COP24: Ten years on from Lehman Brothers, we can't trust finance with the planet

clock • 11 min read

Private finance crashed the economy and is too consumed by the profit motive to be a reliable ally against climate change. We should not allow COP24 to be their board meeting, argues Tomaso Ferrando from the University of Bristol

Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy on September 15, 2008. The investment bank's collapse was the drop that made the bucket of global finance overflow, starting a decade of foreclosures, bailouts and...

To continue reading this article...

Join BusinessGreen

In just a few clicks you can start your free BusinessGreen Lite membership for 12 months, providing you access to:

  • Three complimentary articles per month covering the latest real-time news, analysis, and opinion from Europe’s leading source of information on the Green economy and business
  • Receive important and breaking news stories via our daily news alert
  • Our weekly newsletter with the best of the week’s green business news and analysis

Join now

 

Already a BusinessGreen member?

Login

More on Climate change

What the Winter Olympics reveal about the business decisions shaping the future of sport

What the Winter Olympics reveal about the business decisions shaping the future of sport

The future of winter sport in a changing climate will be shaped less by what happens on the slopes, and more by the business decisions made around it, writes 17 Sport CEO and founder Neill Duffy

Neill Duffy, 17 Sport
clock 06 February 2026 • 5 min read
Closure of last coal power plant drives UK territorial emissions down to record low

Closure of last coal power plant drives UK territorial emissions down to record low

Latest official statistics show UK emissions fell three per cent in 2024 and are now more than 53 per cent below 1990 levels - but challenges remain in decarbonising sectors such as road transport, aviation, and waste

Michael Holder
clock 05 February 2026 • 5 min read
New service to reimburse farmers for machinery 'non-use' during extreme weather

New service to reimburse farmers for machinery 'non-use' during extreme weather

CNH Capital and BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions to use satellite data to trigger financial support for farmers when extreme weather prevents them from using leased equipment

Stuart Stone
clock 02 February 2026 • 4 min read