6 Reasons to be Optimistic About 2022
Impact in Brief • 3 min read
6 Reasons to be Optimistic About 2022
As the new year presses ahead, we thought it would be timely to highlight a few reasons why we’re optimistic about 2022. And although we naturally tilt towards the positive, our optimism is firmly rooted in the pragmatic approach and long-term soundness of the CIRCA5000 investment thesis.
Want to know why 2022 and beyond look promising to us? Read on for the trends we’re most excited about.
1. Solar is on track to become the cheapest electricity in history
Energy from our sun is already the cheapest form of electricity in many parts of the world.
The price of electricity from solar panels fell 89% in the 10 years up to 2019.
In 2022, we expect this to fall even further as technology improves.
2. Water desalination will become cleaner
While desalination – the process of separating fresh drinking water from salty seawater – has made clean water more accessible to people for centuries, some 90% of desalination plants use old systems that deposit waste into oceans. With the advent of cleaner desalination plants, we expect this trend to reverse.
For example, the U.K.-based company Solar Water Plc expects to complete the world’s first solar dome desalination plant in Saudi Arabia in 2022. It will be 100% carbon-neutral.
3. More than a third of evening meals in the U.K. will be vegetarian
In 2018, more than 29% of evening meals in the U.K. were vegetarian.
We believe this figure will continue to climb in 2022. This will be in part because of the rise of plant-based alternatives to meat and increasing concerns about the planet among the general population.
We’re also encouraged by trends such as January’s record-breaking 600,000+ sign-ups for the Vegan Society’s Veganuary challenge.
4. New vaccines for other deadly diseases
In the last two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the development and deployment of mRNA vaccines. First put to use against COVID, this cutting-edge technology is now being used to develop a malaria vaccine.
There were over 240m cases of malaria and 627,000 deaths globally in 2020. Preventing this disease would be hugely impactful.
BioNTech – the company that partnered with Pfizer for its breakthrough COVID vaccine – is leading the way and is set to start clinical trials in 2022 for a new malaria vaccine.
5. Faster digitisation of classrooms and learning.
In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic meant that roughly 3 in 4 school-aged children across the world were learning remotely.
This move accelerated the adoption of digital tools for teaching. Although some experts say learning in person has significant benefits when compared to online learning, we expect to see more digital learning tools being used in 2022, both in the classroom and at home.
6. Taking the fight to cybercriminals with AI
With cybercrime estimated to have cost the global economy $6t in 2021, there’s growing demand for data security.
Companies are increasingly using the predictive powers of artificial intelligence to stay one step ahead of hackers, who often use artificial intelligence (“AI”) themselves.
A recent study by Capgemini found that two thirds of businesses are now integrating AI into their cybersecurity strategies and this will no doubt bolster the security of private data.
