The buzz phrase of the last week has been climate change, undoubtedly. With the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) reaching the Paris Agreement, we now have a global agreement binding all of the world’s nations to change our planet for the better. So it’s no surprise that companies are now changing their approach to business in the upcoming decades.
Besides companies like Tesla or websites like Wevolver trying to lead trends by open sourcing technology and sharing patents, there are now more factors encouraging–or forcing–alternative energy sources. The European Union’s European Commission has even pushed to ban petrol and diesel cars by 2050. The United States has promised to push for a cleaner country. The green revolution has been growing exponentially over the years and is becoming more ubiquitous each day. The only problem is getting money behind the revolution, because money talks and determines actual change.
And now we’re seeing that with Ford Motor Co., who recently announced plans to invest $4.5 billion to make their company 40% electric or hybrid, as compared to 13% today. They will be rolling out 13 new electric and hybrid cars by 2020, including the new version of the electric Focus. While the current version reaches full charge in over two hours and can drive up to 76 miles, the new model will charge up to 80% in thirty minutes, and drive up to 100 miles.
According to IBT, more than 70 companies–from 21st Century Fox to Amazon.com to American Honda Motor–pledged their support behind the global agreement, with companies like Apple Google, Microsoft and Bank of America pledging at least $140 billion in new investments to lower carbon emissions and fund clean energy. Even some of the biggest oil companies in Canada have pledged to cut down on emissions, to develop cleaner technology and alternative energy sources.
It’s entirely plausible that in a decade or two, we will see a vastly different world where oil is nearly a thing of the past. Then add the idea that some of us may not even be driving our cars any more and the roads may look very different, soon.