Central Bankers Against Climate Change

Does Western Europe have a death wish? Peter Skurkiss thinks so, and it is difficult to argue against him. While nations around the world are competing in technological innovation the weak sisters of Western Europe are fighting against the climate. They have already stifled innovation with bureaucratic red tape, so now that are going to direct policy toward their own version of the Green New Deal.

If you were wondering why Great Britain has wanted out of the European Union, here you have some evidence.

The new agent of dictatorial change is Christine Lagarde, the recently installed leader of the European Central Bank. As you know Lagarde is not a banker. She has no experience in banking. But she knows all there is to know about climate science, or at least she thinks she does. And she has promised to direct policy in order to fulfill the green wishes to repeal the Industrial Revolution.

Skurkiss throws some shade on the hysteria about global warming, a theory, not a fact, but one that is taken as dogma by the cognoscenti of the Western world. As for the rest of the world, they are waiting on the sidelines, preparing to pick up the pieces.

The idea that man-made global warming is an imminent threat to the environment and that policies can be enacted to prevent the calamity from happening is a cancer of the mind. It has metastasized. The belief is everywhere — in the media, the public schools, universities, many religious dominations, and throughout the general culture. When it is spoken about in the rarefied air of "expert" opinion, the matter is seldom debated. Rather, it is taken as a given, much like the law of gravity. That's all the general public is allowed to see and hear.

Enter Christine Lagarde:

The latest societal organ in which this cancer has metastasized is the European Central Bank (ECB), of which Frenchwoman Christine Lagarde has recently become the head. On August 4, Lagarde told the European Parliament: "My personal view is that any institution has to actually have climate change risk and protection of the environment at the core of their understanding of their mission."

Now, we have the peculiar idea that a central bank will task itself with reversing global warming and saving the environment. Since when was that a central bank mandate? We know, thanks to one William Dudley, formerly of our very own Federal Reserve, that the American central bank has had occasion to direct monetary policy to favor one candidate over another. We were naturally shocked.

So, Europe is falling into recession and its central bank is fighting the climate:

It is interesting that Lagarde speaks this way at a time when the eurozone is economically stagnating; its countries are swimming in negative-yielding bonds; and Germany, its industrial powerhouse, is on the cusp of a recession that could drag much of the European Union down with it.

Before the European Parliament, however, Lagarde did show some semblance of understanding her actual responsibility as a central banker. She said the ECB's primary mandate is price stability, but then she quickly added: "But it has to be embedded that climate change and environmental risk are critical missions."

What can a central bank do to fight climate change? Skurkiss explains how easily it can commit mischief:

How can a central bank implement green policies? It's not that hard, given the entanglements the ECB has made throughout European life. It could start, as the New York Times' story mentioned, by "stop[ping the] buying of bonds in cement companies, auto manufacturers and other so-called polluting sources," as is presently being done. Instead, the ECB would purchase the bonds of green companies and non-profits. Yes, buy bonds from non-profit organizations. If that happens, watch the corruption flow. The takeaway of all this is that monetary responsibility will have to give way to the green agenda.

And, of course, as noted above, the rest of the world is watching as Western Europe turns itself into an open-air museum. 

No other major countries will join Europe in this folly — not China, Russia, the U.S., Japan, South Korea, Brazil, or even Turkey. If the bureaucrats in the European Union think their actions will spur others to similar action, they're sadly mistaken.

Skurkiss concludes:

The difference between here and Europe is that the ECB has the actual power to implement green policies, while the Democrat proposals are pipe dreams. But if it weren't for President Trump, America might not be far behind Europe in going over the cliff.

Europe — Western Europe, at least — seems to have a death wish. This is evidenced from policies on its defense, immigration, and economy. Knowledgeable observers attribute this to the two world wars in the 20th century. They're probably right. In the meantime, America will welcome with open arms European companies fleeing their own government's de-industrialization policies.

Of course, this assumes that the party of the Green New Deal never has the power to implement its policy folly. We would like to be a hopeful as Skurkiss on this matter, but we have our doubts. Many in America want us to be Thelma to Europe’s Louise. They might just get their wish.