When we take a visit to the bank we expect them to give us money or an advice slip, not a stark warning that the end is nigh.
That’s right folks, thinking about withdrawing a tenner? How about a nice polymer piece of humble pie instead? Cause that’s what HSBC has in mind.
The bank has said the planet is running out of resources and even warns governments or big business is prepared for climate change.
Citing research undertaken by the Global Footprint Network (GFN), a group of analysts at HSBC said in a note the world had spent its entire natural resource budget for the year by August 1.
Erm… overdraft anyone? Am I right? No this is bad, let’s stay serious. This means, plainly, as a species we are wildly overspending at a reckless pace without a damn about the rock we live on.
They said in the note, as per Business Insider:
In our opinion, these findings and events show that many businesses and governments are note adequately prepared for climate impacts, nor are they using natural resources efficiently.
Thanks to the efforts of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, banks and company managers have began factoring climate change into their everyday planning.
Earth Overshoot Day, when we use up a year’s worth of resources, has been moving forward in time since GFN began tracking it. In 1970, we overshot Earth’s resource budget by just 2 days, calling on December 29.
Since then the date has been pushed up by almost five months.
HSBC added:
As scientists work on attribution analysis for specific events – the general consensus is that climate change is making these events more likely to occur and more severe.
In our view, adaptation will move further up the agenda with a growing focus on the social consequences.
The predicted changes said to arrive as a result of climate change have been showcased over the past year.
We saw wildfires tear through California, rising temperatures, an increase in hurricanes and flooding, heatwaves and melted ice sheets.
If this wasn’t bad enough, chicken nuggets are also under threat form climate change. I am not joking here. A report released earlier this year by WWF, the UK’s best-loved dishes could be under threat as soon as 2050.
Production of many people’s favourites go-to’s will be affected in a mater of decades, including cheese, chicken, lamb and cod. Basically everything good in the world.
In other words, habitual human effects on the environment could jeopardise those 4am Chicken McNuggets.
Another chicken-based dish which will change beyond recognition is chicken tikka masala aka Britain’s most beloved dish. Serious.
The report predicts, by 2050, chickens will be fed on alternative feeds such as insects and algae, rice prices will rise by a third, onion shortages will occur after an increase in diseases, as well as higher prices for tomatoes due to extreme rainfall and heatwaves.
Classic fish and chips will also be lost to substitutions of anchovies for cod, as warmer oceans cause those species to displace cod populations.
Lovely stuff. I hope everyone’s having a great Monday!
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