The coronavirus has emphasised the importance of human health to the world economy. The old saying that your health is your wealth has never rung more true. By attacking good health, Covid-19 is destroying wealth left, right and centre.
As it does so, global calls are being made for a green recovery. Everyone knows that pollution is unhealthy, and that the world will be promoting ill health if it continues on its current climate-threatening path.
So, the main theme of the post-Covid bounce-back must be green, backed by Marshall Plan-level financial stimulation. With the green must come thinking anew about the world’s predominant ‘take-make-break’ linear model. Thinking should go into creating a ‘take-make-recover-retake-remake-recover’ circular model that extends Planet Earth’s resources optimally.
Then, South Africa Inc should throw its full weight behind growing a green, innovative and competitive economy and, like so many other wise countries, put the strongest emphasis on deploying hydrogen that is produced with the help of sun and wind energy to clean up electricity generation and all forms of mobility and transport.