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Aaron Task [/i]Via Yahoo
Al Gore isn’t a fan of big oil. Gore received the 2007 Nobel
Peace Prize for "informing the world of the dangers posed by climate
change" and currently is chairman of The Climate Reality Project, a non-profit devoted to solving the climate crisis.
But Gore is also an investor – he’s co-founder and chairman of
Generation Investment Management and a senior partner at Kleiner Perkins
– and believes fossil fuels are almost as bad for your portfolio as
they are for the planet.
“We have a carbon bubble,” Gore tells me in the accompanying video.
“Bubbles by definition involve a lot of asset owners and investors who
don’t see what in retrospect becomes blindingly obvious. And this carbon
bubble is going to burst.”
Related: Energy Independence Is A Dumb Idea: Berkshire Hathaway Vice-Chair
Specifically, Gore cites the estimated $7 trillion in carbon assets on the books of multinational energy companies.
“The valuation of those companies and their assets is now based on the
assumption that all of those carbon assets will be sold and burned,” he
says. “They are not going to be burned. They cannot be burned and will
not be burned. No more than one-third can ever possibly be burned
without destroying the future.”
By 'carbon assets', Gore refers to the oil and gas reserves
controlled by publicly traded energy companies; all these fossil fuels
have carbon as their primary element. He didn't specify, but it appears
Gore got the $7 trillion valuation on those assets from this report from Carbon Tracker, a non-profit focused on climate change policy.
According to Gore, these carbon assets are today’s equivalent of
subprime mortgages, featuring “absurd valuations” based on a
“self-serving allusion” that the carbon-based energy sector is
sustainable in the long-term.
Related: As Syria Turmoil Escalates, Where's Worry of $200 Oil?
“People can make short-term profits playing the psychology of the
markets,” he continues. “But if you’re a long-term investor and you do
not take into account the stranded-assets potential for carbon-based
equities and debt instruments, in my view you’re making a mistake.”
Think what you want about Gore
(or global warming) but he’s been incredibly successful in business
since leaving public office: Gore’s net worth tops $200 million, according to Bloomberg, nearly as much as 2012 GOP Presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
Al Gore isn’t a fan of big oil. Gore received the 2007 Nobel
Peace Prize for "informing the world of the dangers posed by climate
change" and currently is chairman of The Climate Reality Project, a non-profit devoted to solving the climate crisis.
But Gore is also an investor – he’s co-founder and chairman of
Generation Investment Management and a senior partner at Kleiner Perkins
– and believes fossil fuels are almost as bad for your portfolio as
they are for the planet.
“We have a carbon bubble,” Gore tells me in the accompanying video.
“Bubbles by definition involve a lot of asset owners and investors who
don’t see what in retrospect becomes blindingly obvious. And this carbon
bubble is going to burst.”
Related: Energy Independence Is A Dumb Idea: Berkshire Hathaway Vice-Chair
Specifically, Gore cites the estimated $7 trillion in carbon assets on the books of multinational energy companies.
“The valuation of those companies and their assets is now based on the
assumption that all of those carbon assets will be sold and burned,” he
says. “They are not going to be burned. They cannot be burned and will
not be burned. No more than one-third can ever possibly be burned
without destroying the future.”
By 'carbon assets', Gore refers to the oil and gas reserves
controlled by publicly traded energy companies; all these fossil fuels
have carbon as their primary element. He didn't specify, but it appears
Gore got the $7 trillion valuation on those assets from this report from Carbon Tracker, a non-profit focused on climate change policy.
According to Gore, these carbon assets are today’s equivalent of
subprime mortgages, featuring “absurd valuations” based on a
“self-serving allusion” that the carbon-based energy sector is
sustainable in the long-term.
Related: As Syria Turmoil Escalates, Where's Worry of $200 Oil?
“People can make short-term profits playing the psychology of the
markets,” he continues. “But if you’re a long-term investor and you do
not take into account the stranded-assets potential for carbon-based
equities and debt instruments, in my view you’re making a mistake.”
Think what you want about Gore
(or global warming) but he’s been incredibly successful in business
since leaving public office: Gore’s net worth tops $200 million, according to Bloomberg, nearly as much as 2012 GOP Presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
