BADGER
MICHAEL AVERY: Raising bank capital buffers could worsen climate change risk
Higher capital requirements may reduce banks’ lending capacity, potentially stifling growth
In the wake of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recent signing of the Climate Change Act, SA is experiencing a familiar resurgence of climate change denialism. It’s a familiar pattern: every time progress is made it seems to trigger a backlash intent on pulling us back. Yet this moment demands we confront these myths with clarity and evidence.
Let’s start with a fact everyone can agree on: the earth’s climate has always experienced natural variability. Think ice ages and interglacial warm periods; this is ancient history. But what we’re witnessing now is unprecedented. Since the late 19th century the global average temperature has risen by about 1.2°C. Such a rapid change over mere decades rather than millennia points to a different culprit. ..
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