The Green Road to Serfdom: ‘Voters will rebel against ‘net zero’ when the costs hit’
By Marc Morano
April 19, 2024
10:52 am
https://stephenheins.substack.com/p/the-green-road-to-serfdom-by-andrewBy ANDREW STUTTAFORD
Voters will rebel against ‘net zero’ when the costs hit
Deciding who has been the worst British prime minister of the 21st century (so far) is tough, but Theresa May (2016–19) strengthened her strong claim to this title shortly ahead of her ignominious departure from office. Desperate to secure a “legacy,” she saw to it that Britain became the first major country to legally bind itself to reaching net-zero greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. That is, the nation committed itself to releasing no more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than it removes. Quite how this ambition could be fulfilled or what fulfilling it would cost was unclear, but no matter: This potentially enormous commitment passed into law with support across the political spectrum, astonishingly little scrutiny, and a great deal of self-congratulation. The 2050 target date reflected a widely held view that this is what it would take to contain the increase in the average global temperature since pre-industrial times to a more or less bearable 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Lemmings, so the myth goes, don’t leap alone. Other countries from Japan to Switzerland to Canada have followed the U.K.’s example, including its neglect of critical thinking. Cost–benefit analysis is for “deniers.” All EU member states are obliged to hit net zero by 2050. Germany, undaunted by its disastrous Energiewende (an appallingly expensive switch to renewables, combined with a phaseout of nuclear power, and — what could go wrong — reliance on Russian natural gas), has opted for 2045 instead. The U.S. has (following the procedures set out in the Paris climate accords) committed to achieving net zero by 2050. Although this commitment has not been incorporated into domestic law, the Biden administration is behaving as though it had, whether through its promotion of legislation such as the Inflation Reduction Act or through regulatory changes that have the advantage of avoiding too much democratic supervision. A growing number of U.S. states and cities have joined in, looking for dramatic reductions in their GHG emissions by mid century or before. And the U.S. is not the only country where such efforts are occurring below the national level. Thus the U.N.’s Race to Net Zero is targeted at non-state “stakeholders.” Participants include businesses, cities, regions, and investors, all expected to take “rigorous and immediate action” to get to net zero by 2050, “at the latest.”
https://www.climatedepot.com/2024/04/19/the-green-road-to-serfdom-voters-will-rebel-against-net-zero-when-the-costs-hit/
