Whats the worst that can happen? Secretary of State John Kerry asked this as a rhetorical question about an energy policy that focuses on carbon taxes and subsidies for inefficient renewable energies. The Wall Street Journal answers him straight to the point: The worst that can happen is that (...) we misallocate scarce resources in a way that slows economic growth; that slower growth leads to less economic opportunity for Boston College grads and especially the worlds poor, and that America and the world become much less wealthy and technologically advanced than we would otherwise. All of which would make the world less able to cope with the costs of climate change if Mr. Kerry is right. Indeed, a study by one of the world’s top climate economists and vetted by three Nobel Laureates for the Copenhagen Consensus Center shows that subsidizing existing renewables does so little good that for every dollar spent, 97 cents are wasted. The EU, as an example, is likely to pay around $280 billion per year for its climate policy to avert $10 billion in damage. (bit.ly/1kqh64h) A much smarter solution, R&D to make green technologies more efficient and cheaper, could avoid $11 in long-term damages from global warming for every dollar spent. (copenhagenconsensus/copenhagen-consensus-climate) Heres the WSJ article (circumventing the paywall): bit.ly/1nw2GkU Also, read my USA Today op-ed on President Obamas climate policies from last year: usatoday/story/opinion/2013/06/25/obama-climate-change-georgetown-column/2455723/
Posted on: Wed, 28 May 2014 14:00:01 +0000
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