Unpredictable abnormal weather, ultra-fine dust that makes it hard to breathe and giant islands of plastic waste. This year's World Risk Report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) listed environmental problems as the top five global risks and a threat to the survival of the human race. Innocean Worldwide conducted big data analysis to examine the key environmental problems that have become a major threat to the entire planet.

New Paradigm for Environmental Problems: Survivability

Recently, the paradigm of responding to environmental problems has changed from eco-friendly sustainability to human survivability.

Until the end of the 20th century, humanity had been heading towards unchecked industrialization and economic development. As environmental degradation became serious, the UN introduced sustainability as a principle that balances environmental protection and economic development. However, environmental problems including air pollution, climate change and waste became worse, even threatening human survival.

Pursuing “sustainability” was not enough to address the problems. Accordingly, “survivability” has emerged as a new paradigm for responding to environmental problems. The time has come to look at the world’s problems from the perspective of human survival, instead of an eco-friendly perspective with the focus on preserving life at the individual level instead of pursuing economic growth at the national level. Survivability is the new paradigm that aims to ensure human survival and further improve the quality of life by applying innovative technologies to key sectors including agriculture, automobile, and the bio and chemical industries.

Air Pollution

Air pollution, the by-product of rapid economic development, is a threat to human lives. In South Korea, the number of premature deaths from exposure to ultrafine dust has reached 11,924 per year. Bad air quality is also bringing many changes. For example, annual sales of air purifiers are expected to reach four million for the first time in 2020 and wearing masks has become the new norm. The recently announced Green New Deal aims to reduce air pollution and promote a low-carbon economy that will accelerate the transition from fossil fuel to renewable energy. The automobile industry is also making a transition to zero emission vehicles that run on clean energy.

Cars of the Future - a solution to air pollution

Hyundai Motor's Nexo is a fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) that is powered by hydrogen, a clean energy for the future

Cars of the future include clean EVs, FCEVs and autonomous vehicles incorporated with ICT and AI technologies. Mobility service platforms also fall into this category. Automobile manufacturers are focusing their efforts on expanding the market for EVs and FCEVs in order to reduce the use of fossil fuels which produce carbon emissions. Although the first EV was invented in 1834, it wasn’t widely adopted due to the heavy battery weight and long charging time. However, a number of mass-produced EVs with lighter batteries and quicker charging time have now been released in the market.

Autonomous driving is yet another essential technology for improving driving efficiency and reducing air pollution caused by congestion. Automobile manufacturers are collaborating with semiconductor and telecommunication companies to make autonomous driving technology a reality. Mobility service platform companies are also making it increasingly possible to get around without owning a car. Governments around the world are passing new laws and changing regulations to accelerate the development of future cars.

Climate change

The impact of climate change goes beyond the extinction of a few animal species. Due to ongoing global warming, we are experiencing more heatwaves around the world, the cultivation area of some crops is being pushed northwards and desertification is accelerating. Natural disasters such as the 2019 Australian bushfires that killed over a billion animals are happening more frequently. Decreasing wild animal habitats is increasing the contact between wild animals with exotic viruses and humans, which in turn has the potential to lead to a pandemic.

AgTech, the solution to climate change

Hyundai E&C has developed H Clean Farm, which can grow vegetables indoors in apartment complexes.

Global food shortages are the most serious issue in climate change. The quantity and quality of food resources are already declining due to extreme weather events, which make it necessary to develop technologies for the agriculture industry. AgTech refers to the application of advanced technologies such as big data, AI, Cloud and robotics in farming. Highly automated smart farms and indoor farming plants are some examples of AgTech.

Waste

Waste creates air pollution when incinerated and pollutes the water when discarded into the sea. We breathe and eat them eventually. In 2015, a team of marine biology researchers at Texas A&M University found a sea turtle with a plastic straw of more than 10 cm long stuck in its nose in Costa Rica. The video of the turtle sparked campaigns against plastic straws all over the world, raising public interest in plastic recycling and eco-friendly materials as well as the development of alternative materials to plastics.

Recycling and eco-friendly materials as a solution to the waste issue

Hyundai Motor Group has established the Green Move Workshop Plant for the circulation of waste plastic toys.

The seriousness of the waste problem was revealed by the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and the declaration to suspend plastic waste imports by China and the Philippines. The plastic waste problem requires attention at a national level. In response, companies began to share and adopt various solutions such as “pre-cycling” which aims to reduce waste that would be generated by buying products and upcycling which add design elements to make the waste useful again.

In addition, many are now working to develop eco-friendly materials such as bioplastics made with innovative technologies. Made of plant-based biomass materials, biodegradable bioplastics are one of the most promising solutions to the microplastics problem. Bioplastic materials have been used for limited purposes such as packaging and disposable products. Now, they are increasingly employed in automobiles, with bio-polyethylene used for electric car parts.

Reference. “Beyond Sustainability to Survivability,” a Big Data Analysis Report by Innocean Worldwide