Notes on Stern Report

November 2006

There is no planet B, so we need an economic plan B.

We need to develop new economic systems because we cannot find a new eco system.

The Stern Report published yesterday, has come up with a price-mechanism to halt climate change. But there is no market-based solution to a market-based problem. Stern says we were better off spending 1% of GDP now on attempting to avert climate change, rather than find ourselves paying 20% of our GDP to combat the effects of climate change in a few years’ time.

But GDP isn’t neutral. Much of that GDP comes from depradating the environment for profit. 1% or 20% it’s irrelevant, if the other 99% or 80% comes from a system built on olde-timey ‘infinite economic growth’.

Despite the fact that most of the planet’s carbon emissions come from the rich north and not the poor south, the cant now is to say, no point iddy-biddy Britain Isle reining in carbon emissions, what about they are building a new coal-fired power station in China every week, and the moped has become compulsory in India with heavy fines for anyone walking or riding an elephant.

UK-registered companies are among the world’s biggest climate criminals.

RBS, the Royal Bank of Scotland, is the biggest bank in Britain, second biggest bank in Europe. RBS own NatWest and Churchill Insurance. RBS promote themselves and describe themselves as “the oil and gas bank”. RBS helped finance the Sakhalin oil pipeline off the east coast of Russia in the Arctic Ocean (see von Klausewitz item on site), and the BTC oil pipeline. You want to do something positive? Take your money out of there. And not just yours. Don’t just close your own account. If you’ve got a workplace, make sure your employer’s account isn’t with RBS. Are you a member of a university? Of a college? Have they got an account with RBS? Get it out of there. Dirty. Dirty. Wipe your hands clean.

If you are in a social club, sports club, church group, allotment collective, christmas club - same applies, close your RBS account. Those of you in a secret fight club, and I know you can’t talk about whether the club or a treasurer of said club may or may not exist, but if he does may I suggest you advise the treasurer to disinvest in the oil and gas bank.

BP’s emissions from processes and products are twice those of Britain.

A friend told me about a single hedge-fund company in the City of London who own 2.1% of BP, which means they are responsible for carbon emissions equivalent to 4 million Brits.