What we can learn from Brazil
If the BRICS economies have anything in common it’s in their very respectable resource base. Brazil is no slouch in the world economy either; our South American cousin across the Atlantic, is the world’s 7th largest economy.
Brazil gets it right as a world leader in the production of coffee, sugar cane, soybeans and orange juice, the crucial lesson from this country comes in its massive harnessing of renewable energy. Dr Jeremy Wakeford, Chairman of ASPOSA, offers the following insight in this regard: “Brazil has the largest share of renewables in its energy consumption mix out of any major economy, thanks largely to abundant hydroelectricity and the world’s second largest production of biofuels, namely ethanol made from sugar cane. Brazil is also becoming a major oil producer as it exploits new offshore fields.”
We can’t match Brazil’s use of hydropower, but we have plenty of underutilised renewable energy in solar and wind power waiting in the wings. In addition, Brazil shows SA how it’s done with superlative agricultural output along with enormous production volumes of iron ore and associated manufacturing (transport equipment including and especially of motor vehicles).
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What we can learn from Russia
Russia must be doing something right: by 2011 Moscow was home to more billionaires than any other city in the world. In terms of nominal GDP, Russia, with 143m people, is the world’s ninth largest economy. Currently the Russian economy is expanding at a brisk 3.4%.
According to Dr Wakeford, “Russia is the world’s leading producer of both oil and natural gas, and also has very large deposits of coal and numerous nuclear power plants. It is the second largest oil exporter and is the top gas exporter in the world.”
But based on the 2012 Global Peace Index, Russia is the sixth least peaceful country on Earth.
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What we can learn from China
China is the world’s second largest economy. It relies on coal to supply 70% of its energy needs. Between 2003 and 2008 coal use grew faster than any other fuel. In 2000 China’s share of world coal production was 28%, by 2009 it was nearly 50%. Over the same period, world coal consumption increased 48%. To put these amounts into a modern perspective, the use of fossil fuels in general increased twentyfold during the 20th century.
These fossil fuels have been burned towards transforming one of the oldest civilisations (founded in 221 BC) into a modern, export-led economy. Since liberalisations were initiated in 1978, China’s economy has grown a hundredfold, and remains the world’s fastest growing major economy.
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NOTE: All of the above (+ India) is published in a Special Report, in the April 2013 issue of FINWEEK:
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