A tale of two crises: what the global financial crisis means for the global environmental crisis
Humanity is currently faced with two global crises, one financial and one environmental. Although ostensibly distinct, these crises are in fact interlinked. Unsustainable consumption, at the heart of the environmental crisis, is driven to a large extent by unsustainable debt, which creates financial instability. If these underlying issues are tackled, and investment is directed into environmental initiatives through a ‘green new deal’, then the ultimate outcome of the financial crisis could be the mitigation of the environmental crisis. If, conversely, economic hardship is used as a justification for delaying action on critical environmental issues and economic growth remains at the centre of government policy, then the ultimate outcome of the financial crisis could be the deepening of the environmental crisis. The relationship between the two crises therefore provides both opportunities and threats to achieving long-term economic and ecological sustainability.
Abstract To quantify the risk and impact of CO2 seepage to the marine ecosystem, the Quantifying and Monitoring Potential Ecosystem Impacts of Geological Carbon Storage project is now undergoing in a bay in Scotland. In advance of the field experiment of this project, we conducted the numerical simulation of CO2 seepage. From this numerical study, we predicted how CO2 behave in the bay and how the condition of the sea changes.