Two weeks ago I explained how four major nations have moved their climate policy rightward. This week brought similar developments in three additional countries, namely, Brazil, Australia, and possibly Indonesia.
Perhaps the most significant was Australia, where the election last week was fought in a substantial way on the basis of climate policy. But the Labor Party, the principal advocate of leftist climate policies, did not win their expected victory, and is unlikely to form a government.
Brazil shifted its climate policies sharply to the right as a result of a previous election. It is reported that Indonesia may join the rightward march as well. See also here.
So recent developments hardly support the idea that the world is rapidly moving leftward in climate policy. An objective view actually suggests that it is shifting towards the right. An important exception is the US Democratic Party, which is clearly shifting towards a much more extreme leftist climate policy. In doing so, it may be taking significant risks of defeat in 2020. Does the American public want to make climate policy the major focus of the Federal Government’s activities as advocated by the “Democratic Socialists?” Do they really want to devote half of national product to extreme decarbonization efforts, which we already know would result in unmeasurable changes in world CO2 levels. And do they want to do this by extreme government intervention in the energy markets when the US has “led” the world in reducing carbon emissions by allowing the markets to “accomplish” much more with comparatively far less government intervention. The “Democratic Socialists” clearly say yes. It is the “Democratic Socialists” who have gambled everything on this climate policy. I hope and expect that they have very badly misread the wishes of the American electorate.
via Carlin Economics and Science
May 19, 2019 at 07:49AM
Iowa Climate Science Education 