Different Rules, Same Goals: The Glocalization of Sustainable Investment Strategies
The first-ever sustainable and responsible investment global trends report will be released in December
Nothing exists in a vacuum (except space). Unlike neighbors who can build walls or fences between them, we can't fence off the heavily polluting European Union (14 percent of the global total CO2 emissions, 3rd place) or the United States (18 percent of the total; 2nd place) or China (23 percent of the total, 1st place), from the rest of world. To be sure, many national environmental policies and habits affect other nations, to varying degrees.
But looking at a nation's total carbon emissions doesn't tell the whole story. As a 2009 Guardian Datablog notes, per capita carbon emissions is a more useful measurement. The average American is responsible for 19.8 tonnes of CO2 per year, while the average Chinese citizen only produces 4.6 tonnes. The average Kenyan emits a mere 0.3 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.[1] When it comes to anthropogenic climate change, the developing world will pay for the developed world's massive carbon footprint. Put another way, the world's poor will bear the brunt of rich peoples' excessive and irresponsible lifestyles.
A BETTER SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT: THINK GLOBAL, ACT LOCAL
Indeed, knowing what happens on a local and even individual scale is critical not only for understanding the bigger picture, but also for determining local, regional and international policy and sustainable investment strategies.
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Reynard is a Justmeans staff writer for Sustainable Finance and Corporate Social Responsibility. A former media executive with 15 years experience in the private and non-profit sectors, Reynard is the co-founder of MomenTech, a New York-based experimental production studio that explores transnational progressivism, neo-nomadism, post-humanism and futurism. He is also author of the blog 13.7 Billion Years, covering cosmology, biodiversity, animal welfare, conservation and ethical consumption. He is currently developing the Underground Desert Living Unit (UDLU), a sustainable single-family dwelling envisioned as a potential adaptation response to the future loss of human habitat due to the effects of anthropogenic climate change. Reynard is also a contributing author of "Biomes and Ecosystems," a comprehensive reference encyclopedia of the Earth's key biological and geographic classifications, to be published by Salem Press in 2013.
