Gem of the day

Tim Jackson sums up why Rio+20 turned out so, so wrong (via GSB):

"The most staggering linguistic turnabout for me is the one that equates green economy with 'sustained economic growth'...this language has set back by a decade any attempt to question the model that led us to the brink of financial disaster, perpetuates huge consumption inequalities and is driving us towards ecological collapse."

Gem of the day

Rajiv Shah, administrator of USAID, hands the future of Africa over to Monsanto (via Nation of Change):

“We are never going to end hunger in Africa without private investment. There are things that only companies can do, like building silos for storage and developing seeds and fertilizers.”

Yes, Rajiv. Those aren't the only things those kinds of companies can do.

Gem of the day

Peter Bakker, CEO of the WBCSD, has a killer message for unsustainable incumbents, literally (via GSB):

"The 20% of really bad guys we need to regulate out of existence."

Plus he delivers one of the best Rio+20 gems about the torturous negotiations process:

"I am not used to sitting in a room for 3.5 hours, asked to represent all business in the world, and like others there to not even get a voice."

Gem of the day

Worst line seen about Rio+20 so far, courtesy of EDF folks and their friends in a typically mild NY Times op-ed:

"With determination and the right policies, by the time Rio+30 rolls around, optimism might be the order of the day."

Because what could be a better time to start the long wait to Rio+30 than now, at Rio+20?

Another non-environmental wonder

At least one Cabinet officer in the UK government has a harsh appraisal for the allegedly errant behavior of Lord Fink, treasurer of the Conservative party (via the Guardian):

"It leaves a very nasty taste to suggest that you can buy access to the House of Lords, and it cheapens democracy", said the Cabinet's shadow minister.

Not quite, actually - you can only inherit access to the House of Lords.

Right.

Gem of the day

Following allegations of corruption and bribery in operations in the Congo, Mehmet Dalman, the embattled new CEO of extractives firm Eurasion Natural Resources Corporation, must have a great quote lined up about ENRC's approach to governance (via the FT):

"We want to be open and transparent,” Mr. Dalman says. “We’ve got nothing not to talk about. It is a new era of openness here."

Right. But who can blame Dalman for his lame defense when he operates in a market environment dominated by insights like this gem, courtesy of an analyst at Deutsche Bank:

“Trust takes time to build. The stock is very cheap, but [Mr. Dalman] needs to keep saying the right things, over a long period. It will be a slow value-improvement story.”

So we'll just keep on with the talking points then, shall we Mr. Dalman?

Another non-environmental wonder

Courtesy of former President Nixon, more proof that in the vortex of politics some things never change (a memo to his aides, via New Yorker):

"I want a study made immediately as to how many people in CIA could be removed by presidential action. . . . Of course, the reduction in force should be accomplished solely on the ground of its being necessary for budget reasons, but you will both know the real reason."

Gem of the day

Daniel Yergin, thought leader of the decade on all things energy-related, writes this assessment of America's oil and gas boom (which he ironically terms "America's New Energy Reality") that only an economist could think up (via NY Times):

"...what is striking is this great revival in oil and gas production in the United States, with wide impacts on jobs, economic development and the competitiveness of American industry. This new reality requires a new way of thinking and talking about America’s improving energy position and how to facilitate this growth in an environmentally sound way — recognizing the considerable benefits this will bring in an era of economic uncertainty."

Right, because surely the real estate bubble driven by natural gas speculation and the huge volatility in oil, from environmental disasters to corrupt profits, will help in the long-term with economic uncertainty. Let's hope Yergin isn't in charge of figuring out the "new way of thinking and talking" about energy in the US or anywhere else.

Joe Romm nails the technical analysis of why Yergin is wrong here, with choice quotes like this one:

"...[Yergin] has nothing to say about how we could do this in an environmentally sound way, in part, I suspect, because he knows that we can’t."

Another non-environmental wonder

The FT's 'Adventurous Investor' column makes the understatement of the year:

"Even adventurous investors need to remember that catastrophes don’t come in easy to spot cycles."