Reasonable Environmental Policy, Yes. Radical Environmental Policy, No.
Leave it to uber liberal climate hypocrite John Kerry to say working with global polluters China and Russia is key to tackling climate change. This is the guy who travels the world on private jets all the while telling everyone else we have to radically change our livelihoods because of climate change.
The fact John Kerry thinks the United States should be working with a known enemy of freedom, China, to address climate change shows he is not serious about this issue.
Radical environmentalists seeking to eradicate climate change are supporting policies like the “Green New Deal,” which would eradicate the free market and exchange our Republic for a bigger government, which is already accumulating more power and control over our lives and businesses. Free-market conservatives are right to push back against these flawed ideas, but also need to come forward with real solutions to protect our environment.
Offering ideas, in addition to opposition, would help push back on the liberals’ argument that conservatives do not care about the environment. Yes, Republicans and conservatives support efforts to protect and clean up our environment. It’s just that we want to do it in a way that protects U.S. manufacturers, the economy as a whole and American families from increased energy costs.
The U.S. was energy independent before the Biden administration dismantled this freedom. President Biden could not get a Green New Deal through Congress so he and his liberal allies have used the administrative state to implement their radical ideas. This included stopping construction of new energy pipelines and drilling, and re-entering the U.N.’s Paris Climate Accords.
Who is the bigger winner from the Biden administration’s war on U.S. energy independence? It’s not the environment. It’s China. China, a country that hates the United States, is also one the world’s biggest polluters.
China is laughing at us. While American manufacturers play by the rules, China continues to produce cheap manufacturing materials that are then sold to the United States. Our manufacturers are doing their part in responsible ways to protect the environment but are undercut when China is given a global pass to keep on polluting the environment through the manufacturing of cheap products.
China can’t be trusted and the only way to affect change with them is to show strength and for the United States to show the world there is a new way to take on CO2 emissions.
What would a free-market environmental policy possibly look like? The border carbon adjustment (BCA) tariff is one policy idea the U.S. could implement and is worth considering. It could be used to leverage and to hold China accountable for its irresponsible environmental stewardship, while boosting the U.S. manufacturing sector and the jobs it creates. The BCA would simply levy a tariff on products from China. This effort would protect U.S. business interests by drawing a line in the sand that the environmental policies our manufacturers follow are far and away superior to countries like China who poison the environment for profit.
Conservatives should not be afraid to speak up on these issues. Exploring potential solutions that are market based and encourage fair trade are worth considering. We all call the same planet home yet there are countries like China that trash our global environment. We need to embrace free-market environmental policies to hold polluting countries accountable for their lack of environmental protections that distort the markets for short-term advantage.
Saul Anuzis is President of the 60 Plus Association
