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

From the Highlands to the Himalayas: This summer's climate extremes are a warning businesses cannot ignore
Climate change

From the Highlands to the Himalayas: This summer's climate extremes are a warning businesses cannot ignore

Tackling climate change is not a story about sacrifice - it is a story about progress, and about finally turning off the oil tap, writes Polestar's Fredrika Klarén

Fredrika Klarén, Polestar
clock 04 September 2026 • 5 min read
'Without action, these could be the good years': A quarter of UK food imports come from regions most exposed to El Niño impacts
Climate change

'Without action, these could be the good years': A quarter of UK food imports come from regions most exposed to El Niño impacts

Imports of commodities such as rice, coffee, and cocoa mean up to £17bn is at risk from 'Super El Niño' climate impacts

Stuart Stone
Stuart Stone
clock 03 September 2026 • 6 min read
COP17: How UN desertification talks delivered 'mixed results' for combatting drought and land degradation
Climate change

COP17: How UN desertification talks delivered 'mixed results' for combatting drought and land degradation

Mongolia Summit delivers billions of dollars in new financing, fresh private sector partnerships, and a range of new government commitments - but critics warn progress fell far short of what is needed to meet land restoration goals

Michael Holder
Michael Holder
clock 02 September 2026 • 8 min read