Wednesday 3 November 2021

COP26 Finance mandate - another free cop out for Finance titans

 If you work in any large organisation in the UK or the West over the last few years, you will be well aware of the cultural capture by left-leaning values that has engulfed CEO's and Human Resources teams. 

Aware that trying to engineer upwards growth for their business all the time is hard work, Chief Exec's have rushed to discover the need to promote diversity and inclusivity and set these cultural targets that are rather easier to achieve - but achieving them allows the same bonus to be earned. 

The new wave of course is climate change and the impact on companies of this. In some ways a big positive, flying junior staff around the world for various not so important meetings has been ended by the pandemic - at no loss the the staff or companies really in the Zoom enabled ear. Lower carbon miles must be a good thing in the round, but this has been a side benefit of the pandemic, not the result of firm action by companies. 

Reducing investments in oil and gas, like tobacco and arms before, has proved easier and also allows for some wiggle room when finding somewhere to blame for poor investor returns. As does overly investing in green energy and infrastructure projects where lower returns can be promised in return for some feelings of moral superiority. 

In fact, many centuries ago the protestant reformation was started by Martin Luther, angry at indulgences sold by the Pope's to absolve people of their misdeeds. The new found obsession with Sustainability seems to have many similarities - look at the rich and famous flying into Glasgow to espouse their morality and direct everyone else's behaviours, much like the Papacy of the Middle Ages. Pontificating in Glasgow has a nice ring to it, eh?

Returning to avarice driven CEO's, the new Net Zero mandate is manana from heaven for them. They will be able to run their large companies with a view to reducing emissions, lets not worry about profits and market share, all very difficult in a competitive market. Instead we can have lots of internal meetings about vision and strategy, employ consultants and come to some obvious conclusions, like abandoning offices and commuting in due course. All the while getting paid the full whack of pay and with ready made excuses for any economic downside "its for the good of the planet."

Their personal jets, houses, jacuzzi's and mistresses jewellery will I predict remain untouched - as much as those of Prince Charles.  Whether the world gets any benefits; maybe, maybe not. 

8 comments:

Nick Drew said...

@"the new Net Zero mandate is manana from heaven"

in context, that's the cleverest pun I've seen in a while

(wahaddya mean, a CU typo ..?!)

Anonymous said...

Its a Freudian Typo. The best kind!

jim said...

What would a CEO do these days. Go for balls-to-the-wall hard driving expansion or stand back and see which way the winds of change are blowing.

The COP fad will die away in a week or so, this COVID thing is aggravatingly persistent - hardly changed in the US and every time you look away it jumps up again. Travel and trade aggravation. Then that nice Mr Trump looks to be stirring himself and the nice Mr Biden and sidekick don't seem to be getting much traction. Boris has called in the lawyers to talk about NI - never a good look and the Brexit bonus is as far away as ever. But keep the Chinese at arms length because Mr Trump won't like it.

Then Nature and carbon will continue to get worse, but no-one will do much. Sensible people will continue cutting trees and burning coal - all profit and no cost so why not. Problems can be left to Greta.

If I were a CEO I would already have been building up in Asia and follow the Millwall principle - nobody likes me but I don't care. Traditional oil and gas and petrol cars and power stations. Leave all that battery and fancy stuff for losers.

Bill Quango MP said...

The BBC eco webpage posted that temperatures have not been on such an upward trend since 1750.

Without asking, .. why? What occurred in the 1700’s?

Fortunately,The Liberal Manchester Guardian wrote about it in a pamphlet in 1799.

Too many peasants are using peat and charcoal to warm their hovels. This is leading to them being warm. And so not waking up at the first blush of dawn, freezing and shivering, eager to run into the fields to thresh,, sow, reap.etc.

Aristocrats from across the Renaissance, are assembling on Glasgow Heath to prevent paupers getting above their social station.

The leading monarchy of Europe, The M8, travelled by their private Montgolfier Balloons to attend a conference chaired by Duke Pfaffel de WiffWaff, the idiot fifth son of Lord Uxbridge, who is the King’s Fluffer.
The Mad Duke made an impassioned speech.

“These lower orders need to know that any improvement to their lives poses a huge, huge threat.
To us.
And our fine, luxuriant, tax free lives.
And we will not tolerate it.

Assembled Nobility! It is 1 minute to 1789! We must not permit heads to roll. Again.
Frenchies, toothless crones, Bastille revolutionaries and all that sorry caper.

So I say Huzzar!
Huzzah And Hussars!
To sabre and destroy their wooden homes. Wood being extremely bad for the environment, for some reason.

By having no shack to dwell in, the peasantry must sleep in haystacks for warmth. So..the soil tillers will be available to work even earlier , ever longer, and harder, to ensure the future of our endowed children. And our hereditary titled, estate bequeathed children’s, children.”


However, there were some missing delegates from the developing nations.
No heads of tribe of any of the people’s of the Indus were present. Nor Emperors or Czars from the Cathay continent or the Russias was present. As they are of no consequence and were not invited.

E-K said...

All of these forced changes are part of the nihilistic war on our past.

The aim is not the conversion of Western capitalism to better ways but its outright destruction.

For evidence I point to Hollywood - fully prepared to be woke and broke and they don't care.

E-K said...

BQ

They point to glaciers collapsing into the Arctic Ocean as evidence of Victorian sin but this is part of the very same glacial retreat that pushed back from England as recently as 12000 years ago.

Capitalism doesn't care about which people it benefits. It will find a market but probably not here the way Greenism is going.

Bill Quango MP said...

Boris needs to focus. To remember he is head of a government. And party.
Not just a fun mayor.

His self inflicted wounds can’t be overcome with joviality forever.

Tony Blair’s faux sincerity and optimistic spending to get of debt, served him well.
But Tony was eventually deposed. By the party that is terrible at booting out bad leaders.

Boris is in a party with the opposite tendency. As Theresa can confirm.

DJK said...

"Boris needs to focus" Do you think he's capable of that? But even suggesting that the Tory party would replace him just begs the question of who with. And to that, I don't think there's an answer.