15 October 2008

On the 30th anniversary of the death of Fritz Schumacher, it was heartening that this year’s Bristol Schumacher Conference, which Rathbone Greenbank Investments has co-sponsored for more than a decade, was completely sold out.

Over 500 people of all ages and from all walks of life packed the Council House in Bristol to participate in an inspiring programme chaired by Jonathon Porritt and including presentations and workshops from Rob Hopkins, Ann Pettifor, Andrew Simms, John Naish and Eugenie Harvey.

This year’s keynote lecture was from the "deep economist" and author, Bill McKibben. Bill urged everyone to get behind the “350 ppm CO2” campaign and, in particular, to unite to persuade the United States government to take the necessary drastic action on climate change. He reminded us that we have less than 100 months to stabilise atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases before we reach critical levels.

Given our own work in the ethical finance sector, we were keen to hear from Ann Pettifor, a leading figure in the successful Jubilee 2000 campaign and a member of the Green New Deal Group. The group’s policy proposals were first set out in July when the current financial crisis was still unfolding. At the time they appeared a well-thought out and attractive alternative to an overblown consumerist society. Now the same proposals form a compelling blueprint for a way out of today's financial and climatic chaos.

The aspects of the Green New Deal most relevant to our work at Rathbone Greenbank Investments are the call for greater investment in renewable energy and the request to the government to issue “green gilts”. As investors in renewable energy projects, ranging from small community wind farms to international turbine manufacturers, we completely support these demands.

We were encouraged to learn that Ann has been invited to the Treasury this week and look forward to participating in a more enlightened financial system!