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
Blog
Politics over pensions: An ESG report card for proxy voting
Unleashing Prosperity (UP) recently released a timely report, “Putting Politics Over Pensions: The 2025 Unleash Prosperity Report Card on Investment Fund Managers and Proxy…
Blog
Politico’s failed critique of DOE’s climate science report – who’s misleading on hurricanes?
In September, Politico published an article titled “How a major DOE report hides the whole truth about climate change.” In October, I rebutted that…
Blog
The Endangerment Finding’s disqualifying systemic biases, part 2
The previous post in this series documented the 2009 Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding’s reliance on overheated models and inflated emission scenarios to estimate…
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Op-Eds
IPCC’s ex-“Political” Scientist
Environmental activists are attacking the Bush administration for orchestrating the ouster of an American scientist, Robert Watson, as chairman of the…
News Release
Rejecting ANWR Not in Best Interest Of Country
Washington, D.C., April 18, 2002—“The Senate has rejected opening ANWR to oil and gas exploration on the basis of utterly dishonest arguments from Senators Kerry,…
Newsletter
Vol. VI, No. 8
Politics Cool Winds Blowing In Canada Canadian ratification of the Kyoto Protocol continues to recede into the future, as provincial opposition…
News Release
Senate Should Drop Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Registry
Statement of Myron Ebell<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> Director of Global Warming Policy, Competitive Enterprise Institute …
News Release
Senate Should Open Arctic For Exploration Now
Washington, D.C., April 8, 2001—The issue of whether to allow oil and gas exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is expected to be…
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…
Newsletter
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 —…
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