And finally… Recession
The current slow-down will inevitably mean people look to efficiencies, which in turn could spur beneficial changes: smaller/fewer cars, fewer flights, less luxury spending and less Consumer-credit-fuelled consumption. If the US recession deepens, one effect will be reduced imports from China, whose 10%-plus growth rates have been causing the most rapid global increase in emissions. A temporary reduction of 5% in Chinese growth could provide a breather from climate change and give us slightly more time to implement radical change. The risk however is that this could also destabilise Chinese politics.
Yet if recession proves not to be a temporary correction but a deep depression then it might hit sustainability efforts and commitments hard before they have time to prove their economic sense. And pulling our economies out of the nosedive of climate change disaster will cost huge amounts, investments which a depression may ill afford us.
Beware those who use the slow-down as an excuse to shift their focus away from the single most significant issue of our time.
As we write today, we share two thoughts. First, consider the irony of a supposedly buoyant, growth-focused global economy now in deep and deeper trouble.
And, second, beware those who use the slow-down as an excuse to reduce their commitments or shift their focus away from the single most significant issue of our time.
{ 1 trackback }
{ 0 comments… add one now }