“South Africa 2035 would have cheap energy, a great economy, CO2 tax and every citizen would be living a better life.”
Find out what ideas two sustainable economy experts have about the future South Africa of 2015 in an informative video.
If you were to close your eyes for a few minutes and try to imagine what South Africa would be like in 2035, what would you see? Would it be a flourishing country, an apocalyptic Mad Max world or perhaps it would be relatively unchanged. It may not be flying cars or new beachfront properties due to climate change but it may be a better future for all.
A side event was organized during the United Nations COP17 in Durban way back in December 2011. This side event was hosted by the University of Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership (CPSL). They asked two sustainable economy experts, Anton Cartwright and the late Peet Du Plooy to imagine visiting the beautiful South Africa in 2035 and to tell all of us what life was like in the future. For this task they were given two clues to keep in mind; that carbon dioxide, the gas currently helping the sun to cook our planet, was being taxed at R700 per tonne. The second clue was that the economy was doing pretty well.
The following video shows what they came up with. South Africa 2035 would have cheap energy, a great economy, CO2 tax and every citizen would be living a better life. It shows how employing some basic common sense to problems along with technological advancements the future can be a place you want to live to experience.
They do give an interesting view on what can be done to achieve this happy, healthy and wealthy South Africa 2035 yet, take the video with a grain of salt as words are easier than actions.
Please let us know in the comment section below your views on the ideas presented in the video. Do you agree with what they are saying? Are the solutions they offered even able to work? What problems do you see with their ideas? Are their ideas perfect solutions? Do you have any of your own ideas how what South Africa will look like in 2035?
For more about CPSL please visit their website at www.cpsl.cam.ac.uk
Credits:
Animation is by Stellenbosch-based Jincom Publishing (photos are taking from the animation).
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