gbn.com: In this wide-ranging interview conducted by Ernst & Young, GBN Chairman Peter Schwartz considers the short- and long-term potential of clean technology while wearing a variety of hats: futurist, venture capitalist, business strategist, and former scenario planner with Royal Dutch/Shell.

In general, Peter is enthusiastic about the scale and depth of the growing green market and the opportunities for significant technological and business innovation. He points to significant improvements still to be made in resource efficiency and urban design. Advances in chemistry, physics, information technology, and materials science—incorporating nanotechnology, for example—are all contributing to greater efficiency and reduced energy and waste—and at lower costs. And synthetic biology is potentially a game-changing technology that could even drive a new industrial revolution. Within this context, says Peter, the best investment opportunities are less likely to be renewables and biofuels, which are already well funded, but water, efficiency, (including reverse logistics), fuel cells, and the nuclear fuel cycle. In fact, all of these play a role in Peter’s positive long-term scenario for both the clean tech industry and the planet. [ read more ]