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