The End of Climate Change Hysteria

Normally, when it seems too good to be true, it is not true. If we suspect that the Western world has gotten over its climate change hysteria, we still maintain some doubt. Perhaps we are indulging in wishful thinking. 

One understands that climate change hysteria has largely been limited to advanced industrialized Western nations. In the Far East, they are building power plants as quickly as they can. In the underdeveloped world, its leaders have clearly seen that they cannot modernize without having a source of clean affordable energy. And that means, fossil fuels.

Nevertheless, Joel Kotkin seems largely to be correct. The West is getting over its climate change hysteria. Greening the planet, net zero emissions, goals that sound a lot better than they really are-- these are all disappearing from the general political consciousness.

As for why people are getting over climate change hysteria, Kotkin makes some salient points:

But many voters in America as well as Europe have had second thoughts about spending upwards of $6 trillion annually for the next thirty years on green largesse. It doesn’t help that these spending pledges are so often advocated by jet-setting billionaires.

If we were to follow the green program we would effectively be repealing the Industrial Revolution. The green movement is a form of postmodern romanticism. It’s nice to talk about returning to a more natural way of life, until you figure out the downside.

Most people don’t want to huddle in smaller dwelling units, enjoy less mobility, more costly home heating, no air-conditioning, and a more austere diet. Already a growing economic dislocation — such as the energy-driven decline of the German industrial machine — is sparking opposition to green policies throughout the West, first expressed by the gilets jaunes movement in France in 2018, now spreading further across an increasingly distressed Europe. Even some on the left are reconsidering their policy agenda. In ultra with-it Berlin, a referendum on tighter emissions targets recently failed to win over enough voters.

The decline of the greens is a clear sign of change. Once seen by Foreign Affairs as “reshaping global politics,” the greens have suffered devastating defeats across Europe. 

This is even true in Great Britain:

Britain, once a reliable implementer of extreme climate policy, is now considering new oil and gas projects, while the EU, concerned about lagging productivity, may be about to scrap its climate requirements.

We imagine that young people are largely true believers in climate change. Kotkin points out that this is not the case. As for the rest of America, climate change is not very high on the list:

A recent Gallup poll shows that just 3 percent of Americans consider climate change and the environment their main concern. Even young people, the group most concerned with climate change, rank it far below inflation, housing, gun violence, jobs and corruption.

Kotkin suggests that it is not all a mania. We can still take some steps to make life cleaner on this planet:

Rather than wallow in hysteria, countries can focus on investments — dykes, seawalls, tree plantings — that will mitigate and adapt to future climate changes. The rise of remote work, the International Energy Agency suggests, offers great opportunities. If everybody were able to work from home just one day a week, it would save around one percent of global oil consumption.