A very different Christmas

 A very different Christmas – Eat, drink & be merry has taken on a new meaning this year so, we take a closer look at food, drink and music. Can we continue as usual or should we rethink them? A disruptive 2020 has also given us more time to ponder over the future of online education and useful gifts. With Santa’s home fast vanishing, our latest research shows ours might be next – if you haven’t started thinking about, this don’t worry, it’s never too late.

A different Christmas was bound to come as a changing climate means our future will be a rollercoaster ride. It will be wild and scary; you can fight it or roll with it – here’s what we think should be different…

Let’s start with food. Singapore has just become the first country to approve sales of lab-created meat. While we are pleased to see this actualised as we have been covering digitally printed meat for sometime, we still need to tackle waste. Cue Treasure8, which has been set-up to do just that. Hear from Co-CEOs Derk Hendrikson and Timothy Childs on how they turn waste into food; and yes, it can be even nutritious!

As for drinks, who doesn’t like a Christmas tipple! We’ve talked about moutai before but with the world’s focus on plastic waste, we turn our attention to bottled water. After all, to make one bottle of bottled water requires up to almost three additional bottles of water and a 1/4 bottle of oil.

2020 saw the IPO of China’s largest bottled water company – Nongfu Springs – making its founder one of the richest men. So, we took a closer look at Nongfu’s water strategy to see if they are on Santa’s ‘naughty’ list and… we’ve come away with questions for the bottled water tycoon.

Music is a big part of making merry this year but watch out as streaming music can be bad for the climate. Before you get too depressed, there is a plastic upside, plus we share what you can do to minimise your music footprint, to get you on Santa’s ‘good’ list. Oh, and don’t forget there also is a dark side to bingeing on Netflix and YouTube so, get tips on these too.

Another thing we are doing a lot of in 2020 is online education. There’s no one better to explore this than our intern Kaspar Ip who had to enroll in “Zoom University” as he couldn’t return to Canada due to COVID-19. Staying in Hong Kong has given him new perspectives on his studies as he does the math on saved flights versus time online – which is better for the environment?

If the lucrative international student market accelerates climate change, which in turn threatens their future, we clearly need to make better decisions today. As our 5 report series on coastal threats show, sea level rise of 3m is plausible by 2100 on our current climate path. The recent 8m waves in Byron Bay, Australia, remind us of climate change’s clear and present dangers.

Clearly, we must get on top of this ASAP. So, this Christmas, treat yourself to a climate risk assessment. We can do that for you (contact us now) or check out Four Twenty Seven’s Climate Risk Assessment Application. Its Communication Director, Natalie Ambrosio Preudhomme, expands on how it is useful for companies, investors and banks.

We believe that it’s always better to know your water & climate risks than not. And if you haven’t started thinking about climate change, it is never too late. Here, Ronald Leung, the latest addition to the CWR team reflects on his water & climate journey – from unsure & unbothered to now super engaged. So stop being YOLO and start being smart!

Two years ago, we wished it would be the last Christmas-as-usual and last year we said sorry to Santa as we’re still bad. But since this a very different Christmas, our chance to reboot may finally be here. It is time to do right by Santa and his reindeers and save their home.

There is no time to waste. 2020 is set to be one of the three warmest years on record, it is also rife with marine heatwaves plus with 152gt of ice already melted from Greenland, it’s not just Santa but we will all need to adapt to rising seas the new risk landscape.

Run-of-the mill solutions are not enough, we need reach-for-the-sky solutions. What better time to reflect on these than over the lockdown this Christmas. So, put your thinking cap on, stay safe and happy holidays from the CWR Team!