Wall Street Cant Fix the Environment -- and Neither Can Bay Street
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- Published on Tuesday, 25 February 2020 01:48
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A Socialist Project e-bulletin ... No. 2007 ... February 25, 2020
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Wall Street Can’t Fix the Environment -- and Neither Can Bay Street
Matthew Corbeil
On December 16, 2019, a few dozen members of Canada’s business, academic and government elite met in Toronto at the invitation of the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC). They were there to officially launch the Energy Future Forum (EFF), "a new pan-Canadian initiative to develop policy answers that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen the economy." Co-founded by three of Canada’s largest corporations -- RBC, Suncor Energy and Hydro-Québec -- alongside the charitable Ivey Foundation and the think-tank Public Policy Forum, the EFF’s leaders struck an optimistic tone, even as the climate picture has grown increasingly bleak. As RBC CEO David McKay explained, while climate change was "one of the most pressing issues of our age," he was certain that he and all his bank’s "stakeholders" could "embrace the challenge and show Canadians that innovation can achieve measurable progress on climate change and help create a clean, prosperous economy."
The EFF is strategizing for the long-term, aiming to "map out... an ambitious set of policy solutions that are environmentally sound, economically beneficial and publicly acceptable." The December meeting was but the first of many. The Forum plans to meet three times a year over the next three years to discuss policy choices and "develop ideas and approaches that can make a difference and gain broad support."
What do one of Canada’s biggest banks and its corporate allies hope to achieve through the EFF? Although details remain sparse, early indications are not very encouraging. The EFF’s big ideas appear to be to keep the bitumen pumping of the Tar Sands and hope and pray that with public subsidies, producers can find a way to cut emissions.
