Death of a ‘Clean Energy’ Debacle

A new ‘endangerment’ study shows that the climate battle is over except for the lawfare

Holman W. Jenkins. Excerpts:

"Not only are U.S. emissions too small a share of the global total to matter; in practice, EPA actions mostly just drive U.S. emissions offshore."

"President Obama was taking office amid the 2008-09 financial crisis. Money printing was popular; new energy taxes weren’t. So he abandoned his party’s long-standing advocacy of a carbon tax in favor of turning green energy into just another thing government money printing could support."

"Energy consumption has simply grown overall."

"Last year a study put paid to magical thinking. Of 1,500 climate policies adopted in 41 countries over two decades, less than 5% have resulted in any reduction of emissions."

"A warmer world isn’t only hotter, it’s also less cold. An atmosphere slightly richer in CO2 doesn’t only produce ocean acidification, it also speeds plant growth and terrestrial greening."