NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Monday, October 29, 2018

By Yossi Sheffi

In August, when US President Donald Trump proposed to freeze fuel-efficiency standards for cars and trucks, environmentalists and their supporters were outraged. Now, the temperature of the debate has risen again, following a special report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that highlights the urgent need to take drastic action to curb carbon dioxide emissions.

While the environmentalists’ efforts to combat climate change is laudable, their reactions to these developments are misdirected. The strategies for reducing emissions that they advocate barely move the needle and are, in many cases, counterproductive; giving companies and governments a “fig leaf.” We need a real-world strategy for tackling climate change that marshals the world’s technological resources without imposing crippling restrictions on economic growth.

Photo courtesy of Pavel Ahmed.