Yep, the Strawmen Do Keep Coming
Recently, people have been telling me that capitalists are investing lots of money in renewable energy, or that some companies have decided to reduce their environmental impact out of self-interest.
Thanks for the info, guys.
But again, I thought it might be useful to point these people to my book -- y'know, since they clearly haven't read it yet.
For example, this part beginning on page 100:
Recently, people have been telling me that capitalists are investing lots of money in renewable energy, or that some companies have decided to reduce their environmental impact out of self-interest.
Thanks for the info, guys.
But again, I thought it might be useful to point these people to my book -- y'know, since they clearly haven't read it yet.
For example, this part beginning on page 100:
Solar and wind companies are already bringing clean energy to many millions of consumers around the world, including through innovative leasing models that allow customers to avoid the upfront costs of purchasing their own rooftop solar panels. But despite these recent successes, the market has proved extremely volatile and according to projections from the International Energy Agency, investment levels in clean energy need to quadruple by 2030 if we are to meet emission targets aimed at staying below 2 degrees Celsius of warming.
It's easy to mistake a thriving private market in green energy for a credible climate action plan, but, though related, they are not the same thing. It's entirely possible to have a booming market in renewables, with a whole new generation of solar and wind entrepreneurs growing very wealthy--and for our countries to still fall far short of lowering emissions in line with science in the brief time we have left. To be sure of hitting those tough targets, we need systems that are more reliable than boom-and-bust private markets.
It's one thing to say that forward-thinking businesses can make a positive contribution to solving the climate crisis (surely they can). But it's quite another thing to say that voluntary initiatives can get us to zero carbon in a couple decades.
As I'm the first to admit, one of the most promising approaches to climate action has even been championed by a corporate titan: Virgin founder Richard Branson, who says we have a moral responsibility to take the profits from burning fossil fuels and channel them into the green transition. It's just that as the Branson example shows (and as I discuss at length in my book), sometimes the capitalist drive for ever more short-term profit and growth gets in the way, and the green dreams end up on the back burner.
Really, that shouldn't surprise anyone, and we should have never expected billionaires to police themselves: that's what governments are for. So if they aren't up to the job, let's do something about it.
Urgent. It's never been this bad.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just three days to go in our Spring Campaign, we're falling short of our make-or-break goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Recently, people have been telling me that capitalists are investing lots of money in renewable energy, or that some companies have decided to reduce their environmental impact out of self-interest.
Thanks for the info, guys.
But again, I thought it might be useful to point these people to my book -- y'know, since they clearly haven't read it yet.
For example, this part beginning on page 100:
Solar and wind companies are already bringing clean energy to many millions of consumers around the world, including through innovative leasing models that allow customers to avoid the upfront costs of purchasing their own rooftop solar panels. But despite these recent successes, the market has proved extremely volatile and according to projections from the International Energy Agency, investment levels in clean energy need to quadruple by 2030 if we are to meet emission targets aimed at staying below 2 degrees Celsius of warming.
It's easy to mistake a thriving private market in green energy for a credible climate action plan, but, though related, they are not the same thing. It's entirely possible to have a booming market in renewables, with a whole new generation of solar and wind entrepreneurs growing very wealthy--and for our countries to still fall far short of lowering emissions in line with science in the brief time we have left. To be sure of hitting those tough targets, we need systems that are more reliable than boom-and-bust private markets.
It's one thing to say that forward-thinking businesses can make a positive contribution to solving the climate crisis (surely they can). But it's quite another thing to say that voluntary initiatives can get us to zero carbon in a couple decades.
As I'm the first to admit, one of the most promising approaches to climate action has even been championed by a corporate titan: Virgin founder Richard Branson, who says we have a moral responsibility to take the profits from burning fossil fuels and channel them into the green transition. It's just that as the Branson example shows (and as I discuss at length in my book), sometimes the capitalist drive for ever more short-term profit and growth gets in the way, and the green dreams end up on the back burner.
Really, that shouldn't surprise anyone, and we should have never expected billionaires to police themselves: that's what governments are for. So if they aren't up to the job, let's do something about it.
Recently, people have been telling me that capitalists are investing lots of money in renewable energy, or that some companies have decided to reduce their environmental impact out of self-interest.
Thanks for the info, guys.
But again, I thought it might be useful to point these people to my book -- y'know, since they clearly haven't read it yet.
For example, this part beginning on page 100:
Solar and wind companies are already bringing clean energy to many millions of consumers around the world, including through innovative leasing models that allow customers to avoid the upfront costs of purchasing their own rooftop solar panels. But despite these recent successes, the market has proved extremely volatile and according to projections from the International Energy Agency, investment levels in clean energy need to quadruple by 2030 if we are to meet emission targets aimed at staying below 2 degrees Celsius of warming.
It's easy to mistake a thriving private market in green energy for a credible climate action plan, but, though related, they are not the same thing. It's entirely possible to have a booming market in renewables, with a whole new generation of solar and wind entrepreneurs growing very wealthy--and for our countries to still fall far short of lowering emissions in line with science in the brief time we have left. To be sure of hitting those tough targets, we need systems that are more reliable than boom-and-bust private markets.
It's one thing to say that forward-thinking businesses can make a positive contribution to solving the climate crisis (surely they can). But it's quite another thing to say that voluntary initiatives can get us to zero carbon in a couple decades.
As I'm the first to admit, one of the most promising approaches to climate action has even been championed by a corporate titan: Virgin founder Richard Branson, who says we have a moral responsibility to take the profits from burning fossil fuels and channel them into the green transition. It's just that as the Branson example shows (and as I discuss at length in my book), sometimes the capitalist drive for ever more short-term profit and growth gets in the way, and the green dreams end up on the back burner.
Really, that shouldn't surprise anyone, and we should have never expected billionaires to police themselves: that's what governments are for. So if they aren't up to the job, let's do something about it.