Proposed Climate Change Policies Won’t Impact Global Warming

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However, 10 Sensible Ideas Will Combat Global Warming Now and Boost the Economy

DALLAS, TX (June 3, 2009) – While the Obama Administration contemplates the appropriate action to take to combat global warming, NCPA Senior Fellow H. Sterling Burnett contends that policies currently on the table will do nothing to impact climate change. But there are 10 "no regrets" policies that can impact climate change today and encourage economic growth, according to a new NCPA study.

"One policy in particular the Obama Administration is pushing in the coming weeks is cap-and-trade, which is all pain and no gain," according to Dr. Burnett, who is co-author of the NCPA study. "Every credible economic analysis done so far shows that cap-and-trade programs increase unemployment for blue collar workers, raise the price on gasoline and electricity, and will ultimately do little or nothing to halt or even slow climate change."

Burnett, along with Iain Murray, co-author of the study and Senior Fellow with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, has come up with several sensible ideas to effectively address global warming.

  1. Eliminate all subsidies for fuel use.
  2. Reduce regulatory barriers to new nuclear power plants.
  3. Reduce wildfires through alternative forest management institutions.
  4. Liberalize the approval of biotechnology.
  5. Repeal the National Flood Insurance Program.
  6. Increase the use of toll roads with congestion pricing.
  7. Subsidize the removal of older cars from the road.
  8. Reform air traffic control systems to allow more direct plane routers.
  9. Remove regulatory barriers to innovation.
  10. Create an "X prize" competition to encourage new technology.

"These 10 policies, taken together, could do a great deal to mitigate the risks of global warming," Murray said. "In the current geopo­litical climate, they represent the only prospect for genuine global agreement and as such should be examined very carefully by the new administration as an important part of its energy strategy."

To see the full study, log on to http://www.ncpathinktank.org/pub/st321.