John A. Mathews
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780804791502
- eISBN:
- 9780804793162
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804791502.003.0006
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
Chapter Six discusses the complementary changes in finance needed to drive through these changes in the energy and materials markets. Apart from the toxic effects of many financial derivatives, ...
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Chapter Six discusses the complementary changes in finance needed to drive through these changes in the energy and materials markets. Apart from the toxic effects of many financial derivatives, introduced without regulation and wreaking destruction, the banking and finance sector has also developed sophisticated instruments for creating credit and channeling finance to companies looking to invest in new processes. Green economy projects are looking increasingly attractive and are to be serviced by targeted finance (green banks, climate bonds). As they become adopted by institutional investors such as pension funds, these green credit instruments promise to aggregate projects and lower the cost of finance, thus making green economy projects even more attractive. Eco-finance will then emerge as the default option, offering a more stable as well as sustainable foundation for a green capitalism.Less
Chapter Six discusses the complementary changes in finance needed to drive through these changes in the energy and materials markets. Apart from the toxic effects of many financial derivatives, introduced without regulation and wreaking destruction, the banking and finance sector has also developed sophisticated instruments for creating credit and channeling finance to companies looking to invest in new processes. Green economy projects are looking increasingly attractive and are to be serviced by targeted finance (green banks, climate bonds). As they become adopted by institutional investors such as pension funds, these green credit instruments promise to aggregate projects and lower the cost of finance, thus making green economy projects even more attractive. Eco-finance will then emerge as the default option, offering a more stable as well as sustainable foundation for a green capitalism.
John A. Mathews
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780804791502
- eISBN:
- 9780804793162
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804791502.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This book starts from the observation that the rise of China, India and other newly industrializing countries constitutes a triumph of industrialization in that it is lifting hundreds of millions of ...
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This book starts from the observation that the rise of China, India and other newly industrializing countries constitutes a triumph of industrialization in that it is lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. At the same time it confronts the “inconvenient truth” that the model of industrialization utilized so far, based on fossil fuels and extensive resource throughput, cannot scale to accommodate the needs of billions more people. Since it is unthinkable that China et al should be told that they are not allowed to grow their way out of poverty, the only solution lies in finding a new development model. This book argues that such a model is indeed being pursued – a “green growth” model – and that the principal exponent of such a transformation is China itself. It argues that the transformation is occurring not just at the level of macro policies but fundamentally at the level of new energy systems, new resource circulating systems, and new systems of eco-finance channeling investment in these new directions. Against those who hold that carbon taxes and carbon markets should be allowed to lead this transition, the book points to the efficacy of China’s approach in utilizing strong state interventions to guide the system onto a new, renewable (green) trajectory, even as it grows the coal-fired (black) trajectory as well. The book is neither optimistic nor pessimistic but realist in its evaluation of the forces unleashed, constituting a vast uncontrolled experiment whose outcome is anything but determined.Less
This book starts from the observation that the rise of China, India and other newly industrializing countries constitutes a triumph of industrialization in that it is lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. At the same time it confronts the “inconvenient truth” that the model of industrialization utilized so far, based on fossil fuels and extensive resource throughput, cannot scale to accommodate the needs of billions more people. Since it is unthinkable that China et al should be told that they are not allowed to grow their way out of poverty, the only solution lies in finding a new development model. This book argues that such a model is indeed being pursued – a “green growth” model – and that the principal exponent of such a transformation is China itself. It argues that the transformation is occurring not just at the level of macro policies but fundamentally at the level of new energy systems, new resource circulating systems, and new systems of eco-finance channeling investment in these new directions. Against those who hold that carbon taxes and carbon markets should be allowed to lead this transition, the book points to the efficacy of China’s approach in utilizing strong state interventions to guide the system onto a new, renewable (green) trajectory, even as it grows the coal-fired (black) trajectory as well. The book is neither optimistic nor pessimistic but realist in its evaluation of the forces unleashed, constituting a vast uncontrolled experiment whose outcome is anything but determined.
John Broome and Duncan K. Foley
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780198746959
- eISBN:
- 9780191809248
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198746959.003.0009
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory, Environmental Politics
Greenhouse-gas emissions cause external costs. They create inefficiency on a huge scale. Eliminating the inefficiency would lead to very great benefits, which could be distributed to the people of ...
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Greenhouse-gas emissions cause external costs. They create inefficiency on a huge scale. Eliminating the inefficiency would lead to very great benefits, which could be distributed to the people of the world in a way that improves the life of each of them. No one need make a sacrifice. To achieve this result in real terms requires a transformation of the world’s economy. Resources must be shifted out of conventional investment and into reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. To make this possible in practice puts a responsibility on the world’s financial system. The transformation will have to be partly financed by very long-term loans. We need an international financial institution—a World Climate Bank—with enough stability and credibility to finance these large-scale changesLess
Greenhouse-gas emissions cause external costs. They create inefficiency on a huge scale. Eliminating the inefficiency would lead to very great benefits, which could be distributed to the people of the world in a way that improves the life of each of them. No one need make a sacrifice. To achieve this result in real terms requires a transformation of the world’s economy. Resources must be shifted out of conventional investment and into reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. To make this possible in practice puts a responsibility on the world’s financial system. The transformation will have to be partly financed by very long-term loans. We need an international financial institution—a World Climate Bank—with enough stability and credibility to finance these large-scale changes
