It is a huge mistake to assume that those who do not support cap-and-trade and carbon offsets are somehow in favor of destructive environmental change. Many simply believe that there are better and less injurious ways to improve environmental conditions.
Bjorn Lomborg is not a global warming denier, but he is not in favor of the current remedies advocated by the many of today's leaders. His reasoning is sound-
Over the last several centuries, the world economy has exploded and the
human condition has improved immeasurably because of cheap fossil fuels; we're
not going to end that connection in just a few decades. Just before the summit
convened, political leaders from a number of major nations were lauded for
announcing carbon-reduction targets that are in fact economically, technically,
and politically impossible to achieve. We saw the same thing at the 1992 "Earth
Summit" in Rio de Janeiro and then again a decade later in Kyoto. And just like
the promises made back then, the vows being made now in Copenhagen are sure to be broken by future administrations. Pretending otherwise is fraudulent.
Of course, that last sentence is not surprising. Politicians are not typically concerned with the ultimate consequences of their short-term thinking. Lomborg also looks at what issues are of real concern to individuals that are most vulnerable to climate variation. Read the article for more.
2 comments:
I am not convinced politicians really even understand that most of their decisions are not feasible. It is easy to make fraudulent claims when you have no idea they are impossible.
I have always wondered if setting the bar too high in these promises defeats the motivation to reach them. Fortunately, there is no way to really enforce them.
Though I am theoretically not opposed to cap-and-trade, it does worry me that the most informed people may not be setting the bar ...
The bottom line is that we are all out of luck.
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