this is the core business of the swiss financial industry. further progress will depend in large measure on what the outlined background conditions will look like in future. in this context, it is the overall situation that counts rather than conditions in a certain area. outlook at the turn of the century, switzerland is economically and socially in good condition. following years of frequently painful adjustments to a changing environment, preconditions for a balanced development are favourable. the quality and scope of these adjustments bear witness to the flexibility of our economy and society. the years ahead will continue to be characterised by constant change. it is therefore important to remain vigilant. on the basis of overall economic as well as social stability, innovative power and flexibility must be preserved. in a mature society, this represents a particular challenge. by keeping our own house in order, we also make the best possible contribution to international solidarity. in the narrower european context, our bilateral agreements with the european union will form a good basis for cooperation in the coming years. in europe and beyond, switzerland traditionally has an extensive network of international relations which we shall continue to cultivate in the future. as far as these relations are of a political nature, an appropriate social consensus is necessary for doing so. the further development of our financial centre will depend on whether we succeed in continuing to guarantee the attributes mentioned earlier on : integrity, stability and quality. this requires efforts both on an individual and on an overall economic level. a sustained commitment in both spheres will permit existing opportunities to be used.

this is no mean task – it implies by 2030 installing every day the generation capacity of what is currently the world ’ s biggest solar farm. third, hydrogen will be an important new hope for decarbonisation. this involves using renewable energy to split water molecules to produce both hydrogen and oxygen. the hydrogen can be burnt as a fuel emitting only water vapour or be put into a fuel cell to make electricity on demand. it can also be used as a feedstock to make more energy - dense compounds such as ammonia, which can serve as a fuel itself. hydrogen and ammonia can be critical to the transition to a net - zero world given their potential role in decarbonising hard - to - electrify sectors, such as steel production ; fuelling trucks, ships, and other heavy vehicles. all of this is technologically possible but making it economically efficient will require further innovation. in singapore, our aim is to progressively decarbonise the power sector. we do not have the land for large solar or wind farms or fast flowing rivers for hydro - electric power. but it helps that singapore is already less carbon - intensive in power generation than many other countries that still use coal. we are working to increase the carbon efficiency of natural gas which today accounts for 95 % of electricity generation and is likely to remain the dominant energy source for some time. we are accelerating solar deployment across the island and building viable energy storage systems. using our reservoirs, we are opening one of the world ’ s largest floating solar energy systems. we are using transmission lines linked to neighbouring countries to import the renewable energy they produce. singapore has already started importing from laos energy from hydroelectric power. we are exploring geothermal and biomethane technologies as well as small modular reactors using nuclear fission. green economy the third imperative for the net zero transition is to green the economy. greening the existing economy is more important than growing new green sectors. investing in green technologies and renewable energy is important. but such pure green activities are estimated to make up less than 8 % of the global economy. non - green activities – in manufacturing, building and construction, aviation, maritime, agriculture and fisheries - make up the bulk of any economy. to move the needle on emissions reduction, we need transition strategies that progressively reduce the carbon footprint across all sectors. let me highlight six challenges associated with greening the global economy. first, a green economy will rely much more on electricity. the cheapest and easiest way to