Overheard: Wall Street Sees Profit in 'Flood' Sept. 22, 2014 8:42 p.m. ET "Stop Capitalism. End the Climate Crisis."
There's an irony in the official slogan of Flood Wall Street, the demonstration that brought protesters to Manhattan's Financial District Monday. Apparently unbeknown to them, the putative capitalists on Wall Street are on their side. All of the major financial firms style themselves as environmental stewards. Morgan Stanley MS -1.62% says it is "the leading clean-technology investment-banking franchise." Goldman Sachs GS -0.49% touts its "commitment to developing effective market-based solution to address climate change" and other environmental issues. This isn't just rhetorical "green-washing." It is all about money. The International Energy Agency estimates that the world needs $10.5 trillion of incremental investment globally in low-carbon technology by 2030. That figure—bigger than China's gross domestic product—warms the hearts of investment bankers aiming to gather and deploy those funds. And because anything that can be priced can be traded, Wall Street also loves the idea of putting a price on carbon emissions. To paraphrase an old financier, bankers see potential profits from this flood on the street. _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
