Carney Says Capitalism Can Be Part of Climate Crisis Solution

(Bloomberg) -- Bank of England Governor Mark Carney defended capitalism’s role in combating the global climate crisis.

In an interview with Channel 4 News in the U.K., he said changes in legislation, people’s behavior and realization of a need for change will make certain industries less profitable and offer opportunities in more climate-friendly efforts.

“Capitalism is part of the solution and part of what we need to do,” he said in the interview broadcast Wednesday. “The costs of ignoring climate change are rising. The opportunity of doing something about it, those are rising. That’s what the system does. It shifts money away from where it’s costly, towards where it has opportunity.”

Asked about the plastics industry, he said this was an area that could become less enticing to investors as legislation and society’s preferences change.

“When we look at banks who lend to those industries, we say, ‘Have you thought about the fact that five years ago, it was much more profitable, and potentially profitable for a long period? And now those profits could be at risk, because they could be legislated away. We could ban certain types of plastics.’”

To contact the reporter on this story: Fergal O'Brien in Zurich at fobrien@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Craig Stirling at cstirling1@bloomberg.net, Zoe Schneeweiss

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