Blogposts tagged 'Economics'

New report: Climate change will destroy the economy of most of the countries in the world

Posted by christian - 2 October 2009 at 3:49pm - 12 Comments

A new report on the costs of adapting to climate change is a wake-up call to the rich world

There's a curious irony at the heart of climate change. We, that is, the rich countries, have largely caused the problem. But we aren't the one who are going to suffer the most because of it.

In fact, one of the main reasons we are as rich as we are is because we have burnt the most fossil fuels. Britain, for example, was the home of the largely-coal-powered Industrial revolution, and because we got an early lead on burning coal, we are not only relatively well off, we also lead the world in historical emissions. In total, throughout history, the British have emitted more carbon per head of population than anyone else.

Article tagged as: adaptation, climate change, copenhagen, economics, world bank

Green Stimulus Or Simulus?

Publication date:  30 March, 2009

What is the government doing that is new and additional to stimulate the economy by spending on the environment? This report by the New Economics Foundation shows that new funding for greening the economy amounts to just 0.6 per cent of the UK’s total stimulus package. Gordon Brown recently claimed to the House of Commons liaison committee that around 10 per cent of the UK package was directed towards "environmentally important technologies".

Download the report:
Article tagged as: economics, emissions, green new deal, reports

Dinner date with destiny

Posted by John Sauven - 14 November 2008 at 7:40pm - 4 Comments

The climate crunch will soon make the credit crunch look trivial, and the G20 summit must tackle it now, writes Greenpeace UK Executive Director John Sauven writes for Comment is free.

This evening, 20 world leaders will gather in Washington, where they will dine at the table of their host, George W Bush, before attempting to perform life-saving surgery on the global economy.

Even in the face of the extraordinary repudiation delivered last week by the American people, Bush is unlikely to use the summit to also reshape the world's response to climate change. But that's exactly what his 19 guests should do.

Article tagged as: barack obama, climate change, economics, G20, george bush, green new deal, john sauven

Deep Green: The end of price

Posted by bex - 30 June 2008 at 10:17am - 0 Comments

Deep Green - Rex Weyler

Here's the latest in the Deep Green column from Rex Weyler - author, journalist, ecologist and long-time Greenpeace trouble-maker. The opinions here are his own.

In the 1980s, fishermen caught the last wild Beluga sturgeon from the Sea of Azov, source of prized caviar, and wild sturgeon in the Caspian Sea failed to reproduce. The sturgeon catch plunged by 95 percent, and the cost of caviar soared. Such extraordinary price growth is known as "hyperinflation," or as economist Eric Sprott says, "the caviar syndrome."

This may sound trivial regarding caviar, but hyperinflation turns critical with commodities such as oil, gas, copper, zinc, water, or fine hardwood, all now growing rare on a global scale. Industrial civilization has already depleted the best and most accessible of these resources. Sturgeons might recover if we leave them alone, but copper and oil do not reproduce themselves.

Article tagged as: ecology, economics, rex weyler

The nuclear White Paper: an analysis

Posted by bex - 10 January 2008 at 4:44pm - 27 Comments

Our political unit has been trawling through the fine print of this morning's nuclear White Paper. Here's their initial analysis, outlining some of the more subtle ways the government has understated the real risks to the taxpayer and the lack of clarity on economics:

 

  • The White Paper shows how nuclear companies will be able to cap their liabilities, leaving the tax payer exposed if estimates for dealing with waste change.
  • It openly admits the government will have to provide extra money if cost estimates are wrong.
  • It uses questionable financial estimates to build the nuclear economic case.
Article tagged as: analysis, economics, energy white paper, nuclear power, nuclear subsidies

We're heading the wrong way

Posted by John - 11 December 2007 at 1:15pm - 0 Comments

Climate change is not some long-term, notional threat to the environment but an immediate threat to our security and prosperity.

As Ulrich Beck noted recently in the Guardian: "Climate change is not solely a matter of hurricanes, droughts, floods, refugee movements, impending wars or unprecedented market failure. Suddenly, and for the first time in history, every population, culture, ethnic group, religion and region in the world faces a future that threatens one and all."

Article tagged as: climate change, economics, emissions

Cranes, canoes and rainwater collectors

Posted by bex - 31 May 2007 at 2:15pm - 2 Comments

Volunteers at the top of a crane in Olkiluoto

The things you learn when working for Greenpeace. Today, I found out how to collect several litres of rainwater using a banner, two hard hats, a hollow cross-member of a crane and a CamelBak water bag - while 80 metres up in the air, hanging onto a crane.

Article tagged as: direct actions, economics, finland, nuclear power, reactors

Restructuring aid for British Energy

Publication date:  21 March, 2007

Issues for the European Commission

Download the report:
Article tagged as: british energy, economics, government, nuclear power, reports
Syndicate content

GP online