There is also the constant conflating of climate policy with climate science in order to make subjective and ideological policy choices seem as if the science dictates those choices. But science informs policy, it does not provide objective answers to policy questions. However, those who disagree with the climate policy choices favored by extremists are labeled with offensive terms like deniers.
The Competitive Enterprise Institute rejects climate policies that assume Americans and humans all over the world must sacrifice their quality of living, be guilted into radical life changes, and give up on improving their standard of living in the name of fighting climate change. Even if the United States no longer existed, there would be little to no meaningful impact on global temperatures. Therefore, the myriad of extreme policies are all costs and no gain.
Using the force of government to impose policies that severely hurt humans today, especially the poor, without any meaningful benefits is not just foolish but indefensible. And when such policies are advanced, the proponents of those policies should always be expected to explain how their policy choices would meaningfully affect global temperatures. When they are unable to provide answers, which will be the case, their policy choices should be quickly dismissed.
The best way to deal with any genuine climate concerns is to remove government obstacles that hinder innovation, reduce wealth, and undermine prosperity and opportunity. Economic liberty benefits Americans generally, and at the same time, it is also the world’s best climate policy. After all, the wealthiest and most prosperous nations are far more likely to develop solutions to such problems than other nations.
Featured Posts
![Three cheers for House efforts to defund climate-related foreign aid](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/GettyImages-1423404077-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Three cheers for House efforts to defund climate-related foreign aid
House Republicans should be applauded for introducing an FY 2025 State Department appropriations bill that blocks climate change-related foreign aid. Specifically, the bill wouldn’t…
![When emergency declarations become the emergency](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/GettyImages-1164751366-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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When emergency declarations become the emergency
Crises and economic shocks have a history of abuse. Few are aware that there are 31 declared and ongoing national emergencies, with some active…
![The Surge: Clean Power Plan 2.0 and more](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GettyImages-1423404077-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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The Surge: Clean Power Plan 2.0 and more
If you are interested in analysis and perspective on current energy and environmental issues, then we encourage you to subscribe to this new publication…
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Fueling discontent: Minnesota’s costly push for a low carbon fuel standard
Lawmakers in Minnesota are considering a Clean Transportation Standard (CTS) that would impose increasingly stringent carbon-intensity reduction targets on all motor fuels used in the…
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40th Anniversary Commemorative: How CEI killed credit for early action
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) turned 40 this month. I’m proud to have been a CEI scholar for more than a quarter century. Our friends,…
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One way for government to improve air quality: Remove obstacles to prescribed fires
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) final rule on particulate matter prematurely makes the primary annual standard for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) much…
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SEC’s new climate disclosure rule a slow-motion train wreck
The day that many observers of financial regulation have long been awaiting (and dreading) has come; the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has voted…
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The Surge: New EPA rulemaking, Biden’s LNG ‘pause,’ and more
If you are interested in analysis and perspective on current energy and environmental issues, then we encourage you to subscribe to this new publication…
National Review
The SEC’s Climate-Disclosure Rule Goes against 90 Years of Restraint
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is finalizing a mandatory climate-disclosure rule for public companies — perhaps the costliest regulatory mandate in its entire 90-year history.
Staff & Scholars
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Daren Bakst
Director of the Center for Energy and Environment and Senior Fellow
- Climate
- Energy and Environment
![](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/IMG_8717-scaled-500x500-c-default.jpg)
Sam Kazman
Counsel Emeritus
- Antitrust
- Automobiles and Roads
- Banking and Finance
![](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/IMG_8422-scaled-500x500-c-default.jpg)
Marlo Lewis, Jr.
Senior Fellow
- Climate
- Energy
- Energy and Environment
![](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/IMG_8700-scaled-500x500-c-default.jpg)
Ben Lieberman
Senior Fellow
- Climate
- Energy
- Energy and Environment
![](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Smith_Fred-Final-scaled-500x500-c-default.jpg)
Fred L. Smith, Jr.
Founder; Chairman Emeritus
- Automobiles and Roads
- Aviation
- Business and Government
![](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/kevin-3-500x500-c-default.png)
Kevin D. Williamson
Writer in Residence
- Climate
- Energy and Environment