News-Record.com

North Carolina "can have no impact on climate change," the Raleigh-based John Locke Foundation asserts in a report issued today.

This is a stinging rebuke of the work of the N.C. Legislative Commission on Global Climate Change and its companion organization, the N.C. Climate Action Plan Advisory Group.

JLF contends that, despite acknowledgment that government efforts won't influence climate change, the North Carolina commission is pursuing an "irrational, 'we must do something'" strategy, which includes a "laundry list of possible policy prescriptions, all of which would ultimately alter the lifestyles of North Carolinians. ... In other words, the commission is looking to a host of policies, most of which would impose costs on and restrict the liberties of businesses and citizens of North Carolina, in full knowledge that none of the policies will have any benefits in terms of their ultimate goal -- averting or ameliorating climate change."

Instead, the state should develop a climate-change policy of "adaptation through economic growth," JLF says.

"Since the beginning of mankind people have had to deal with the extremes of weather. What has allowed us as a species to overcome extreme heat, cold, snowstorms, hurricanes, etc., and live comfortably both at the equator and in Alaska is prosperity. In this
context, probably the most important legacy that we can leave to future generations in terms of their ability to deal with the forces of nature (however mild or severe they would be) is a durable and useful capital stock in an economic system that allows entrepreneurs the flexibility to invest that capital in ways that will best accommodate people's desires for comfort in their surroundings.

"It is this capital stock that future generations will both draw on and build upon in developing new technologies that will allow us to ameliorate and be sheltered from the effects of weather conditions. The fact is that our generation and the generations immediately preceding ours have been able to live more comfortably in the face of weather extremes because of the capital investment and technological advancements of the generations that have preceded us."

Interesting perspective. It overlooks the benefits unrelated to climate change of reducing pollution and conserving energy. But if policymakers set a goal of stopping global warming, they should be honest with the public about the chances of success.