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By Russell Waite, of Affinity Private Wealth
JUST over 111 years ago, a newspaper in New Zealand published an article about the dangers of burning so much coal, in terms of the potential impact on global temperatures.
Under the Science Notes & News section of the Rodney and Otamatea Times, Waitemata and Kaipara Gazette, was the headline, ‘Coal consumption affecting the climate’. The entire piece was only four sentences long, and read as follows:
‘The furnaces of the world are now burning about 2,000,000,000 tons of coal a year. When this is burned, uniting with oxygen, it adds about 7,000,000,000 tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere yearly. This tends to make the air a more effective blanket for the earth and to raise its temperature. The effect may be considerable in a few centuries.’
The greenhouse effect, which the article alluded to, was proposed in 1896 by a Swedish scientist named Svante Arrhenius. It refers to the process whereby greenhouse gases – including carbon dioxide – trap the sun’s warmth in the lower atmosphere of our Earth. Arrhenius warned of the risks of rising CO2 emissions, caused by industrial activity, almost a century before the world decided to fight global warming.
Scientific leadership and research
This example of a European scientist’s landmark research is rather poignant, given the announcement earlier this month that the UK is rejoining the flagship Horizon Europe research programme, much to the widespread relief of the scientific community.
Horizon Europe is the world’s largest transnational research and innovation programme, with a budget of £85bn. This funding supports international collaborations focused on a wide range of issues, from cancer and infectious diseases to the climate crisis, food security, artificial intelligence and robotics. The UK had been locked out of this programme because of Brexit. However, this resolution will place its universities and private sector laboratories back in a stronger position to attract the most talented young scientists, who want to be sure they can conduct world-class research wherever they settle.
Engendering collaboration is a core leadership skill. In a world increasingly defined by division and polarisation, Horizon Europe is a leading example of what can be achieved by working together.
