“Individuals invest and give away money philanthropically; both are trivial relative to the amounts required such that they are not noteworthy.”
January 26, 2024 at 12:07PM
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“The biggest pool of money—estimated at around $120 trillion[6]—is in the hands of institutional investors, most importantly sovereign wealth funds and pension funds that are holding this money for the purpose of taking care of the people they are responsible for taking care of. How would you feel as a pensioner if the pension fund managers cut the returns that they would earn and the money they would give you in order to help the world, especially people in other countries, to have less climate problems? Right now, only about 0.5%[7] of this money goes into climate finance because there is a shortage of investments that those who run these institutions can put their money into that provide an adequate return. So, the key to getting the big institutional investors to put more money into climate change lies in finding ways to make it profitable to invest in it.”
January 26, 2024 at 12:08PM
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“The best path to dealing with the climate change problem that is also the bright spot in what is now happening comes from where it has always come from, which is humanity’s inventiveness and investing in that inventiveness to produce economically viable (i.e., profitable) endeavors. Talented people enabled by money that is funneled through the capital markets to produce profits and good returns for those who provide it is what is most important to have and is now beginning to germinate in exciting ways.”
January 26, 2024 at 12:11PM
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“It’s time to focus on adaptation. Intolerably hot weather, droughts, floods, rising sea levels, health problems, damage to the oceans that will change currents and sea life, species loss, and many other things will happen and will lead to great monies being spent to enhance humanity’s adaptations to them. In my opinion, there will be a lot more spending and creativeness directed to adapting well because it will be in the self-interests of the parties who are being affected and have the money to do this spending.”
January 26, 2024 at 12:11PM
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“The ideological fight of the extremists is real. If things continue going as they are, voters might eventually be faced with the question, “If forced to choose, would you prefer a fascist or a communist?””
January 24, 2024 at 10:16AM
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“The risks of a terrible economic or military war between the US and China rose to a peak last March and have declined significantly over the last 10 months. Last March, I made two visits to China when both the Chinese and American sides were very antagonistic and not talking with each other, and I came away with the belief that there was a dangerously high risk of some sort of very destructive economic or even military war because there were a number of red lines that were close to being crossed and elections in Taiwan and the US in 2024 were likely to intensify the conflict.”
January 24, 2024 at 10:16AM
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“not nearly enough money will be directed to limit global warming to about 1.5°C because it is unprofitable for those who have the money to contribute to or invest in the effort to try to prevent global warming, so there will likely be big impacts from it and big adaptations that will have to be made.”
January 24, 2024 at 10:20AM
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“this case was different primarily because the private sector’s incomes and balance sheets were in good shape.”
January 23, 2024 at 04:21PM
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“As for the economy in 2024, it appears likely that inflation won’t fall as much, growth won’t be as much, and interest rates won’t be cut as much as is reflected in the prices. More specifically, growth will slow, as the cash/savings pile that was built up from the big 2020 and 2021 stimulations is being run down and the interest costs on existing debt will rise as debts mature, which will require debtors to refinance their debts at higher interest rates.”
January 23, 2024 at 04:59PM
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“This is when people align on one side or the other and fight intensely for their side or hide from the fight, and few people engage in thoughtful disagreement for the common good. In these times of irreconcilable differences, there is little respect for the existing order of rules and judges, so whether someone is guilty or innocent is judged and sentenced by intensely opinionated people (e.g., ”cancel culture”) rather than an evidence-based justice system. It’s a time when democratic orders are at risk of being disrupted because democracies require people to engage in thoughtful disagreements and follow a system that resolves differences by following rules.”
January 23, 2024 at 05:00PM
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