As the world waits to see who will be the next Pesident of the USA, China is producing an Economic Plan for the next five years. We should sit up and take note that there will be a change of emphasis from low cost manufacturing to high tech engineering.
What are the implications for their industrial pollution levels? Will they be less reliant on foreign imports? Does this mean a shift in consumer spending to family cars, dairy produce and red meat?
Diplomatic ties between China and the USA plummeted under Trump, we can only hope that if Biden get in, bridges will be built. Boris Johnson will be bending over backwards to secure trade deals with China post Brexit.
Scarce resources are being grabbed by the superpowers to feed their large populations. This is happening in Africa and South America where land can be bought cheaply. We all need to shift our diets away from meat to conserve wild spaces and limit deforestation. Our cardiovascular systems will thank us for it as well.
Deep trawling the oceans will reduce fish stocks and inflict lasting damage on the hydrosphere. Better enforcement of fishing restrictions should be a priority. We shouldn’t need another Cod War to do what’s right.
It is optimistic to think that the United Nations could agree a strategy to reduce deforestation, improve sustainability and preserve fish stocks. But if Biden restores the USA’s commitment to the Paris climate change agreement, anything is posssible.
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