THE FUTURE OF FOOD AND THE ROLE OF GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

GEORG Geothermal Workshop – Reykjavik 15. November 2018

Sigurður MarkússonLandsvirkjun

Cambridge University - Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership

The global food system:

Water Withdrawal

70% of global use

Employs

28%of the worlds population

37% Of worlds

landmass used for agriculture

(excl. Antarctica)

4000 million t/year

produced

market size

12.24 trillion USD by

2020

6.9%CAGR

Source: FAO.ORG /World Resources Institute

https://ccafs.cgiar.org/

https://ccafs.cgiar.org/

0

1E+09

2E+09

3E+09

4E+09

5E+09

6E+09

7E+09

8E+09

010002000300040005000600070008000

Years from present time

“To meet the increasing demand from a growing population we will need to produce more food in the

next 40 years than has been produced in the previous 8,000 years.”

Jason Clay, Senior Vice President WWF

“Between 2010 and 2050, as a result of expected changes in population and income levels, the environmental effects of the food system could increase by 50–90% in the absence of technological changes and dedicated mitigation measures, reaching levels that are beyond the planetary boundaries that define a safe operating space for humanity”

Springmann et al. October 2018

380 million new jobs by 2030Cost: 5-7 trillion USD?

The role of geothermal energy

Energy

Water

Food

Technology and innovation

905,960,000

610,600,000

433,100,000

122,120,00085,200,000

Finnland Pólland Holland Spánn Ísland

ISK

/yea

r92%

78%

50%

16%

100%

Finnland Pólland Holland Spánn Ísland

% Annual need for heating

Teitur Gunnarsson, Þór Tómasson - Mannvit

Cost of heating a 40.000 m2 greenhouse in different locations

0,03%

Value creation

hdwallsbox.com

Renewable energy?

❑ Innovation❑ Systems thinking❑ Robotics❑ Artificial intelligence❑ Water and energy optimization❑ Strategic policy

40°c

20°c

Challenges in Iceland

• Small local market

• Labor

• Scale - Distribution cost of electricity

• Shipping cost

• Lack of experts

What can we do?