The “green” bubble is here. What could burst it?

Renewable energy, electric cars and the demise of fossil fuels – markets have embraced the green revolution with gusto. But there’s bound to be a snapback at some point, says John Stepek, Here’s why.

We'll be using fossil fuels for a while yet
(Image credit: 2009 Getty Images)

I like the idea of a “green” future. Who wouldn’t? Put ideology aside for a moment. There is no reason why anyone sensible would prefer “dirty” energy sources to “clean” ones, any more than they’d prefer a beach covered in litter to a clean one.

So this vision of a world where renewables generate electricity cleanly and consistently (with the help of battery storage and smart grids), which is then used to power sleek, reliable electric cars, which are only ever a couple of software upgrades away from being genuinely autonomous? That sounds like a good world to me. It’s getting there that I’m a little more cautious about...

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John Stepek

John Stepek is a senior reporter at Bloomberg News and a former editor of MoneyWeek magazine. He graduated from Strathclyde University with a degree in psychology in 1996 and has always been fascinated by the gap between the way the market works in theory and the way it works in practice, and by how our deep-rooted instincts work against our best interests as investors.

He started out in journalism by writing articles about the specific business challenges facing family firms. In 2003, he took a job on the finance desk of Teletext, where he spent two years covering the markets and breaking financial news.

His work has been published in Families in Business, Shares magazine, Spear's Magazine, The Sunday Times, and The Spectator among others. He has also appeared as an expert commentator on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, BBC Radio Scotland, Newsnight, Daily Politics and Bloomberg. His first book, on contrarian investing, The Sceptical Investor, was released in March 2019. You can follow John on Twitter at @john_stepek.