climate

The Five Forces Defining Our Future

INDEED, THE LAST THREE YEARS SEEM TO HAVE FLIPPED OUR WORLD UPSIDE DOWN

First, the pandemic brought unseen challenges, disrupted our exchanges and constrained our mobility, forcing families and employees into isolation – either by one’s choice or against one’s wishes. Even if global trade was not affected as much as it has been first feared, bottlenecks paralyzed several industries: from semiconductors and car manufacturers to antibiotics – sending prices of few but strategic components and services through the roof. Governments and global companies responded, and the search for self-reliance or, as we called it in Europe – strategic autonomy – has become the new paradigm, first out of necessity, then out of choice. Globalization has been tainted with regional flavor; “just-in-time” being increasingly complemented with “just-in-case”.