Simon Mundy reports that fossil fuel assets could suffer “painful” writedowns “if governments reach their official climate commitments” (Moral Money, March 7).
This is a key reason why governments probably won’t reach their official climate commitments: too many people have a financial interest in them not doing so. The Trump administration is showing this most brazenly, but as Mundy notes, millions of people have pension investments that stand to lose out.
Maybe falling oil demand will shift this economic power balance so that the financial interests that benefit from net zero become more salient. The question is whether this can happen soon enough to avoid climate disaster.
Jae Halton
Orpington, UK