The Climate Cult Is Getting A Quick Lesson In ‘Populist’ Greenlash

You have to give plaudits to Michael Bloomberg’s mouthpiece, Bloomberg News.

It has zeroed in on who is to blame for the unpopular, misnamed, and costly green transition going on here and abroad: Europe’s populist right. Oh, and Trump.

While it’s easy to label people as “right” or “far-right” to dismiss them, many of these so-called populists are ordinary folks (and farmers) who want to earn an honest living without the government adding onerous regs and fees and picking their pockets.

Blaming the “right” and Trump after the public becomes aware of the overhyped, overpriced net-zero programs exposes an acute lack of understanding by the media. Via Bloomberg [emphasis, links added]:

Politicians are vowing to roll back green policies and downplaying climate change ahead of key elections on both sides of the Atlantic, casting doubt on whether countries can maintain momentum in the transition away from fossil fuels.

In the US, former President Donald Trump, who has a long record of climate denial, is the frontrunner to challenge President Joe Biden in November.

On the campaign trail, Trump has minimized the effects of climate change, attacked electric vehicles, and pledged to repeal Biden’s signature climate law.

Meanwhile, in Europe, polls show right-wing parties that oppose strong climate action are likely to increase their representation after the European Union’s parliamentary elections in June, while the climate-minded Greens are expected to lose seats. …

Climate isn’t a core issue for most voters the way the economy and security are. But the populist right has made climate policy another culture-wars flashpoint — an example in their eyes of costly, intrusive overreach that compromises personal choice and national sovereignty.

Much of the right believes that the bigger threat “is not climate change; it’s the actions taken by governments to decarbonize economies,” says Mahir Yazar, a researcher at the Centre for Climate and Energy Transformation at the University of Bergen in Norway.

Part of the reason the political winds are shifting is that climate regulations, as they ramp up in stringency, are starting to impinge more on people’s daily lives — at a time when many feel squeezed by inflation and the cost of living.

“Do you choose a heat pump in your house? What car are you going to drive? These are emotional things to people,” said Bas Eickhout, a Dutch member of the European Parliament with the European Green Party.

Far-right politicians have prospered by tapping into that sentiment. Dutch Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders won over voters last year by promising to scrap the Netherlands’ climate law and exit the Paris Agreement.

Libertarian Javier Milei, who has called global warming “a socialist lie,” became Argentina’s new president in December.

Germany’s far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party, which rejects the decades-old scientific consensus on human-caused climate change, has promised to tear down Germany’s wind farms and has recently broadened its public support.

Closer to the political center, leaders are scrambling to show they’re not prioritizing net zero at the expense of household budgets or consumer choice. …

We take a closer look to see how rhetoric relates to policy and where backward steps are most likely.

Top image via YouTube screencap

Read the full post at Bloomberg