The divestment movement is based on moral arguments about climate change. But we should not ignore the economic arguments. If you do the math, any plausible carbon budget for Canada means the vast majority of fossil fuel reserves will need to stay in the ground. Extreme weather, oil spills and other damages from fossil fuel development suggest it is only a matter of time before the world gets serious about climate change. When that happens, a day of reckoning is coming for Canada’s fossil fuel companies, the bulk of whose reserves will become stranded assets. A managed retreat from those investments is in order, and much preferable to a meltdown.
Posted on: Mon, 04 Nov 2013 03:08:55 +0000