How Globalization and Urbanization Can Save the World

[Music]

every year

3.5 trillion dollars are dedicated

to solve global poverty let’s do some

quick division

that’s 500 for every person on earth

there’s no question about it global

poverty has been the head scratcher

of governments policy makers and

international organizations alike

nothing has gotten more resources more

aid

or more attention and rightfully so

i mean look at this poverty sucks

but poverty sucks for mainly one big

reason

because poverty is the catalyst for so

many other problems that cause

human suffering because you increase

incomes you solve global poverty

suddenly

life expectancy increases people have

access to education

people have access to health care a

simple vaccination for malaria

or an antibiotic to cure simple cold

higher incomes

increases access to education and basic

services

it also reduces societal discrimination

and exclusion

and perhaps most importantly eliminating

global poverty

means less conflict war and genocide

which has plagued the developing world

for far too long

so we get it right poverty sucks

it’s been the problem of the past and

unfortunately

the problem of the present but let’s

pause

and let’s look ahead towards the future

unfortunately the snowstorm we had last

month in madrid was no pure coincidence

it’s the very real and the very vivid

effects

of climate change in fact experts

predict

that global temperatures will rise by

1.5 degrees celsius

by 2050. what does this mean

let’s quantify it this is no simple

statistic

it affects us in every aspect rich and

poor

from our transportation infrastructure

to our food sources

to the clothes we wear and yes to the

air we breathe

co2 emissions and greenhouse gases kill

us

in fact it was responsible for one in

nine premature deaths

last year that’s 6.5 million people

or one madrid dead every single year

but as we begin to think rationally

let’s put things into perspective we

start to notice

a very big problem what happens when we

get richer

what do you and i do with higher incomes

we spend more

we consume more we have more stuff we

travel more

inevitably having more income

pollutes and the developing world is no

different

they need to pollute to survive

so what do we pick are both of these

problems

inversely proportional what would you do

do you use the tools at our disposal to

lift three billion people from poverty

whilst supposedly in the not so distant

future

condemning us all destroying the planet

we live on

or do you willingly condemn three

billion people

to perpetual poverty whilst

three billion people to perpetual

poverty while saving our environment

for the for the rest of us for the rich

of us to live

think about it we can’t make a decision

in fact it’s impossible it’s unethical

it’s wrong at this point you’re probably

thinking

you’ve been speaking for four minutes

and i’m pretty scared

but you really haven’t said much

and you’d be right so here’s the thing

what if there didn’t have to be a

compromise

what if with tools at our disposal we

could feasibly

solve both of these issues and within

our lifetime

one magic number makes it all possible

researchers from bonn germany determines

that once average household incomes

reach fifteen thousand dollars per year

per capita emissions

begin to decrease or at worst

level off therefore it is imperative

we get to this number

therefore what we must do is pursue

poverty reducing policies that don’t

wreck our environment in the meantime

but this creates the same problem

doesn’t it we have to pick

it’s easier said than done so

how do we get there the answer

has been lying right into our noses in

my opinion

the unique combination of urbanization

and globalization

will get us out of this and these are

not new concepts

in fact they’ve been subconsciously

implemented for the past 25 years

but we must rethink the way we approach

both of these concepts

adapt them to our new global challenges

because

urbanization will keep our environmental

footprint in check

whilst allowing the developing world to

prosper

and globalization the tools and the

world market

to make it possible in fact a recent

study by the international monetary fund

determined that the countries to benefit

the most from globalization

are precisely low to mid income

countries

those which i suffer the most from

poverty

and this has worked look at this

this is quite possibly my favorite graph

as hans rosling will tell us we should

be optimists in the past

20 years global poverty has

halved this is an incredible achievement

and we don’t see it anywhere the the

head scratcher or the past 25 years

75 years is within our grasp

we can and we will eliminate

global poverty within our lifetime

but if globalization is so good

and helps us all and all these beautiful

graphs

then why is it that when i go to brazil

to ethiopia or to india the countries

that will benefit the most

i come and i see this this

is misery trust me i’ve seen these

conditions firsthand i wouldn’t wish

anyone

to live here anyone with half a

consideration for other human beings

should be disgusted by these types of

conditions

but let me tell you this slums

some slums are a good thing before you

cancel me

let me tell you why slums and the

sweatshops

the sweatshop for your sneakers and your

t-shirts and your textile clothing are

made

are a good thing because urban growth

and development is the very best way

to kill rural poverty the worst

and perhaps most dangerous form of

poverty

because extreme poverty is relatively

rare in cities people have although

limited

and not where we want them to be access

to education

and healthcare and it’s much better

than the commonplace world poverty

because

poverty cities do not create poor people

they attract poor people cities and

sweatshops

are not the they’re not the same are not

the causes

but the symptoms of global poverty

and it will be cities not farms but

cities which save the developing world

your mumbai’s your mexico cities

and your sao paulo’s but

you might be surprised because we are

missing

one part of our magic equation we’ve

urbanized

but we’ve yet to globalize because

cities

without jobs and the opportunities

without the opportunities to move up the

socio-economic ladder

to learn skills they suck they lead

and they are the breeding ground for

crime and disease

or even worse

fish this is smoky mountain

in manila this 50 meter tall landfill

was once the largest in the world people

come here

and get trashed to sell for a misery

living

the toxic fumes created by this trash

killed them

in fact it was such an embarrassment for

the philippine government

they had to shut it down because it was

such a symbol

of poverty this is why globalization

is such an important part of this

equation because

compared to this this doesn’t look so

bad

this is ho chi minh city in vietnam the

sweatshop where your sneakers and your

textile clothes

are made and definitely not where we

want it to be

but this is an improvement it’s better

the

the immediate alternatives or gaining an

income from selling things

from smoky mountain and this is not

permanent

people use this this wrong as a ladder

to something better

to more opportunities people learn

skills here

and this income is tax governments can

later spend that

for public goods and services to give

back for the people

this is a virtuous cycle of prosperity

because yes this becomes this

yes south korea was once a sweatshop

a huge slum in the 1950s year sneakers

used to be made

in south korea it went from a smoky

mountain

to a producer of manufactured goods to

the high-tech

service powerhouse we know today the

best engineers

doctors innovators developers flock in

and out

and south korea this is what happens

when you globalize and urbanize

these are two stories a country that

remained

rural and closed off compared

to a country that urbanized and

globalized

opened its gates to the world market

south koreans

are three times as rich as their parents

ten times as rich as their grandparents

this is the power of slums of cities

of opportunities of globalization and

opening up

to world markets still don’t believe me

the south koreans are richer than we are

today

yes they are a first world country

and the great thing about the south

korean formula

is it has no prescription it can be

prescribed

to anybody there are no prerequisites

for this type of development

we just need to globalize and urbanize

and this is how

it will save the world at this point

you might be thinking but what about our

second problem

isn’t globalization bad for our

environment

and yes you’d be right but

not as much as you might think because

globalization

it’s all about efficiency people will

produce or it is more efficient

to do so and this is naturally

where it is more environmentally

efficient to do so and not only that

free trade

increases people’s awareness of

environmental issues in the developing

world

and environmental standards are quickly

rising in brazil

in mexico and in china but

what about all that moving around if for

a simple cd

player the plastic is made in the

philippines

the case in china the disc in japan

and later consumed in the usa

doesn’t this all pollute well here’s

this for a fact

a cd player on a truck on a on a content

container ship

from osaka to la pollutes less per

capita

than that same cd player on a truck from

la

to a shop in la once we reach

economies of scale the environmental

efficiency

is gained in the production not in the

delivery of goods

and let’s also think about it at least

today

the largest environmental problems are

caused by poverty

not wealth 8 out of 10 people in

sub-saharan africa

still cook cook their food and heat

their homes using wood burning stoves

this kills their respiratory system and

not only that

higher incomes increase access to clean

water because contaminated water

is one of the largest killers one of the

largest preventable killers

so these problems are mitigated by

having more money

but still many think and you would be

right

as your china’s your india’s and your

latin americas

grow rich they will pollute more

and yes until we reach that fifteen

thousand dollar turning point

these emissions will increase many might

say

that this is unsustainable and they

would be right

but their answer to this is that

the africans the indians and the chinese

must stay poor

that they cannot live like us

but the answer is not that they cannot

live like us

but that we cannot live the lifestyle we

currently do

because africa only accounts for three

percent of the world’s energy usage

while accounting for 12.5 percent of the

world’s population

the united states nineteen percent of

the world’s energy

four percent of the world’s population

because we

a nation of suv drivers cannot tell

people

on bikes they cannot buy a scooter

because it pollutes too much

what kind of logic is that subjecting

three billion people

to poverty is no solution to climate

change

let’s make that very clear

but when we talk about changes in

lifestyle

people get scared and rightfully so

after all our parents and so many

generations before them

have worked so so hard to achieve the

living standards we currently have

in europe in australia and in the usa

that’s why we must not attempt to be

environmentalists

but smart and urban environmentalists

because urbanizing

city living is the very best way to

reduce

our per capita co2 emissions without

significantly compromising

our quality of life this is a fact

because a person lives in manhattan

or hong kong pollutes less per capita

than the person living in a small

rudimentary town this is at the end

our solution

because when the developing world grows

rich

when the chinese indians and latin

americans grow rich

we must set an example lead by the power

of our examples

so that their cities look more like

singapore

and less like houston cities with

similar living standards

but people in houston pollute twice as

much

smart urban cities are the future this

is how we solve

our climate crisis cities with specified

congestion charging

efficient public transportation system

and homes which are more environmentally

efficient

cities that embrace the power of

renewables and yes

of nuclear because we cannot live

without it

and cities are not just good for the

environment

they also make us richer as we saw with

south korea

cities can also make us in the developed

world

richer because ideas are exchanged in

cities

these spontaneous interactions are will

bring about

progress development and innovation

so urbanizing is how we keep us in check

in the meantime before we get to fifteen

thousand dollars

this is what we must do while

globalization

works its magic while the developing

world

gets richer they also urbanize

and take advantage of those

opportunities but we urbanize

in order to allow them to grow rich

this is how we solve poverty and climate

change

this is how globalization can save

the world because both of these issues

require a change in mindset

that is how we solve them thank you

you