Climate-Change Colonialism Keeps Poor Countries Impoverished

News that the Trump administration is poised to ask Congress for deep budget cuts to the Energy Department's renewable energy and energy efficiency programs has thus far generated less outrage than the White House’s abandonment of the Paris Climate Treaty, yet has the potential to be far more damaging to efforts to respond to climate change.

President Donald Trump’s withdrawal of the United States from the Paris climate agreement leaves the US without a global warming policy. That is alarming. But the world’s response – to double down on the pact in opposition to Trump – should also cause concern.

There have been two conflicting responses to Trump’s decision – often heard from the very same person.

What is the point of climate change policy? To make the world a better place for all of us, and for future generations.

In my new book, False Alarm: How Climate Change Panic Costs Us Trillions, Hurts the Poor, and Fails to Fix the Planet, I analyze a lot of ways to make smart climate policy—and many that unfortunately waste resources. But we also need to ask ourselves the broader question: If the goal is to make the world a better place, is climate change policy the most important thing to focus on?