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Visions of the future
3 November 2006
Professor Bill McGuire, Director of the Benfield-UCL Hazard Research Centre, has been selected as one of 20 'thought leaders' to give predictions for the twenty-first century to a Financial Times poll.
The poll, to be voted on by readers of the Financial Times and sponsored by the insurance company Aviva, invites business leaders, politicians, broadcasters and academics to outline their views on the future. Professor McGuire chose to focus on the imperative for action on climate change, painting a frightening picture of there simply not being a future for younger generations if drastic reductions are not made in carbon emissions.
He wrote: "If we are to have any future at all, at least as a viable, global civilisation, then tackling anthropogenic climate change must occupy our hearts and minds every minute of every day. Currently we are doing nothing, and at a time when greenhouse gas emissions need to be slashed by at least 60 per cent to prevent dangerous climate change, they are still climbing relentlessly. In other words, the response of the international community so far has been the equivalent of fiddling while Rome burns."
About his selection as a thought leader, Professor McGuire said: "I was staggered, but honoured."
To read all the predictions of the Aviva thought leaders, use the link at the bottom of this item.
Image: Professor Bill McGuire
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