{"id":31890,"date":"2016-01-06T10:18:48","date_gmt":"2016-01-06T10:18:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/?p=31890"},"modified":"2016-01-06T10:18:48","modified_gmt":"2016-01-06T10:18:48","slug":"a-woeful-response-to-flooding-as-the-climate-crisis-hits-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/2016\/01\/06\/a-woeful-response-to-flooding-as-the-climate-crisis-hits-home\/","title":{"rendered":"A woeful response to flooding as the climate crisis hits home"},"content":{"rendered":"

This letter was in the Guardian this morning<\/a>:<\/em><\/p>\n

The risible inadequacy of the government\u2019s \u00a340m \u201cextra\u201d spending on flood defences (Cameron\u2019s \u00a340m flood money criticised as \u2018sticking plaster\u2019<\/a>, 4 January) means that it\u2019s time to seriously address how to find the countless billions needed to effectively mitigate this inevitable consequence of climate change. One answer is to be found in the recent extension of the European Central Bank\u2019s \u00e2\u201a\u00ac60bn-a-month quantitative easing programme, which included the crucial innovation that this money could be used to buy local government bonds<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Bank of England\u2019s governor, Mark Carney, is on record as saying<\/a> that if the government requested it then future QE in the UK could buy assets other than government gilts. In that case it is entirely possible for George Osborne to ask Mark Carney to buy local-authority-issued \u201cclimate bonds\u201d. Local authorities have the power to issue such bonds, and with increased devolution they should be encouraged to do so to fund flood defences and to reduce carbon emissions by improving energy efficiency in all the nation\u2019s 30 million buildings.<\/p>\n