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<TITLE>Re: [climatecamp-london] Are we sure what we're getting into here?</TITLE>
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<FONT FACE="Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:12.0px'>Hi Ben and all...<BR>
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In case you haven’t spotted yet some good coverage in the Guardian recently....<BR>
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www.guardian.co.uk/environment<BR>
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And I found some good paper on this website:<BR>
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<a href="http://www.thecornerhouse.org.uk/subject/climate/">http://www.thecornerhouse.org.uk/subject/climate/</a><BR>
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Hope they are useful....<BR>
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ian<BR>
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On 2/2/09 10:34 pm, "Ben Hart" <benhart33@googlemail.com> wrote:<BR>
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</SPAN></FONT><BLOCKQUOTE><FONT FACE="Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:12.0px'>Cheers for taking the time to write a response bonzhe- I reckon it's worth sending it to the rest of the list as it's a helpfull explanation of what looked to me a nasty piece of financial thinking.<BR>
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I suppose there's a lot to be learnt about finance and (carbon) markets in a very short space of time! It also highlights the fact that we need to know what other financial alternatives there are if we are going to focus on Carbon Trading over the next year. With Energy and Aviation the alternatives are pretty obvious, maybe not so for uber complex financial instruments.<BR>
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I think I've been staring at a screen for too long! Definitely time to go to bed....<BR>
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2009/2/2 bonzhe <bonzhe@gmail.com><BR>
</SPAN></FONT><BLOCKQUOTE><FONT FACE="Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:12.0px'>Ben,<BR>
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This isn't so bad as you make out; the worst that can really be said about these schemes is that they haven't yet been demonstrated to work, unlike micro-finance. <BR>
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The idea is that entrepreneurs, social or otherwise, who could use a (relatively) small amount of money upfront to buy the tools/equipment they need to start a small business or cooperative, may be being held back from doing so by the fact that they live in unjustifiable grinding poverty and only have unstable access to subsistence-level jobs within the 'grey' economy. Untaxed, no recorded assets according to the state, no property rights etc. these people are entirely economically excluded.<BR>
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and yet they live in houses which, though seemingly temporary, ramshackle and handbuilt out of materials found and traded for, are in fact des-res to many others. Using this as collateral on a loan is certainly risky - taking something of value from someone who has little is a pretty horrendous thing. But experiences with microcredit suggest that as long as the conditions are supportive and effective, the defaulting rate can be so low that it would make a US sub-prime lender weep and jump out of a window all over again. In the case of the first microlending institution, Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, it's around 2%.<BR>
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Now, there is an argument to be made that it's not worth implementing the scheme if 2-5% of the borrowers are liable to lose their homes. That's a question you'd have to take up with Al Gore's buddies and the 95-98% of people who borrow, do not default, and accomplish something that would have been impossible beforehand.<BR>
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But as I mentioned, the conditions are important. Grameen Bank had (and perhaps still has) a policy of lending only to women on the principle that they are more reliable, a bit like Diamond car insurance. When you remember that this is in a country where historically women have not had much right to own property, you see that this is a pretty radical idea. On top of that, they would only lend you money if you were in a group - a cooperative if you like - which sets up a mutual dependence which means that if I fail, I let down the team as well. there is a kind of neighbourhood watch incentive to make the scheme work. And so childcare groups, fishfarming schools, weaving co-ops, little stalls serving hot food at lunchtime, and - the big one - mobile phones find their way to places which haven't seen much opportunity for small business ever ever.<BR>
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Gore's buddies are speaking about potentially transformative development practices in the language of financial globalisation. yes, they are transparently appealing to the american entrepreneur/investor/financier/philanthrocapitalist, but that's why they're running an international organisation after all.<BR>
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there are a billion 'slum dwellers' in the world. we shouldn't write off any possible means to help them pursue their dreams and ambitions. <BR>
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If I haven't managed to convince you not to worry about taking money from Al Gore's buddies, let me know what your particular concerns are, and I'm happy to respond.<BR>
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All the best,<BR>
bonzhe<BR>
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2009/2/2 Ben Hart <benhart33@googlemail.com> <BR>
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</SPAN></FONT><BLOCKQUOTE><FONT FACE="Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:12.0px'>Ok- I was just having a look around Al Gore's various websites with the vague idea of applying to some of his campaigns for some CC funding. (Due to the "can't understand why there aren't rings of young people blockading coal fired power stations" comment.) Turns out he's got himself a sustainable investment company called Generation (<a href="http://www.generationim.com/),">http://www.generationim.com/),</a> where I found the following statement:<BR>
</SPAN><FONT SIZE="5"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:18.0px'><B>Background<BR>
</B></SPAN></FONT><SPAN STYLE='font-size:12.0px'>C.K. Prahalad and Stuart Hart define the Base of the Pyramid (BoP) as the 4 billion people with annual per capita income based on purchasing power parity in U.S. dollars less than $1,500 (what is considered the minimum to sustain a decent life).<BR>
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According to some experts, the Base of the Pyramid is an untapped market opportunity of $13 trillion in annual sales as well as significant invisible assets. In <I>The Mystery of Capital,</I> Hernando de Soto <B>estimates that there are well over $9 trillion such unregistered assets (houses, equipment, and so on) in the rural villages and urban slums of the world." These are assets that could be used to collateralize loans/credit to allow people to become part of the economic system or market.</B> Other evidence of BoP potential includes market demand for microfinance is close to $300 billion, as compared to the $4 billion of current supply. Today there are over 3,100 microfinance institutions that served close to 100 million clients. And remittances are somewhere between two and three times the level of development aid from rich to poor countries. For example, a total of $167 billion in remittances flowed to developing countries last year.<BR>
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You couldn't make it up...........<BR>
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Needless to say I didn't bother sending an application form in! Although i did ask what happens when the slum dwellers default on their payments?<BR>
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Just an idea of what the new campaign is up against!!!<BR>
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