Solar Impulse just successfully completed their journey around the world in an airplane that's only fuelled by the power of the sun. This is an absolutely fantastic achievement and I'm am convinced we will think about these guys 10 or 20 years down the road when we see the world running on more clean energy (and may be fly in electric planes?).

The completion of this mission is also a good time to reflect on the way forward. In my view, there's two things that need to happen independently. On the one hand, the implementation and adoption of clean technologies and renewable energies needs to be accelerated. This was obviously the main goal of the Solar Impulse campaign and there is very little excuse to keep investing in technologies we know are going to let us down in the near future. It is the responsibility of our governments to provide a law and tax environment that supports those investments and allows for clean techs to be the economical investments they already can be. As the example of the UK shows, subsidies are a double edged sword and are far from delivering on the expectations of many politicians (for which obviously this is an easy way out). Much more investments in infrastructure are needed and those can and should be accompanied by the private sector.

On the other hand however, we have to be honest to ourselves and understand that clean energy alone will not allow us to achieve sustainable development. The three key inputs to any economy are water, energy, and food. A balanced system for all three factors is needed to allow more people living better lives. The focus on renewable energy is absolutely correct, given the immense impacts of global warming and the very short timeline to keep the rise in temperature at an acceptable level. At the same time though we need to allocate whatever resource remain to find more and better solutions to sustainable water management and food production.

All three factors, water, energy, and food, are tightly linked. Producing food requires water and energy, while the use of fossil fuels as energy source impact our oceans, and important sources of food (fish directly, but many other sources indirectly, e.g. through changing weather patterns).

The level of urgency people feel about climate change and renewable energy is a great achievement, and one for which some people have worked very hard their entire lives. But if we are honest to ourselves, it will not be enough and we have as pressing issues on two other fronts. Business models and policies that combine all three aspects will be needed to guide us into the future.

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Please share any comments and inputs you may have (comment function, twitter, e-mail, etc.). In my short write-ups I address topics that I am particularly interested in because they align with my values and beliefs. As such, they are always a reflection of my ideas, thoughts, and opinions. The only thing I am positive in that regard is that I do not have all the perspectives, all the knowledge, or all the facts - help me be better tomorrow.