Shift from fossil fuels risks popping 'carbon bubble': World Bank

[NickB79]

Cross-posted from General Disc.: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027251490

http://news.yahoo.com/shift-fossil-fuels-risks-popping-carbon-bubble-world-203433539.html

Lima (AFP) - The transition from fossil fuels must be carefully managed to avoid an economically disastrous bursting of the "carbon bubble," the World Bank's top climate official said on Saturday.
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Decades of reliance on oil, gas and coal have made them central to the global economy, and polluting industries risk a potentially catastrophic crash as the world shifts to alternative energies, said Rachel Kyte, the Bank's special envoy for climate change.

"If we accept that we need to have less carbon in our growth, then we might have a financial risk associated with the prominence in our economy of companies who are heavily invested in carbon. That's the whole question of the carbon bubble," Kyte told AFP on the sidelines of the World Bank's annual meeting in Lima, Peru.

My comment on this is in the Gen. Disc. thread. Silly bankers, thinking we still have time for a "managed transition"

[cantbeserious]

1. Might This Mean That The Energy Extraction Corporations Could Go Broke - Bring It On

eom

[NickB79]

2. Yes, but in the process they'll tank the global economy, Great Depression-style

That's the gist of the article: there are literally TRILLIONS of dollars tied up in the global economy either directly or indirectly related to fossil fuel extraction, processing and sale.

[cantbeserious]

3. Sooner Or Later - The Clearing Of Those Dollars Will Have To Happen So Humanity Can Move On

eom

[NickB79]

4. 100% agree.

But could you imagine the uproar if an honest politician told the average voter that?

"Vote for me, I'll tank the economy to save the planet!"

Hence why all these climate summits go nowhere; no one wants to hear the truth, so the politicians keep telling their voters the lies they want to hear.

[cantbeserious]

5. One Of The Best Ongoing Discussions On Climate Change Can Be Found At Radio EcoShock

eom

[Demeter]

6. Nothing is going to happen overnight, or even in ten years

It's taken 40 years to get the momentum up to this speed.