The world's corporations produce so much climate change pollution, it could eat up about 44% of their profits if they had to pay damages for it
The world's corporations produce so much climate change pollution, it could eat up about 44% of their profits if they had to pay damages for it
The world's corporations produce so much climate change pollution, it could eat up about 44% of their profits if they had to pay damages for it, according to a study by economists of nearly 15,000 public companies.
44% of PROFITS, not gross income.
Which means that even if companies were actually charged for the mess they made, they would be operating in the black AND their profits would still be 66% of normal.
117So, they'd still be wildly profitable, then?
Huh.
112'Wildly profitable' would not be enough to them.
'Extremely profitable' would not be enough to them.
'Insanely profitable' would not be enough to them.
Infinite growth is one hell of a drug.
53The only time infinite growth would be possible is if we became a space faring species and colonized other planets. That would allow us to continue population growth.
Outside of that, infinite growth is impossible since there’s only so many people on this planet and even less who can afford their products.
6Capitalism and infinite growth is a microcosm of an organisms drive for infinite growth, which is usually curtailed by all sorts of biological and evolutionsry processes. Like space limitations and scarcity of resources, and I'm trying to figure out what is different between the individuals that form these mega corps and the average organism.
I dunno. Is this a stupid train of thought?
3
Yeah it really drives home just how fucking cooked the situation is.
Sorry kids the biosphere is fucked and human society is an echo of what it once was but there were some rich people who didn't want to be slightly less rich than they already were.
15No. Because some companies would make no profit and others would be unaffected. Who’s going to pay more, Shell or novo nordisk? Shell would simply cease to exist
1
Huh that's very reasonable actually. Generous even. Now let's see what they can pay workers.
67So, 44% of their profits are in fact 100% of our futures? That money didn't come from nowhere. All of us will pay that debt. Reporting needs to start reflecting that, and legislation needs to be enacted to get restitution. Until then, it's all toothless.
29So what are we waiting for? Fuck em
23Oh no not 44% of profits! Won't somebody please think of the margins!
20Sounds like a win win
18Boo fuckin' hoo. Pay up, shitbags.
14So 44% of corporate profits are subsidized by the fact they don’t have to pay for waste disposal.
12Oh no, not 44% of the extra money that goes into the pockets of already obscenely wealthy people
10So in other words, they can afford to pay damages for it. Make them pay!
9Oh shit what will I do if a couple ceos don't get paid hundreds of millions of dollars?? Won't someone think of the billionaires and their profit margins???
Lol every single cent of profit above 250 million should be taken from them and that's being generous
8Narrator: ... and so they never did and also got away with it.
8Fossil fuels are the main actors in this. Corporations can only use the energy we provide them with.
Fossil fuel producers will never pay damages for climate change due to political donations. You may get the odd instance now and again, where there is selective scapegoating and that will be that. The tobacco industry (AFAIK) has never paid for the damages they have caused. They poured billions into politics and offset the argument against them for decades. Fossil fuel companies are doing exactly the same thing.
So rather than finger point towards specific actors, we should be sorting our political systems out. Political donations need to be banned. Campaigns should only be allowed to run through a single channel that is funded by the country. All other types of political advertising should be stopped. It is well known that the most successful campaigns have a price tag attached. Therefore it is easy to buy votes with campaigns. Moreso in a FPTP system. While we allow political donations we will never stop egregious profiteering without consequences.
7Several companies have faced criticism for their environmental practices over the years. Here are some sectors and notable companies that have been highlighted for their environmental impact or poor environmental practices:
1 Fossil Fuel Industry:
This sector is the most significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Major companies in this sector have historically downplayed or denied their role in climate change.
ExxonMobil: Accused of knowing about climate change as early as the 1970s but funding climate change denial for years.
Chevron, BP, Shell: All have faced criticism for their contributions to global CO2 emissions.
2 Mining:
Mining can lead to deforestation, habitat destruction, and water pollution.
Vale and BHP Billiton: Responsible for the Mariana dam disaster in Brazil in 2015.
Glencore: Faced allegations of polluting rivers and not handling toxic waste appropriately.
3 Fashion:
The fashion industry, especially fast fashion, is a major polluter due to its high water usage, waste, and carbon emissions.
H&M, Zara, and Forever 21: All have been criticized for promoting fast fashion, leading to enormous waste and questionable labor practices.
4 Agriculture:
Large-scale farming, especially meat and dairy production, contributes to deforestation, water consumption, and methane emissions.
Tyson Foods, JBS, and Cargill: Significant contributors to global methane emissions due to their meat production.
5 Technology:
While tech companies often promote sustainability, some have been criticized for their environmental impact.
Apple: Previously criticized for not making products that are easily repairable or recyclable, though they've made significant strides in recent years.
Amazon: Criticized for excessive packaging and its carbon footprint from deliveries, though it has also made pledges to become carbon neutral.
6 Automotive:
Many car companies have historically relied on fossil fuels, contributing to CO2 emissions.
Volkswagen: Caught in a major scandal for cheating emissions tests in 2015.
7 Palm Oil Producers:
Palm oil production has led to significant deforestation, especially in Indonesia and Malaysia.
Companies like Nestlé, Unilever, and Procter & Gamble have faced scrutiny for not ensuring their palm oil is sustainably sourced, though many have made commitments to improve.
8 Plastics and Packaging:
Companies that heavily rely on single-use plastics contribute to plastic pollution.
Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestlé: Have been named among the top plastic polluters several times in global audits.
2I don't see your point. This does not alleviate the problem of political protections for party donors.
1
People need to make a conscious effort to buy less shit. It's easy to blame corpos but we create that demand.
If it doesn't solve a problem you have, you don't need it.
1
Even with the fine, their huge profits hardly change. This shows that the penalty isn't enough to discourage pollution. Stronger actions are necessary to make companies responsible.
7And what if everyone were honest about what these "damages" should be?
Even this fantasy scenario of consequences is an incredibly low-balled Cost of Doing Business of murder.
7So it means we could start saving the world if corporations let go of less than half of their profits?
7Yes please!
6They would still be insanely wealthy, even with 44% less profit.
6It's one of the things that infuriates me when I hear refusals to address climate change: the "business as usual" way of doing things entails externalising countless costs, meaning comparing costs is an apples-and-oranges endeavour.
6@theendismeh @silence7 @climate
The "business as usual" approach reminds me of the saying "when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail"
2
Who gets paid the damages? Countries that will just keep subsidising these industries to the detriment of everyone?
5It's called internalizing the externalities, and desperately needs to happen.
5I haven't read the article, but it sounds fair that they should pay for it. Fuck em.
4But don't forget, the climate crisis is a hoax, but if it isn't then it's your fault for not recycling hard enough
4Good.
4Corporate pollution and your pollution are the same thing
4Say there is a manufactured necessity. One cannot reasonably make it themselves or go without it. The manufacturer chooses to skimp on pollution controls or illegally dump so that the owners can make more money. How is that my fault?
3I mean this more literally than you think. What youre thinking of as pollution isnt as prevalent as you think. Its not a lot of ghg's emitting from factories themselves, and its not factory waste filling dumps. What you throw out as pollution is also the bulk of corporate pollution. Plastic packaging in plastic trash bags in their own packaging to throw out, all of it needing gas burning to ship around. The gas itself being another major "corporate" pollution that oil companies produced but is being burned in your car and the trucks delivering goods to you. You demand all of this pollution.
2
But they're literally not. I have no way of controlling or even knowing about what corperations emit
2Thats whats tripping everyone up, thinking these corporations are off isolated somewhere just producing climate change gases.
No, what theyre producing is what you're buying. When someone says an oil company is responsible for however much greenhouse gas emissions, what they mean is the greenhouse gas emissions when you the customer burn that gasoline in your vehicle. Plus gases emitted processing the oil and getting it to the store for you to buy it.
These companies "taking responsibility" for their emissions would mean halting production of most things you go and buy.
2
Here's a simple idea: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polluter_pays_principle
Speaking from experience, it can also make teens more responsible with alcohol if they know who will have to clean up in case of overdoing.
3Stupidly click baity title. The only corporation that does not pollute is the one that doesn't produce anything. Sure, regulations such as carbon taxes are necessary to contain negative externalities, but if there's a demand for cheap products there will be a lowest bidder that will take all market share.
Lowering our consumption is unfortunately the way to make those companies pollute less.
2People don't want to hear about their personal responsibility to consume less, but it's true. Corporations aren't run by Captain Planet villains polluting for the same of pollution. They sell what people buy.
3You can buy a bag of bite sized croissants individually wrapped in plastic and wholey wrapped again. I'd like to think this was an isolated incident but the general census is this is what every one of those cunts does because it's cheaper and easier.
Sure consumers buy... But the producers bear the responsibility. There's only so much boycotting small groups can do. Others will still buy. The mentality of wrapping every fucking thing in plastic is what need to change.
4The sentiment here is good, but be careful not to fall into the "personal responsibility" trap that the fossil fuel and soda industry established back in the late 80s/early 90s. The sad truth is that personal responsibility in solving climate change is wishful thinking. The carbon footprint of all of the major corporations is so many orders of magnitude larger than any plausible percentage of individuals who do their part by being as environmentally conscious as possible that it doesn't matter unless we regulate them and to do that we have to redefine the laws of campaign financing and abolish Corporate Personhood aka, Citizen's United for a start.
It's pretty bleak. Source: was going to be an Enviornmental Scientist and I decided that was too depressing and life it too short.
2
Sure, regulations such as carbon taxes are necessary to contain negative externalities, but if there’s a demand for cheap products there will be a lowest bidder that will take all market share.
If the taxes are accounting for the externalities well enough, even the lowest bidder will be sustainable.
1
What would that even do? Sure, you can tax the companies for their CO2 emissions, but they'd still be in profit, and monetary compensation to the state won't make the CO2 disappear. Money isn't some magical paper that will suddenly reduce carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere if you throw it in the air, it's just a currency, banked labor hours.
1It would discourage CO2 emissions immensely. The tax money could also be used to promote green technology that do not emit nearly as much CO2 and also possibly plants that pull carbon out of the atmosphere.
4
Corporations make things either for consumers, governments (for consumers), or other corporations (for consumers). There is a lot to be said about what changes in consumption can change
1