Re|Source 2012: Day One

The two day event is dedicated to engaging the financial and business community on the issues of food, water, energy supply and global growth and explores the best ways to tackle future scarcities.

Professor Sir David King, Director of the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, in his opening address said: “We are nowhere near realising the full impact of this yet. We need to do far more to deal with these problems before they become even more acute, and we are not doing enough yet.”

In a discussion on future energy supplies, Nobel Prize-winning economist Professor Amartya Sen said there must be more investment in low carbon technologies if we want to make the transition to a low carbon economy, even if this requires funding from taxes and subsidies. He urged governments to do more to encourage the private sector to invest in renewable energy.

David Nabarro, the United Nations special representative on food security and nutrition warned that inequalities around food, water and energy would inevitably lead to conflict. He reiterated the warning to delegates, including investment fund chiefs from around the world and chief executives from global food companies including Nestle and Coca Cola, that governments alone can’t create change.

Rwandan president Paul Kagame, told the forum that countries need to work together to become more productive.  He said “It is clear that rising global demand and competition for the key but finite resources of water, energy and food cannot be ignored. The world has to figure out how to optimise such vital resources, and also to search for new ones.”

Resource 2012 reconvenes for day two with speakers including former Tesco CEO Sir Terry Leahy and former US president Bill Clinton.