[MCN] Climate & money: Economic argument keeps getting well-said

[Lance Olsen]

Bloomberg View : October 1, 2015 What Does a 
Central Banker Know About Climate Change?

By Editorial Board
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-10-01/what-does-boe-s-mark-carney-know-about-climate-change-

Excerpts

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney startled 
some people this week, when he gave a speech 
drawing attention to the risks that climate 
change poses to financial stability. This isn't a 
connection central-bank governors often make.

More's the pity, because the connection is real.

Climate change implicates assets worth billions 
if not trillions of dollars. If governments fail 
to address the problem effectively, economic 
losses will steadily mount. For instance, owners 
of mortgaged houses in danger of flooding will 
face increasing financial stress; so will their 
lenders and insurers.

If, on the other hand, stronger action is taken 
to curb such risks, the value of fossil-fuel 
resources will fall -- imposing a different kind 
of financial stress on energy companies and their 
creditors.

U.K. investors, Carney said, would be greatly 
exposed: "Nineteen percent of FTSE 100 companies 
are in natural resource and extraction sectors; 
and a further 11 percent by value are in power 
utilities, chemicals, construction and industrial 
goods sectors." In this way, an environmental 
emergency would also be a financial catastrophe.

It's yet one more argument for acting gradually 
and methodically 
<<http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-10-02/doubt-climate-change-then-support-carbon-taxes>>
to address climate change -- rather than wait 
until the problem becomes impossible to manage. 
And this one you can take to the bank.

End of excerpts, full article here:
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-10-01/what-does-boe-s-mark-carney-know-about-climate-change-

-- 
=====================================================
"Š the serious meaning in a concept lies in the 
difference it will make to someone if it is true."

William James (1842 -1910)
Pragmatism. Meridian Books, 1955

=============================================================
" Š the main dangers to the success of capitalism 
are the very people who would consider themselves 
its most ardent advocates : the bosses of 
companies, the owners of companies, and the 
politicians who tirelessly insist that they are 
'pro-business'."

"Many of the corporate scandals that America, 
especially, has endured in recent years reflect 
outright criminality. A lawful order knows what 
to do with criminals, and pro-business 
politicians are in truth militantly 
anti-capitalist if they flinch from cracking down 
on bosses' crimes."

"Š widespread and quite outrageous abuse, by 
capitalists, of capitalism Š The danger exists 
everywhere in the world, but it matters most in 
the United States."

The Economist, Special 160th Anniversary Issue, A 
Survey of Capitalism and Democracy, June 26-July 
4, 2003


















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