Environment Monday - Is Amazon really worth more than the Amazon?

Did you know that Amazon is the 28th largest company in the world? It is worth $916 billion. It was incorporated in 1994, so is only 25 years old. It is the worlds largest retailer. My guess is that there are few households in the UK without some sort of product procured from Amazon. It has changed the face of shopping. One of the reasons that the Brent Cross shopping centre expansion was put on hold was because of the decimation of the retail trade by Amazon. Whatever you may or may not think of Amazon, the simple fact is that in 25 years, it has become a huge, cash generating monster. It doesn't only flog stuff, it has its own TV channel. It has its own Film/TV studios. It even owns Ring, the company that make the video doorbells that are the scourge of political wannabees knocking on doors. It's rate of growth is explosive, having doubled in size since 2015.

Amazon Rainforest area

You may wonder why I have chosen Amazon for my Environment Monday series? Well I was clearing out some cupboards over the weekend. I found an old diary of my mums. She was an avid diarist and this was for 1994. I hadn't realised at the time that this was the year Amazon was founded, but rather oddly, it was the year she took cruise from Southampton that lasted six weeks and took her up the Amazon river. Her account is fascinating. She was amazed at the sheer size and scale of the Amazon.  It made me think that if you mentioned the Amazon in 1994, there would only be one thing you would think of. That would be the worlds largest river. On Saturday, the FT published a story detailing how under the government of Jair Bolsonaro. the deforestation of the Amazon is starting to rapidly accelerate. The FT reports

'The rainforest have long been coveted by the agribusiness sector and other industries. Many Brazilian farmers relish the prospect of an end to what they view as state interference by previous leftwing governments.'

I cannot help think that a government that cannot see the importance of such a resource is a very dangerous regime indeed. We have imposed sanctions on countries such as North Korea and Iran as we view their governments policies as dangerous, but what could be more dangerous than destroying the lungs of the planet? If Amazon (the retailer) is worth just a tad under a Trillion dollars, what is the value of the Amazon jungle? The answer is surely that it is priceless,a s without it, there will be a massive increase in carbon dioxide, global warming and ultimately a lack of oxygen for the citizens of this planet to breathe?

But our society has no way of assigning value to the things that we need most. There is no measure for valuing oxygen, which is the most vital commodity of all.  I was thinking about the way we apply taxes. It is completely illogical and unfit for the age we live in. We impose punitive taxes on cigarettes and alcohol because we can harm ourselves, however we don't apply VAT to food products that are unhealthy. We tax petrol at punitive rates, because the government wants us to use more environmentally friendly fuels, but we don't apply the same logic to battery production, which is highly polluting and destructive. The unfortunate and not often mentioned damage caused by the mining of products used in such batteries is a dirty little secret that we don't want to talk about. We don't want to face up to the difficult truth that if we really want to address the Global Climate Crisis, we don't just need to drive electric cars instead of petrol cars. We need to change the way we live. We need to want less stuff.

As I thought about the way Amazon has changed the way we live, it brought home to me that we really need to buy stuff that lasts. We need to move away from all of the packaging that fills our bins. Back in the 1970's, our family had one small dustbin. Now Barnet Council supplies us with three large wheelie bins. A recycling bin, a green bin and a Rubbish bin. I am ashamed to say that all three are full. We need to revisit the way we used to do things and the way we value things.

The reason that Amazon are so successful is because they have cornered the market in selling us stuff we don't really need. Every bedroom has a telly, a radio, wardrobes are stuffed with clothes, some of which will never be worn. We have three different vacuum cleaners and two different coffee makers. All of this stuff has come from Amazon. All of this stuff contains products that have to be mined, all of these have a carbon footprint to get them to my front door. All of these things are produced by people working in factories on the other side of the world, being paid virtually nothing. Our prosperity is built on the inherent unfairness that as we are citizens of a rich country, we can live lives of luxury on the back of poorly paid workers in far flung sweatshops and miners toiling in the heat in huge open cast mines that destroy the local environment.

As I mentioned, Amazon is worth nearly a trillion dollars. If you owned a company called Amazon that was worth a Trillion dollars what would you do? Of course it is up to Jeff Bezos what he does with his trillions, but as he's purloined the name Amazon, surely he should consider his responsibility to the planet. I read an article that stated that the annual worth of the Amazon rainforest is $8.2 billion. That is less than a hundredth of the value of the company. For Jeff Bezos, that is small change. Surely with his huge financial clout, Jeff Bezos should pick up the phone to Jair Bolsonaro and say "look I've got very rich on  the back of the name of Amazon, I'd like to invest in your economy and help revitalise the Brazilian economy, but I would like to fund the protection of the Amazon rainforest and set up a trust so that we can ensure that it is not only protected, but we can start undoing some of the damage".  Jeff Bezos is one of the few people who could actually give the Brazilian government $8.2 billion a year and not feel the pinch.

But it isn't just Jeff Bezos. We all have a responsibility. We should favour companies that care, even if they are a bit more expensive. We should buy fairtrade where we can. We should buy from retailers who sell loose products and put the products in the string bags of old. But most importantly, we need progressive governments that pass enlightened tax legislation. If the likes of Mr Bezos are minded to use their money wisely, I'd be perfectly happy if they paid less tax. The super rich have teams of accountants that ensure they pay as little as possible. To my mind a more sensible quid pro quo would be to offer them incentives to do the right thing. Just suppose that Mr Bezos spent $8.2 billion a year on saving the Amazon. Great, give him a big tax credit against it. As citizens, we get no incentives at all to reduce our carbon footprint. We pay the same council tax whether our bin is full or empty when collected. Councils pay a fortune to deal with waste, it is lunacy not to charge residents accordingly.
We pay the same road tax on our car whether we drive 100 yards or 100 miles a day. The less you drive, the more you subsides those that do. Personally, I'd abolish road tax altogether and adjust the taxes on petrol and diesel accordingly. It would save a fortune in the collection of the tax as well. I am always amazed at just how slowly our establishment adapts to change. The Tax system has not been shaken up since the end of Poll tax. It needs a radical overhaul and we need to ensure that it is fit for purpose to fund our society.

We have a collective responsibility. Those who have the most, have the greatest responsibility. When you die, you can't take your money with you. The wise man leaves a legacy. In Mill Hill, we have St Pauls Church, built by William Wilberforce. Wilberforce used his money and influence to end slavery. That is a legacy to be proud of. I wonder what the likes of Mr Bezos want to be remembered for?