Buy out oil companies and save the planet!

This is how one could summarize John Broome's talk during a workshop at Humanisten in early June. The conference was organized by the Research Group for Financial Ethics.

Taxing energy and emissions to fund the development of green alternatives seems sensible, acknowledged John Broome, Professor of Moral Philosophy at Oxford University.

– Nevertheless, most of us would probably find it difficult to accept the taxes that really should be imposed to compensate for emissions and environmental destruction. I myself am no better: my son lives in Australia and, naturally, my wife and I want to be able to visit him every now and then.

To solve the problem, John Broome presented a radical proposal: Instead of taxes, the World Bank can borrow from future generations to invest in green technology and infrastructure.

– This would be a win-win situation: Those of us who are living now could continue to consume without too high a tax burden. The subsequent generation may indeed have to pay for a loan they themselves did not take out, but in return would take over a much more sustainable world than would otherwise have been the case.

Passing our current consumption costs onto our grandchildren sounds a little unfair, John Broome conceded.

– But no one in 100 years’ time suffering from the irreversible effects of climate change will take comfort in the fact that the level of national debt is low.

To end the consumption of fossil fuels, John Broome had an even more radical proposal.

– Let the World Bank buy out all the oil and gas companies, and then shut down their business! Something similar has actually already been done: In 1833, Britain used 40 percent of its GDP to buy all the slaves in the empire, and then freed them. Paying slave owners was, of course, highly questionable from an ethical perspective. Moreover, it was immensely costly and burdened several generations to come – but slavery was eradicated.

The Conference on Financial Ethics was held on 2–3 June.