Climate Change and the Risks of Denying Inconvenient Truths

Many industries – including agriculture and insurance – anticipate major disruptions from climate change. Martin Wolf, chief economics commentator for Financial Times, is pessimistic about US leadership on the issue, expressing alarm that climate change was not discussed more during the presidential campaign. He points to two types of denial: Major denial from Donald Trump and the right stems from distrust of those opposed to fossil fuels as “suspicious of – if not downright hostile to – the market economy” and fears that any policy fixes would “entail massive interference in the market economy and impose large economic costs.” Minor denial, possible from Hillary Clinton and supporters, could rely on shallow gestures rather than big fixes. Wolf recommends carbon-pricing policies and development of alternative technologies. He describes the Paris agreement of as “toothless,” incapable of “keeping temperature rises below 2C, let alone below the 1.5C thought more desirable.” Mitigating climate change requires global effort, and that requires US voters and leaders recognizing the serious risks of delaying action. – YaleGlobal