Innovation not global regulation will save the planet

Our current climate conversation embodies two blatantly contradictory claims. On one side, experts warn that promised climate policies will be economically crippling. In a new report, the International Energy Agency (IEA) states that achieving net-zero in 2050 will likely be “the greatest challenge humankind has ever faced.” That is a high bar, surpassing the Second World War, the black plague and COVID.

This is what global warming looks like, opinion pieces quickly declared in both Politico and CNN about devastating Hurricane Harvey. A week later, news media around the globe and politicians were saying the exact same thing about Hurricane Irma.

Jumping the gun on linking disasters to climate change is dangerous. It points us toward policies that will have little to no effect at reducing future devastation. 

The science is clear but also nuanced: Climate change will worsen some extreme weather events, and it will improve others.

Copenhagen Consensus Centre President Bjorn Lomborg says “it’s no big surprise” that Australia will face power shortages.

The AEMO has warned of power shortages across the country.

“We’ve been told that solar and wind is cheaper than fossil fuels,” Mr Lomborg told Sky News host Chris Kenny.

“But the reality, of course, is they’re only cheaper when the wind is blowing or when the sun is shining.

“You really have to take that into account, and when you do it, of course, it turns out that it’s much much more expensive.”