FUTURE DIALOGUE - Business, science and politics in a changing world

Programme

Programme with speakers

• 09:30 a.m.

  Registration and refreshments

• 10:15 a.m.

  Welcome and introduction

• 10:30 a.m.

  Keynote address: Business, science and politics in a changing world

  We still pretend that the pursuit of sustainable development can be carried out by gradually reorienting current policies, meanwhile giving the poorer regions a chance to catch up and get their “fair share” of wealth. Perhaps that was realistic in the 1970s; now it is not. Scientific studies that examine the relation of current demands to the globe’s long-term capacities suggest that humanity is far above its long-term sustainable limits. Neither the current population of almost 7 billion nor the intensive consumption patterns of the richer nations can possibly be maintained even for a few more decades This conclusion is supported generally by many different studies and indicators. Population and consumption will come down during this century – one way or another. Our goal should not be striving to maintain the status quo, but attempting to negotiate a transition that will leave our descendents with some modicum of choice.
  New technologies will not do this job alone, nor will modest changes in the current economic system. The challenge we face is to increase dramatically the effective time horizon of decision makers. We confront with warming climate, falling fossil energy supplies, eroding agricultural soils, sinking water tables, and related issues a set of problems that can best be ameliorated through short term sacrifice. And in this connection “short term” means decades.
  We do not presently have either a governance system or an economy that can proactively choose several decades of perceived sacrifice in order to achieve better outcomes in the distant future. But we have no alternative to finding them.

  Keynote Presentation Dennis Meadows
• 11:00 a.m.

  Panel discussion:
  Facing up to the challenges of the 21st century: the changing role of business, science and politics

  At a time of global economic crisis, it is tempting to ignore complex long-term challenges in order to focus on tackling the immediate problems. But the impact of inexorable trends such as climate change, ageing and urbanisation is already being felt and the approaches developed so far are insuffi cient.
  Scientifi c research is constantly generating potential solutions. The challenge is turning the most promising research findings into effective and marketable initiatives, backed by the support of government and the general public. But while co-operation between scientific institutions, companies and policy-makers has improved over the past two decades, the constraints are still huge as the need for co-operation on a global scale grows larger.

  • Is government funding for R&D the best way to develop optimal solutions to inherently global challenges such as climate change or does it encourage national solutions?
  • Does the increased role of business in funding scientific research reduce the potential for breakthrough innovations in favour of more commercial and less disruptive initiatives?
  • How can we ensure that the public and policy-makers are engaged in the debate around science-based solutions to the challenges of our time rather than reacting instinctively against it?
  • Are China and India right to insist that they should have easy access to the latest technology that tackles global challenges? If so, how can we incentivise companies to develop technology if intellectual property rights are weakened?
• 12:30 p.m.

  Lunch and Networking

• 02:00 p.m.

  Parallel session I:
  Finding marketable solutions to climate change

  Mastering climate change has come to be seen as the paramount challenge of our time. But for all the willingness to discuss measures needed to tackle climate change at a global level, there is a growing worry that we simply cannot solve our climate problems with existing technology alone and that we will need either to change our lifestyles radically or to develop new technological solutions.

  • If we implemented existing technologies fully, could we solve our climate problems? Or do we need to focus attention on developing new and more radical initiatives?
  • How do we ensure that companies focus their business around tackling global warming? Are market incentives sufficient or do we need strong political direction?
  • Who should pay to fund research and implement technology to tackle climate change? How should the burden be shared between the original polluters, like the US and Europe, and the emerging polluters, like China?
  • How can the public best be engaged in a constructive discussion around new solutions to global warming? Will the introduction of radical geo-engineering initiatives spark a backlash against technological solutions to climate change?
• 02:00 p.m.

  Parallel session II:
  Providing healthcare for a growing and ageing population

  Expensive new drugs and sophisticated medical technology have tended to exacerbate rather than ameliorate our two major healthcare challenges: providing more affordable care to ageing populations in the rich world and more accessible healthcare to those in the poor world. But new advances in biomedical science and healthcare technology are calling major aspects of the medical system into question. The genomic revolution could potentially focus the entire industry on patient-centred personalised medicine, with a focus on prevention and targeted cures. This opens up the possibility of a radical rethink of the way we approach healthcare worldwide.

  • In what way do advances in genomics represent a challenge as well as an opportunity to the medical industry? Will these changes reduce costs and improve healthcare to ageing populations and to poor fast-growing ones?
  • What needs to change at the levels of research, product development and policy-making to reap the benefits of this shift?
  • How should we deal with the ethical questions raised by new medical developments? Is it acceptable to focus research on genetic selection and enhancing performance, while millions could survive if drugs were available to tackle curable killer diseases?
  • What can we learn from developing countries about the potential of new technologies to provide affordable and effective healthcare?
• 02:00 p.m.

  Parallel session III:
  Urbanisation and the city of tomorrow

  Cities are at the core of our future. More than half of the world’s citizens already live in urban areas and that proportion is expected to rise to 60% by 2030. This unstoppable process raises huge challenges for maintaining quality of life, protecting the environment and sustaining competitiveness in tomorrow’s cities. But it also puts cities at the forefront of solving these problems. And many local policy-makers are taking the lead in working with researchers and innovative businesses to develop and implement solutions.

  • Can we already see how the city of tomorrow will look? How can urban planning concepts and new technological approaches to infrastructure be more integrated?
  • Are the technologies that are relevant for rich cities like Copenhagen, Abu Dhabi and San Francisco realistic everywhere? Do we need a less technological approach for mega-cities in emerging markets?
  • Are purpose-built green cities a blueprint for the future?
  • How can local politicians work more effectively with the scientific and business communities?
• 03:45 p.m.

  Wrap-up and summaries:
  each session reports back in a discussion with final comments

• 04:30 p.m.

  Farewell refreshments

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