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This book explains the causes of climate change and who is responsible for it. It shows that the emissions keep going up, and that nothing of substance has yet been achieved after more than two decades of effort. It is claimed that the energy sector can be converted from an overwhelmingly carbon-based one to almost zero carbon in the space of half a century, all at just a small cost, or even a profit, based on simplistic assumptions about economic growth and a new industrial revolution. The current industrial structures of all developed and most developing economies are overwhelmingly carbon-based. Decarbonizing requires the coordinated replacement of almost all of the capital stock of the world. Tackling climate change does mean lowering standard of living from its current unsustainable levels, even after the economic crisis. A border carbon tax has one other great virtue: it provides a bottom-up way of getting global action, and avoids the tortuous Kyoto-style top-down negotiations. Applying border adjustments is bound to take time and cause transitional difficulties. Carbon pricing is necessary, but it is not sufficient. By considering climate change mitigation in the context of a limited ability to pay, a very different strategy emerges. For the amounts currently spent, carbon emissions could be cut by much more in the short run, and the possibility of a series of breakthroughs could be husbanded through a major international R&D programme.

Climate change represents an urgent and potentially irreversible threat to human societies, economies, and the planet. Yet despite clear signals, we are slow to act in a meaningful way, despite the fact that we have the legal, political, and technological tools to transition our economies to net zero carbon. While some businesses are reluctant to take significant steps to reduce their carbon footprint, many companies are well-intentioned but feel somewhat paralysed in the face of overwhelming data that portend a financially and environmentally devastating future. Yet we can still reverse the trajectory of climate change, but it requires bold and informed action to reduce our carbon footprint in a manner that embeds fairness in the transition. This book offers a guide for companies, pension funds, asset managers, and other institutional investors to commence the legal, governance, and financial strategies needed for effective climate mitigation and adaptation, and to help distribute the economic benefits of these actions to their stakeholders. It takes the reader from ideas to action, from first steps to a more meaningful contribution to the move towards a ‘climate positive’ circular economy. It can also serve as a helpful guide to everyone implicated in a corporation’s activities—employees, pensioners, consumers, banks and other lenders, policy-makers, and community members. It offers insights into what we should be expecting, and asking, of these individuals who have taken responsibility for effectively managing our savings, our retirement funds, our investments, and our tax dollars.