The European Union and all the nations thereof — including the United Kingdom, even after Brexit — seem bent on economic and cultural suicide. They aren't having children, they have thrown open the floodgates to hordes of immigrants from the Middle East and North Africa, and their economic policies, especially where climate issues are concerned, are well to the left of barking nuts. This is a continent now that lends more credence to unhinged activists like the Doom Pixie Greta Thunberg than to actual scientists, so perhaps we should be satisfied in knowing that they are getting the government they want, good and hard.
But make no mistake: The American left would do the same here. The latest screwy EU idea that the American left no doubt looks on with envy?
A "carbon market." Watts Up With That's Charles Rotter has some thoughts.
According to an analysis by BloombergNEF, the new emissions trading system, set to take effect in 2027, could push the price of carbon dioxide to €149 per metric ton by 2029—more than double current levels. The direct consequence? Heating bills may rise by as much as 41%, and transportation costs could jump 27%. This isn’t just a minor inconvenience; it’s a financial wrecking ball aimed squarely at households and small businesses across Europe.
For years, politicians and activists have insisted that draconian carbon policies will help “save the planet.” What they fail to acknowledge is who actually pays the price.
- Heating Costs: Millions of Europeans already struggle to afford winter heating. The EU’s new carbon market will ensure that staying warm becomes a luxury rather than a necessity.
- Transportation Costs: Higher fuel prices won’t just hit personal drivers—they’ll ripple through the entire economy, raising the cost of goods and services.
- Small Businesses Punished: Large corporations can offset costs or lobby for exemptions, but small businesses will have no choice but to absorb price hikes—or shut down.
Oh, but the EU is, to paraphrase President Reagan, here to help:
And what does the EU offer as a solution? “Green alternatives.” Heat pumps, electric cars, and home renovations—all of which require substantial upfront investments that the average citizen cannot afford.
It is belaboring the obvious to note that most EU citizens (OK, let's be honest, subjects) can't afford a 41 percent increase in heading bills or a 27 percent increase in transportation costs, either.
Bloomberg — an organization not known for climate-change skepticism — notes:
The price of carbon dioxide under the new emissions trading system, set to open in two years’ time, may reach €149 a metric ton in 2029, BNEF’s analysis
found. That’s more than double the current EU price for emissions from power plants and industry.The increase would likely spur cuts to emissions as consumers shift to cleaner options such as heat pumps and electric cars, but at a cost that’s led some EU politicians to call for the new market to be delayed.
While users won’t have to pay the price directly, the costs will likely be passed on by fuel suppliers.
“Ambitious targets and high costs risk making households and small businesses the losers,” the report found.
Households and small businesses are always the losers in these schemes.
See Related: People Are Increasingly Skeptical of the Climate Scolds - Because the Scolds Are So Often Wrong
The Problem With Wind Power: Appeasing Climate Scolds May Be Hazardous to Your Health
The people of Europe are going to be handed some stark and unpleasant choices in the next few years. They certainly won't be able to rely on a warming climate to keep them from freezing in winters; not all of Europe enjoys the balmy climates of the Italian Riviera, and some people in northern Germany or Scandinavia may find themselves shivering in the dark for lack of cash to pay for this ambitious carbon plan.
And the various EU governments' plan? Push heat pumps and home renovations. Which, of course, a lot of people can't afford, and the rising costs of everything that results from the rising costs of energy will make those heat pumps and home renovations even more expensive, while oh, by the way, flattening the economies of the countries buying into this scheme, making it even more difficult for the regular people to pay the rising costs of energy. And so on, and so on, ad infinitum.
Europe, in other words, is about to enter into an economic doom cycle that could actually cost lives. And all to appease climate scolds, who are the squeaky wheels demanding grease for a claimed phenomenon that isn't even backed up by the evidence.
It's a sad situation. Europe is, after all, the wellspring of Western civilization. It is, however, rapidly growing apparent that Europe won't be among the last holdouts for Western civilization; they may instead be among the first to fall, and their fall will be self-induced because of stupidity like this.
