The World Economic Forum (WEF) released a position paper Monday that inexorably links two claimed global crises as one – “climate change” and the “decline of democracy.”
It says fighting the former can save the latter as long as consumers stop burning coal, oil, and gas in exchange for green renewables. [bold, links added]
The WEF paper argues for the past 15 years, democracy has been in decline worldwide. To protect and promote freedom, “leading democracies must strengthen their economies and safeguard liberty.”
It goes on to say ignoring progress toward a “low-carbon economy could put democracies in greater economic peril, not less” while repeating the broader demand of environmental activists for companies to stop investing in fossil fuels.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has brought renewed focus on this economic weakness, the WEF says.
What is the answer for the U.S. and Europe? Pricing the alternatives to green energy out of the market. It says:
First, leading democracies should agree to end the underpricing of fossil fuels, which is the principal factor preventing a clean energy transition.
The underpricing associated with producing and burning coal, oil and gas amounted to $5.9 trillion in economic costs in 2020. Nearly a quarter of these losses – $1.45 trillion – occurred in 48 major and smaller democracies.
The leading democracies of the G20 should collectively commit to phasing out cost and tax breaks for the production and consumption of fossil fuels.
They should also phase in more efficient pricing of fossil fuels through taxes or tradable permits to cover the costs of local air pollution, global warming, and other economic damages.
The paper goes on to argue that compliance can and must be enforced.
Taxes can be imposed on carbon-intensive imports to reduce the risk of unfair competition for their domestic industries “and to deter companies from relocating overseas to avoid compliance at home.”
Forcing other economies to reform their underpricing of fossil fuels to avoid the penalties imposed by the policy should also be actively pursued, according to the WEF, with U.S. President Joe Biden already committed to punishing the fossil-fuel industry out of existence.
The paper concludes that by delaying a clean-energy transition, “leading democracies are making their economies more vulnerable through continued reliance on fossil fuels.”
Collectively acting to foster a green transition “is not only good for the climate but also vital for protecting democracy,” the WEF paper concludes.
h/t Rúnar O.
Read more at Breitbart
Who elected the WEF? It seems that they may be the greatest threat to democracy and anything they publish needs to be viewed against their stated aims.
There is NO EXCHANGE from fossil fuels to renewables. If you understand the concept of primary energy & requisite energy imperatives of cost, density & scale, you realize there is no FEASIBLE way that wind, solar, battery storage & biomass (renewables) can even remotely REPLACE fossil fuels. Until we can get an a rational debate on climate science coupled with an informed energy discussion based on PHYSICS & fundamental realities rather than blind ideology, this will ONLY get worse…
The WEF is just another globalists group of leftists just like the UN is all part of t he UN/Globalists plans for Global Government run by them
The WEF and their Green ilk are getting more shrill as their plan is failing. If the public didn’t know that green energy is not up to the task, they do now. The Greens war on fossil fuels has destabilized the world. Most of what has gone awry can be blamed on the mad rush to send us back to the Dark Ages.
Time to take hint from the Dutch Farmers and refuse to abide by the rules of the Eco-Imperialists