David Barmes
There will be no escape from fires and floods without a transformation of our economic system
7 January, 2020As bushfires rip through Australia and a deluge floods Indonesia’s capital city, policymakers continue to place ecocidal economic growth above all else. Addressing climate and ecological breakdown will require nothing less than a deep social and ecological transformation of our economy. Climate change is driving an increase in the frequency and severity of natural disasters [...]
Banks really are magic money trees
28 November, 2019Banks really are magic money trees. We disagree with Thomas Hale’s assessment that such a description is misleading (Are banks really magic money trees?, 20 November 2019). Rather, it’s a useful frame that offers some crucial insights into the role they play in the economy. Banks’ ability to create money via simple accounting entries has [...]
Big issues are at stake in this election but public debt isn’t one of them
19 November, 2019With the major parties outlining their spending plans, some politicians and commentators have expressed concern about the level of public debt. But - as has happened in previous campaigns - this focus risks private debt being ignored, the financial sector getting let off the hook, and the most important social and environmental challenges becoming secondary [...]
Response to Mark Carney’s Speech at the TCFD Summit
16 October, 2019Last week, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney spoke at the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) Summit in Tokyo. While he continues to recognize the urgency of greening the financial system, the policies he supports won’t get us there. Carney opened with some strong words on the growing and still unaddressed challenge of [...]
Climate ‘risk’ vs ‘uncertainty’ in financial policymaking
2 October, 2019Current treatment of climate ‘risk’ rests on false assumptions about the dynamics of financial markets and the environmental challenges we face. To address this deficiency, an understanding of ‘radical uncertainty’ must play a greater role in financial policymaking. Due to its mandate to maintain financial stability, the Bank of England now pays increasing attention to [...]
Securitisation is back, and green finance must stray far away
5 September, 2019Securitisation played a central role in the 2008 crisis. Yet it’s been making a comeback, and green finance is getting involved. Here’s why securitisation should have no place in green finance. What is securitisation? Securitisation is the process of packaging illiquid financial assets together into tradeable financial instruments, known as asset-backed securities (ABS). Various types [...]
A reformed appointment process of the IMF director won’t cut it, the whole institution needs an overhaul
19 August, 2019The EU’s finance ministers recently voted for Kristalina Georgieva, the Chief Executive of the World Bank, to take on the top job at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Georgieva is almost guaranteed to secure the position, as tradition dictates that Europe chooses the Managing Director of the IMF, while the US selects the World Bank [...]
Reflections on the state of green finance
1 August, 2019Green finance is growing fast, as private financial services firms are “capturing the opportunity” that going ‘green’ presents. But is this something to celebrate? Not necessarily. Part of the drive to grow green finance has taken the form of broadening the variety of questionable financial instruments on offer. The green synthetic asset-backed security, for example, [...]