Lord Stern's latest wheeze is the startlingly fatuous idea that we are in the midst of a carbon bubble. The argument goes that markets are overvaluing fossil fuel assets which are worthless because they will have to remain under the ground so we can meet our emissions targets.
The market's valuation of fossil fuel assets seems to me to be a rather rational recognition that we need fossil fuels in order to keep the lights on. The idea that politicians will choose to let the lights go out in preference to burning gas and coal seems just a tad farfetched to me. They might try it but any that did try it would not be around for long, I would say.
Richard Tol describes Stern's ideas as "far-fetched fiction". That sounds about right.