World Economic Forum at Davos 2024 - an opportunity to invest in climate friendly economics
The annual World Economic Forum takes place each year in Davos, Switzerland, with leaders and officials from across the globe gathering to discuss risks, opportunities, and financial investment strategies for the year ahead.
Following an announcement last week that 2023 was the hottest year on record, it is imperative that addressing the climate emergency is a top priority at Davos 2024.
Despite all the evidence that fossil fuels are cooking the planet, the global economy continues to be powered by the oil and gas industry, which has attracted $1.45 trillion1 in investment and $4.7 trillion2 globally in subsidies.
If humanity is serious about keeping global temperatures within safe levels, then banks and governments must identify investment strategies that move away from oil and gas and develop energy efficiency and renewable energy programmes instead.
No defence for the fossil fuel industry
The fossil fuel driven economy is based on short-term thinking that does not consider the impacts on our environment for young people today and future generations to come.
The fossil fuel establishment has accumulated tremendous amounts of material wealth through the generosity of an economic theory that thinks about environmental impacts as ‘externalities’.
This has driven an unprecedented surge in wealth over a very short period in the history of our civilisation, leaving a very much maligned climate in its wake.
To prevent runaway climate change and the deterioration of natural habitats around the globe then we must put an end to further fossil fuel investment, and direct our finances towards ventures that help to build sustainable economies that exist in harmony with nature. This could include projects that support the growth of sustainable agriculture, tree planting, low-carbon transport, and insulation and renewable energy projects.
Here at Brighton & Hove Energy Services Co-operative (BHESCo) we are currently raising funds to develop new solar power projects for five schools in the local area. You can learn more about our Bond Offer and become an investor by clicking the button below:
Investing in local clean energy to transform our societies and stop climate breakdown
Addressing climate breakdown is the great challenge of our time and will require a big transformation in the ways that we power our lives.
However great the task before us we have good reason to be optimistic, because we already have the technologies we need to move towards net zero carbon societies.
Through solutions like solar power, battery storage, and energy demand reduction, we can remove the emission of greenhouse gases that are causing climate change, while improving our present quality of life.
Living in a well insulated home that is powered by renewable energy will mean people are able to maintain a comfortable temperature throughout the year whilst paying much less money to their energy supplier.
Supporting renewable energy projects will not only reduce carbon emissions, it will also help communities to lower their long-term energy costs, become more independent, and keep more of their money in their local economy.
Photo: Science in HD. UnSplash
All of this can happen when global leaders work together to develop long-term economic strategies that phase out fossil fuels and instead support the provision of clean, renewable energy.
This can be done by refusing new oil and gas licences, introducing high carbon taxes, subsidising new green energy projects.
This is the way of the future.
The older generation has a responsibility to lead in this direction, by using their resources and finances to help build a better world for younger people, one in which the needs of humanity are met in harmony with the natural world, not at the expense of it.
References
1. https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WP/Issues/2019/05/02/Global-Fossil-Fuel-Subsidies-Remain-Large-An-Update-Based-on-Country-Level-Estimates-46509
2. https://www.banktrack.org/article/banking_on_climate_change_fossil_fuel_finance_report_card_2019
0 Comments