Posted this one year and one week ago.
In Quebec, an economic plan for an environmental mutation
FORTUNE -- Climate change is reshaping our world from pole to pole. But one result of global warming could alter the face of commerce in North America and Asia forever: the opening, thanks to the melting polar ice caps, of a new maritime shipping route through the Arctic ocean. The route would connect Asia with Northern Canada and might open up in the next 20-30 years, according to the Canadian government. When that happens, the Québecois will be ready.
"We're building a parallel canal to the Panama Canal for Chinese ships so they can accelerate the transport of goods," Jean Charest, the Premier of Québec, tells Fortune. Charest and his government predict demand in China, India and other emerging markets will increase dramatically in the next 20 years. During that same time period, "Climate change is going to change this whole economy." So, he asks, "How do we develop?"
tech.fortune.cnn.com |
