The Green New Deal Isn’t Global Enough Or Something

The Cult of Climastrology wants U.S. dollars flowing elsewhere

The Green New Deal Isn’t Global Enough

At the fourth United Nations Environment Assembly in Kenya this past week, experts and officials from around the world debated how to come up with the investment and innovation needed for countries to grow without dooming the planet. National leaders, NGOs and others discussed, among other things, how to create more “sustainable patterns of consumption and production.” What really struck me in Nairobi, though, was what wasn’t discussed: the Green New Deal being pushed by Democratic Party politicians in the U.S.

This is surprising, in a way: It was the United Nations Environment Programme that first called for a “Global Green New Deal” in 2009, hoping to revive the world economy through investment in climate change-related sectors.

That extra word, “global,” suggests why international players today aren’t terribly enthused by the Democrats’ plan. The program — or what little of it can be adduced from what’s now largely a slogan — is focused entirely on green investment in the U.S. The basic notion that climate change is a global problem that requires a global solution seems to have been forgotten. (snip)

By contrast, a global low-carbon transition will require laying claim to resources that are productively employed in carbon-intensive sectors of the economy. It will be expensive. It will require sacrifice. And resources will need to flow more freely across national borders.(snip)

This group will have to sacrifice something if climate change is to be stopped. The truth is that the resources that Democrats want the U.S. government to appropriate and use domestically need instead to flow elsewhere in the world. That valuable finance and capacity is needed to help the developing world pay for cities that don’t stress the planet, to protect those who are losing livelihoods and homes because of climate change, and to ensure that everyone in the world has access to reliable, affordable and clean energy.

Funny how the leftist notion of redistribution (usually of Other People’s money) constantly comes into play, eh?