Global (financial) meltdown thoughts

Some choice quotes from yesterday’s comment pages of the Financial Times, which as yet is not turning wholesale Marxist but is beginning to seethe at the cause of this week’s financial meltdown:

John Gapper

We are now, unquestionably, in the worst financial crisis since 1929

Roger Altman

This will come to be seen as the greatest regulatory failure in modern history

Martin Wolf

It is conceivable, though still unlikely, that the UK financial system will become so decapitalised as to be unable to function properly… By now it should be evident that the British obsession with speculative home ownership is a snare and a delusion

What to make of such unprecedented economic events that have struck at such great pace?

In the first instance you wonder the head of steam is heading in relation to a complete rethinking of our financial system – such is the pace of events this is ahappening to a degree already. At the very least the era of light or no-touch government in relation to the markets is now over, given that one of the most right-wing of recent American administrations has been forced to intervene. And reading the FT commentators you begin to see them move towards the position of Observer columnist, Keynesian and consistent critic of the excess of capitalism Will Hutton. He called for brave action from the Labour intervention in a piece last Sunday.

So where does this leave sustainability? In my swingometer piece on Wednesday I rather jokily reckoned that financial straits may in fact be strangely positive news for sustainability. In a piece in today’s BD I also make a similar claim, opining that financial straits could force the issue for those trying to create sustainable communities. By that I mean focus on the basics – data, proven solutions and technologies, paybacks. In other words copper-bottoming the case for building green.

That’s trends that may be more in the long run than short term cuts to budgets, projects on hold etc. It’s good then to see that the letter to government from leading business figures today, on behalf of the Prince of Wales’ corporate leader’s group on climate change, warning that the government ignores the green agenda at its peril. Speaking on the Today show this morning , one of the members of the group – Ian Cheshire from B&Q owner Kingfisher – described it as a “false choice” between dealing with climate changing and shoring up the economy. Much work is needed both from the private and public sectors in the coming week to cement this view.

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