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
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UN report says tree planting can result in more greenhouse gas emissions
It is common knowledge that trees act as carbon sinks. Through the process of photosynthesis, trees take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen that we…
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Congress can end California’s EV mandates
This week, the House is expected to vote on three important Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions of disapproval that would repeal California waivers granted…
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Earth Day is broken—only private conservation can fix it
With this week’s 2025 Earth Day came the usual media and progressive lawmaker fanfare lauding government programs and regulatory solutions to environmental concerns. But…
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Newsletter
Vol. VI, No. 7
Politics Alberta to Propose Kyoto Alternative The province of Alberta, Canada will propose a greenhouse gas reduction plan as an alternative…
News Release
Marlo Lewis Joins CEI As Senior Fellow
Washington, D.C., April 1, 2001—The Competitive Enterprise Institute is pleased to announce that Marlo Lewis has rejoined its team of policy analysts as…
Newsletter
Vol. VI, No. 6
Politics Japan Decides to Ratify, but Compliance is Doubtful Japanese government ministers agreed at a March 19 meeting on a ten-year…
Newsletter
Vol. VI, No. 5
Politics European Union Agrees to Ratify Kyoto The European Union’s environment ministers agreed on March 4 to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. …
Newsletter
Vol. VI, No. 4
Politics Bush Offers Lukewarm Plan President George W. Bush outlined his Global Climate Change and Clear Skies Initiatives in…
Op-Eds
Fools Rush In
The Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) just issued its annual “Economic Report of the President,” including a chapter on environmental policy. The report's language sent…
Newsletter
Vol. VI, No. 3
Politics<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> Bush Administration Tip-Toeing Toward New Policies The New…
Op-Eds
Outside View: Caught En Flagrente Kyoto
It was the Washington Post that was first to expose internal Enron Corp. documents revealing the failed energy giant's disturbing relationship with one of the…
Op-Eds
Rush Hour
In a June 11 Rose Garden speech, President George W. Bush detailed his plan to address the perceived threat of man-made global warming. Wisely, the…
Newsletter
Vol. VI, No. 2
Politics Enron Fallout Hits Global Warming Enron Corporation’s spectacular downfall has begun to affect the ongoing debate over U.S. global warming…
Newsletter
Vol. VI, No. 1
Politics Japan Gets Cold Feet Japan, the host of the 1997 negotiations that culminated in the Kyoto Protocol, may now…
Op-Eds
Kyoto Through The Backdoor
Desperately seeking their Sally Field moment (“You like me! You really like me!”), with the likes of the New York Times and environmental pressure…
Op-Eds
Assisted Economic Suicide
A White House proposal under final consideration, for possible imminent release, would create a national inventory of certain naturally occurring gases — such as carbon…
Newsletter
Vol. V, No. 26
Politics Bush Administration Searches for Alternatives to Kyoto The Bush Administration is actively seeking an alternative strategy to the…
Op-Eds
Outside View: The choice: Kyoto or WTO?
Mid-November brought us reports from two international negotiations, whose sole common thread appeared to be each took place amid tight security in Muslim countries. These…
Op-Eds
Model Behavior: EPA Promotes False Climate Scares
Horner Op-Ed in Tech Central Station: The Environmental Protection Agency is telling the Northeastern United States to be very afraid. “Climate change” will…
Newsletter
Vol. V, No. 25
Politics<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> Administration Considering Climate Policies After a delay caused…
Op-Eds
Insecurity Blanket: Greens Preparing Kinder, Gentler Guilt Campaign
Horner Op-Ed in Tech Central Station September 11 brought to the fore numerous realities that in our comfort we had sublimated, including the…
Study
Free Market Environmentalism: Protecting the Environment Via Private Property
Full Document Available in PDF There is an alternative…
Newsletter
Vol. 5, No. 24
Politics<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> Canadian Government Split on Kyoto Dissension over whether to…
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Vol. V, No. 23
Politics<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> The WTO and Kyoto While Kyoto watchers have…
Op-Eds
Punxsutawney Protocol: “World Reaches Warming Pact” Again, Only Not Really
Establishment-press reporting of Kyoto “global warming” treaty negotiations would embarrass even Bill Murray's character in the movie Groundhog Day. They laughably trumpet the same nonachievement,…
Op-Eds
Energy-Policy Jujitsu: Using 9-11 To Block Bush’s Proposal To Increase Our Energy Security
Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle is using the September 11 terrorist attacks to block President Bush's proposal to increase our energy security. (If this sounds…
Op-Eds
U.S. Shouldn’t Seek Energy Independence
The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks have raised fears about U.S. dependence on Middle Eastern oil. It seems that nearly everyone believes that if the United…
Newsletter
Vol. V, No. 22
Politics<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> Will Anything Happen in Marrakesh? New episodes of…
Op-Eds
A “Hole” Lot of Alarmism Should Be a Lesson in Marrakech
Scary autumn tales about the Antarctic ozone “hole” have become an annual media ritual that treats the phenomenon of ozone thinning as an ominous threat…
Op-Eds
Environmental Terrorists Deserve No Special Treatment
There is no shame in believing that those among the Left who most profess their “caring”, for animals, the environment, and other non-human “causes” are…
Newsletter
Vol. V, No. 21
Politics Politics Japan Gearing Up To Ratify Kyoto Japanese government officials announced…
Newsletter
What’s Wrong With Regulating Carbon Dioxide Emissions?
Full text available in PDF Format What’s Wrong With Regulating Carbon Dioxide Emissions? …
Newsletter
Vol. 5, No. 20
Politics Politics EU Bows to Industry Pressure The European Union has been devising an emissions trading scheme to…
News Release
The Skeptical Environmentalist to Discuss Global Warming and the Kyoto Protocol at Capitol Hill Briefing
Washington, D.C., October 2, 2001—Dr. Bjorn Lomborg, the Danish professor of statistics whose new book, The Skeptical Environmentalist: Measuring the Real State of…
Op-Eds
Regulating CO2 As A Pollutant: Costly In More Ways Than One
Mallinger Op-Ed in Heartland Environment and Climate News Mallinger Op-Ed in Heartland Environment and Climate News President George W. Bush has taken…
Newsletter
Vol. V, No. 19
Politics Politics State Department Criticizes TAR The U.S. State Department has submitted formal comments criticizing the draft Synthesis…
Newsletter
Vol. V, No. 18
Politics Politics Senators, Utilities, and Environmentalists To Hold Closed-Door Meetings Electric utility executives and environmentalists are set to…
Newsletter
Vol. V, No. 17
Politics Politics Bush Team Developing Kyoto Alternatives The Bush Administration is in the process of developing…
Op-Eds
Don’t Cap Access To Affordable Energy
President Bush has persisted in his admirable determination to keep the U Ebell Op-Ed in Human Events President Bush…
Newsletter
Vol. V, No. 16
Finally someone has brought the climate change debate back down to earth Politics House Passes Energy Bill …
Op-Eds
Scientific Uncertainty As Weapon: Kemp Column Distributed by Copley News Service
Kemp Column Distributed by Copley News Service Kemp Column Distributed by Copley News Service July 23, 2001,…
Op-Eds
A Corporate Folly: Business Donates To The Ideologues Who Hate Markets
Philanthropy is a demonstration of good will toward one's fellow man, but the ability to give depends on the wealth, success a…
News Release
Congress Moves Toward An Affordable Energy Future
Washington, DC, August 2, 2001 — The Competitive Enterprise Institute commends the positive developments on energy policy this week in both the House…
Op-Eds
When Property Rights Lead to Socialism
Economists have long been ecstatic about the growing enthusiasm of the greenies for the market. At last, economists chortle, our expertise will play a…
Op-Eds
CO2 Controls Are a Bad Idea: Voluntary or Not
Smith and Crandall Op-Ed in The Wall Street Journal The Bush administration courageously rejected the Kyoto Protocol but is now considering “voluntary” carbon-dioxide suppression…
Op-Eds
A Heated Letter From Bonn
BONN – Word has it an historic agreement emerged from the negotiations in Bonn, Germany, over how to implement the Kyoto "glob…
Newsletter
Vol. V, No. 15
Finally someone has brought the climate change debate back down to earth Politics Triumph in Bonn? Or Not! …
Op-Eds
Meet the New Kyoto, Same as the Old Kyoto
Bonn Voyage Horner Dispatch from the Bonn Climate Negotiations Now, Let’s Get Serious Bonn —…
News Release
Kyoto Compromise Still Not Good for U.S., World
Washington, DC, July 23, 2001—An 11th-hour compromise on how to address climate change reached among 178 countries in Bonn, Germany is a major…
Op-Eds
All Quiet on the Western Front
Horner Dispatch from the Bonn Climate Negotiations Horner Dispatch from the Bonn Climate Negotiations Bonn — Muzak’s “Rainy Day…
Op-Eds
Posturing Over Kyoto
Horner Op-Ed in The Washington Times Horner Op-Ed in The Washington Times Bonn — Last November's knock-down, drag-out debates extended beyond the…
Op-Eds
A Different Kind of Protester: Conservative College Students Hit Bonn
Horner Op-Ed in National Review Online Horner Op-Ed in National Review Online “College Students Protest Climate Negotiations,'' is the headline equivalent of…
Op-Eds
Climate Treaty Valiantly Holding on In Its Struggle to Remain Dead
7/19/01 Horner Dispatch from the Bonn Climate Negotiations Cracks Beginning to Show in European Presentation Bonn — At…
Staff & Scholars
Sam Kazman
Counsel Emeritus
- Antitrust
- Automobiles and Roads
- Banking and Finance
Marlo Lewis, Jr.
Senior Fellow
- Climate
- Energy
- Energy and Environment
Ben Lieberman
Senior Fellow
- Climate
- Consumer Freedom
- Energy
Jacob Tomasulo
Policy Analyst
- Climate
- Energy
- Energy and Environment
Kevin D. Williamson
Writer in Residence
- Climate
- Energy and Environment