“If the UK’s ecosystems are properly cared for, they could add an extra £30bn a year to the UK’s economy; if they are neglected, the economic cost would be more than £20bn a year… Inland wetlands, for instance, are worth £1.5bn a year in improving water quality alone, and pollinators such as bees are worth …
Continue reading “Financial benefits of green spaces and ecosystems”
Brisbane, Australia faces a ‘postwar’ scale rebuild after “raging floodwaters” “devastated” three quarters of the state of Queensland. The damage affected homes, businesses, schools, hospitals, roads, sewers and drainage systems. Insurance claims are expected to reach A$1bn. 173 people died. The mining industry was disrupted and lost at least A$2.3bn ($2.3bn) in sales. Meanwhile in …
Mitsui, the Tokyo-based trading house, announced it has signed the country’s first ore swap, with Credit Suisse. The swap allows Mitsui, which acts as a middleman between iron ore miners such as Vale of Brazil, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton and the Japanese steelmakers, “to hedge the price of the commodity, avoiding the volatility of …
The Financial Times recently ran a piece by one of its Alphaville reporters, showing a chart produced by Reuters, and used by Reuters, energy market consultant Nick Campbell at Inenco: The interesting point about the chart was that UK gas prices were no longer linked to oil prices. Historically, UK gas prices have apparently been linked …
As a ‘footnote’ to our earlier post (though we are sure it will not be the final word), on April 2 the FT paper carried a story saying that prices of oil (and other commodities) “surged on Thursday, with oil hitting a fresh 18-month high of $85 a barrel, and copper and iron ore posting multi-month …
An interesting example of how our financial system works is playing out before our eyes. And it reveals a likely future for peak oil. Yesterday buyers and sellers of a basic physical commodity, iron ore, announced that they had agreed a new approach for setting prices. The changes had two main parts. First, prices will …
The way that we are managing this planet has led to many species of life now being at risk of extinction. Of the “highest” form of life, mammals, fully one fifth (21%) of species are now at risk of extinction. If we carry on as we are then that figure will continue to rise, year …
