Eric Worrall writes: The Guardian, a prominent green UK daily newspaper, reports that climate activists are implementing new strategies for forcing climate action – rather than attacking fossil fuel installations directly, necessitating uncomfortable long distance travel to often quite desolate locations, they’ve decided to say in easy reach of the nearest coffee bar, by staging protests in cities, targeting financial institutions which help finance oil and gas projects.
According to The Guardian;
“The rapid momentum behind the finance sector-focused NGO campaigns in Australia has taken casual observers and many within the finance industry by surprise.
With domestic political action on climate change in Australia stubbornly stuck in reverse gear, environment groups are looking to other avenues to influence climate action and they’ve chosen finance as the next target. Today, there are more than ten environment groups in Australia with finance sector focused campaigns.
As managers of the capital that fuels the economy, the scrutiny and expectations on investors are rapidly rising. Banks, pension funds, universities, religious groups, cities and councils are under intense pressure to demonstrate a response to risks posed by climate change.”
I doubt they will succeed – the finance types I used to work with mainly saw climate protests as colourful idiots who usually got the address wrong. The London riots, which had nothing to do with climate change, were a lot more intense – though even the risk of getting caught up in the riots didn’t deter finance people. I remember watching the smoke rise from London, as parts of the city burned, from the safety of a bank office building. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_England_riots
But if the protestors do succeed, will oil and coal companies roll over and go bust? Or will they offer high rates of high confidence return, to individual investors willing to step in and fill any funding shortfall?
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Do you know what´s really interesting? The bulk of oil and gas reserves are owned by OPEC nations, Russia, and other state owned enterprises (Pemex comes to mind). The “divestment” movement seems to be aimed at private enterprise.
I noticed they also seem to target Canadian heavy crude (Keystone XL seems to be their boogie pipeline), but they don´t lift a finger to protest IDENTICAL heavy oil blends imported by tankers from Venezuela.
Their actions are so focused against private enterprises it seems we are dealing with people who want the fossil fuel industry owned by state enterprises? Or are they just completely ignorant of reality?
The greenies seem to be overlooking the fact that those same financial institutions also manage funds for the NGOs themselves and the individuals who participate in the protests. Properly motivated, the financial institutions could easily find ways to make life uncomfortable for them.
Sun Tzu pointed out 2500 years ago that a successful campaign requires secure lines of support. In my own experience in the military, one of the first things I learned was that you always want to have the support staff (secretaries, supply sergeants, etc.) on your side.
“Banks, pension funds, universities, religious groups, cities and councils are under intense pressure to demonstrate a response to risks posed by climate change.”
Well Australia solved its illegal immigration problem so the Leftists have no illegals to use as grievance group, like they currently do in the EU. So it’s climate for the Oz leftists. It’s always something; as demanded by Critical Theory.
They might indeed be the last leftists on the planet using climate.
It comes to me as no surprise, considering they (McKibennities) have enlisted the anti-capitalism crowd.
If they are using fraudulent tactics (climate scare stories, hockey sticks, photoshop) not based on settled science then they should be subject to the full application of the law. Libel is libel – good intentions don’t play a part.
So, if they succeed in stopping investment by western banks, what would stop Russian, Saudi or Chinese financiers from underwriting them?
Banks have just increaased the average fee for customers using ATMs not directly owned by their bank to an outrageous $4.25 a transaction. Do you really think some ignorant protesters with no credibility and no money are going to influence banking?
The thought, “Illusions of Grandeur” comes to mind.
A couple of years ago, the Democrat congress passed a law limiting how much money banks could charge stores for the privilege of using their cards. There was only one place where the banks could make up the money they lost. Fees on checking and savings accounts.
Liberals just don’t understand that when you squeeze a balloon, it just bulges out somewhere else.
Partially true. The various businesses paid different amounts for each credit card transaction. The big ones just told the banks what they would pay so the small businesses got a huge hit. Banks are scummy. So I’m looking for popcorn and waiting to entertain myself with scum vs scum (sort of like the Spy vs Spy but without the cool gadgets).
🙂
I guess these protesters never ask themselves how these ideas come into being and how they are promoted organized and managed. A daughter of a friend was an ‘eclectic’ protester as a university sociology student and when she graduated, she ended up getting a ‘job’ in the protest industry! I’m not sure if she knows what entity is paying her salary. I’m sure it’s put forward as group of caring intellectuals out for social justice. Maybe it’s one of Soros’s projects.
She has a budget for printing circulars and sign making and she bought a nice modest house. They flattered and toasted her, giving her credit for almost single-handedly freeing the people of East Timor! I can see where the zeal comes from! I asked her if she thought the Australian Army had perhaps assisted with this project in some small way and she was greatly offended.
There is a lot of this kind of thing going on. Spontaneity is not part of the picture.
The privilege to create money out of thin air, granted to commercial banks, should be revoked, because it goes against the spirit of capitalism. But that’s not what these clowns are pushing for.
The ecotards might just be able to draw on a long bow and claim success these days though. Given the investment cost per barrel has risen significantly in the last few years and the price of oil has dropped slightly, oil and gas projects don’t deliver such a lucrative return on investment as in the past, So despite short-sighted cost cutting efforts in evil big oil, investors are going elsewhere; not on account of the persuasive slacktivism of the great unwashed and their celebrity pets, but simply because there are better profit margins to be found elsewhere.
The habitually indignant are never known to let facts get in the way of a good cry though, so I expect plenty of wide of the mark gloating in the lame-stream media over the next year or so until the gap between production and demand widens and evil big oil declenches it’s buttocks.
Why banks? Because that’s where the money is …
At what point does it stop being called “Science”, and more truthfully be referred to as Stock Manipulation on a grand scale.
It is easy to knock things (down). But what is offered to build things up! Nothing.
There is nothing new about this, why do you think major corporations pay many NGO’s.
It is the new Mob. The New Mob is Social.
Hopefully security agencies will see the threat to financial institutions and economic stability from neo-Marxist activists, such as those who disrupted parades for the 2010 Olympic games (one effort had a known environmentalist front and centre in publicizing the possibility, including being photographed wearing a bandana and with fist raised), and the G20 riot in Toronto.
David Suzuki’s Marxism was evident in his speech to the Occupy mob in Vancouver BC.
And there’s this: http://systemchangenotclimatechange.org/about “An eco-socialist coalition” as well as http://climateandcapitalism.com “Ecosocialism or barbarism: There is no third way” – complete rejection of the proven path of individual freedom supported by a justice system
Now boycotting Coca Cola for the rest of 2014
Why ? I switch on the radio and the BBC is giving a free ride to WWF terrorizing us with it’s shock horror report quoted as “WWF Audit: Half Of The Earth’s Animals Have Disappeared” or “The Earth’s vertebrate wildlife population has halved in 40 years” ..”We don’t intend to cause alarm” the WWF woman is saying
..Then I log on to Bishop-hill.net the banner add is a joint one from WWF CocaCola
..and the alarmists mad conspiracy theory that skeptics are the ones with vast pockets and powerful deceptive PR war ..talk about projection.
Attacking businesses is the strategy of activism. See the current/recent efforts of Doomberg’s Everytown Mad Mommies against Starbucks, Target, Krogers, et cetera. In a dwindling economy all businesses bottom lines are vulnerable to agit-prop pressure.
Attacking workers is the strategy of Executives in the USA and the UK. Has been since 1975. Telling them that they earn too much and the executives earn too little.
Funny that…….
It would be a nice wake-up call to Americans if all the energy companies in North American that use coal, oil, or NG would shut down their plants for 24 hours on, say, 15 January.