Climate change update

The Bank of England has said that up to £16 trillion of assets could be wiped out if the current climate emergency is not tackled effectively by businesses. In an interview, Mr Carney quoted James Gorman, CEO of Morgan Stanley, who said recently, "If we don’t have a planet, we’re not going to have a very good financial system."

Mr Carney expressed the need for a gradual adaptation of businesses, which have to recognise the need to move towards a zero carbon economy in order to survive. He said the need for action to achieve net zero carbon emissions could be a big opportunity for the global economy, in that there is a need for global investment to increase.

Meanwhile, at the start of a second week of protests against global inaction on climate change, around 100 Extinction Rebellion protesters are today occupying the roundabout outside the Bank of England in the City of London. Over 1,300 people have been arrested since the protests began in London last week.

In a positive new development, renewable energy sources, like solar and wind power, provided more energy to UK homes than fossil fuels in the third quarter of 2019. It's the first time that renewable energy has overtaken fossil fuels for a whole quarter, producing 40% of electricity in the UK against fossil fuels' 39%. Less than a decade ago, 80% of our electricity came from fossil fuels, so there can be no doubt that in electricity generation at least, things are moving in the right direction.

And in Denver this weekend, 16 year-old Greta Thunberg spoke to a crowd of several thousand saying that she expected that the world's leaders would keep trying to ignore the pleas of young people on climate change.

“We will instead tell them, if they won’t do it, we will. The world is waking up and we are the change. The change is coming whether you like it or not.”

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