ABSTRACT
Western nations such as the US and UK have a developed world perspective on climate change, coming from legacy positions of relative economic strength. Here the opportunity is to innovate into the future to maintain positions of global leadership, and even while some worry about what might be being conceded, the diversified nature of their economies remains a source of baseline strength. Culturally similar countries such as Canada and Australia are resource-rich nations already being impacted by a lower-carbon future where the need to diversify their economies is clear. Other resource-rich nations have been financially decimated by a lower price of oil, such as Russia and Venezuela. The European Union runs the risk of breaking apart on the back of the UK’s June 2016 decision to leave. Low-lying nations are rightly concerned about sea level rise. African nations are rising up economically, with the mobile phone giving many a chance to start a business, arguably the most positive sustainability development on the continent in centuries.
