accenture Strategy. Some governments have taken note. Fast-moving countries, led by the European Union members, China, and Japan, are positioning themselves to shield their citizens from these risks through comprehensive strategies and policy frameworks that support resource efficiency, new business models and supply chain collaborations.

Successful but isolated examples of the circular economy in our homes, communities and businesses now need to be scaled urgently, and expanded to our whole economic system.

Small business owners and large corporate leaders alike are also seeing a strong rationale for reducing waste. After all, there are greater greenhouse gas emissions associated with using predominantly virgin materials, and recycling or reusing those materials after the end of their first life reduces the amount businesses pay for landfill. Others see opportunity in new business models such as product-as-a-service. In these, customers pay for a membership-based service instead of actual products. Communauto, Evo and Modo are a few Canadian examples of companies that offer on-demand access to fleets of cars as an alternative to individual car ownership. In South Africa, Bushveld Energy leases the vanadium used in batteries and fully reclaims and reuses the mineral at the end of battery life. Every industry and sector now needs to consider its plan to compete in a world that demands longer-lived materials and products that are reusable, repairable, recyclable, re-manufacturable and regenerative.

Examples of the circular economy in our homes, communities and businesses are, however, still isolated. They need to be scaled urgently and expanded to our whole economic system.

This months World Circular Economy Forum, co-hosted by the Government of Canada, highlighted the rich universe of possibilities to deepen emission cuts under the Paris Agreement. It profiled a bounty of circular solutions for materials as diverse as plastics, minerals and metals, textiles, and food, across sectors as varied as construction, manufacturing, mobility and finance. It featured creativity from many, including multinationals, start-ups, social enterprises and community groups.

As the shift to a more circular economy gains traction worldwide, its past time for Canada, too, to develop a national circular economy strategy that should fully reinforce our climate goals. In a rapidly changing global context of intersecting crises, transitioning to a circular economy can boost prosperity and keep Canada competitive globally while dramatically lessening environmental impacts.

If we do this right, and learn from past mistakes, we can redesign the economy to serve all citizens rather than just the privileged few. While we didnt collectively choose the inequities, economic uncertainty, and environmental issues that we face, the economic and social systems are ours to design.

Stephanie Cairns is the director of circular economy at Smart Prosperity Institute, and an established leader who has focused on environment, economy and fiscal policy research initiatives for 25 years.

Alice Irene Whittaker is a writer and environmental communications leader who writes and speaks about the circular economy. She is the director of marketing and communications at Smart Prosperity Institute and The Natural Step Canada.

Read more from the original source:

The circular economy isn't just a zero-waste goal it should be critical to Canada's action on climate - Corporate Knights Magazine