A Third Industrial Revolution and a New Sustainable Energy Vision for the World in the 21st Century
In this speech Mr. Rifkin says, “We are on the cusp of a new energy era and a new economic paradigm that will literally “empower” hundreds of millions of human beings to create their own energy and share their surpluses with neighbors across regions, nations and continents. The democratization of energy gives rise to a new Distributed Energy Vision in the 21st century that will change our economic, cultural and political institutions as dramatically as the Enlightenment vision that accompanied the first industrial revolution two centuries ago.
According to Mr. Rifkin, “the same design principles and smart technologies that made possible the internet and vast “distributed” global communication networks, are just beginning to be used to reconfigure the world’s power grids so that people can produce renewable energy and share it peer-to-peer, just like they now produce and share information, creating a new, decentralized form of energy use.”
Mr. Rifkin says, “We need to envision a future in which millions of individuals can collect and produce locally generated renewable energy in their homes, offices, factories, and vehicles, store that energy in the form of hydrogen, and share their power generation with each other across a continent-wide intelligent intergrid.”
The Global Environmental Crisis
The path to sustainable development
The European Dream
How Europe’s vision of the future is changing the global economy.
The Age of Access
Understanding the historic shift in economic models, from traditional capitalist markets to emerging global commercial networks.
The Future of Work
Rethinking the nature of employment in an increasingly automated, borderless and highly mobile global economy.
The Hi-tech Revolutions of the 21st Century
Harnessing the scientific and technological fields of biotechnology, nanotechnology, advanced IT, and cognitive science in ways that advance the process of globalization.
Rethinking the Global Health Paradigm
Making the shift from managing disease to promoting wellness
Living in a Three Sector World
Creating new partnerships between the global business community, civil society, and governments to create a sustainable approach to globalization.
Deep Globalization
Deepening and expanding the global economy by bringing the remaining 60% of the human race into the 21st century marketplace.
Educating Youth for a Global Era
Introducing service learning and experiential education into schools and colleges to prepare youth for working and living in a diverse, multicultural world.
Immigration in a Globally Connected World
Addressing the challenges of migration in an era of cultural diasporas
Beyond the Nation State
Examining the future prospects of transnational political spaces in Europe, Asia, the Americas, and Africa
Advisor to Heads of State
Jeremy Rifkin is president of the Foundation on Economic Trends. He currently advises the European Commission, the European Parliament, and several EU heads of state, including Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero of Spain. He also served as an adviser to Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and Prime Minister Jose Socrates of Portugal during their respective European Council Presidencies, on issues related to the economy, climate change, and energy security. His work on the European Union’s Energy and Climate change package has been praised in Financial Times, Le Soir, El Pais, La Repubblica, Die Zeit, Der Spiegel, Nouvel Observateur, and many other media outlets. Mr. Rifkin holds a degree in economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a degree in international affairs from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.
A New Way of Economic Thinking
His 1995 book, The End of Work, is an international bestseller that is widely credited with helping shape the current global debate on technology displacement, corporate downsizing and the future of jobs. His 1998 bestseller The Biotech Century addresses the many critical issues accompanying the new era of genetic commerce and is the most widely read book in the world on the biotech revolution. Mr. Rifkin’s 2000 bestseller, The Age of Access, explores the vast changes occurring in the capitalist system as it makes the transition from geographic markets to e-commerce networks and from industrial to cultural production. In his 2002 bestseller The Hydrogen Economy, Mr. Rifkin takes us on an eye-opening journey into the next great commercial era in history. In his newest international bestseller, The European Dream: How Europe’s Vision of the Future is Quietly Eclipsing the American Dream, Mr. Rifkin argues that while the great American Dream is fading, a powerful new European Dream is beginning to capture the attention and imagination of the world.
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