Capitalism and the Climate

With the world's largest corporations responsible for 71% of global greenhouse gas emissions, many particularly on the left have taken it for granted that climate change and capitalism are intimately linked. But with corporations and the right backing action to reduce emissions, the assumption is under challenge. Former governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney went so far as to say 'the goal of net zero is the greatest commercial opportunity of our time.' And according to the World Economic Forum, the value of green bonds traded could soon hit $2.36 trillion. So proponents of capitalism argue the very economic system that instigated climate change is also the way to end it.

Should we conclude there is no necessary connection between capitalism and climate change? Will this realisation result in a shift on the left away from green politics and climate change and back to heartland socialist goals? Or is the link between climate change and capitalism essential and the claims of bankers and conservatives to be in favour of reducing emissions insincere and illusory?

Economist and Harvard professor Rebecca Henderson, environmental historian Troy Vettese, and physicist and BBC broadcaster Helen Czerski debate the tangled and relationship between capitalism and climate change. 

In partnership with Audio Note (UK).