In the late 1980s, Margaret Thatcher became the first major leader to warn the world about global warming. It is claimed in some quarters that, had she remained in office, she would have changed her mind – perhaps on the principle that euro-scepticism and climate scepticism go together (but try telling that to Zac Goldsmith).
Of course, when it comes to climate change policy there are many kinds of scepticism. For instance, there are those who flatly reject the mainstream scientific consensus on the issue and insist that its all a big misunderstanding/fraud/conspiracy (delete as appropriate). Then there’s a somewhat larger and less excitable group who broadly accept the science, but argue there’s nothing we can practically do to stop global warming, so we might as well learn to live with it.
But there’s a third option – to accept the case for action as well as the science, but not the same actions as those pursued by the European Union. Not one to deny reality nor shrink from the fight, one can imagine Margaret Thatcher following this course – or, rather, leading it.
What one can’t imagine, however, is the Lady keeping quiet about the counter-productive farce that is the EU’s policy on renewable energy. For instance, consider the following facts – as reported by the Economist:
In an irony that Margaret Thatcher would not have enjoyed, coal-fired power stations are being adapted to harvest subsidies for wood burning:
Any serious climate change policy should be shutting down coal-fired power stations, not subsidising them.
It’s not even as if burning wood (much of which now has to be imported, pushing up prices for the paper producers and furniture makers) reduces carbon emissions on any relevant timeframe:
Faced with this and other nonsenses, what would Maggie have done? Not nothing, but something different. Instead of the subsidies, the targets, the tradable permits and all the rest of it, she would have favoured something clear-cut and straightforward – for instance a carbon tax whose revenue could have been used to (a) reduce other taxes and (b) cut energy bills by carrying out basic energy efficiency improvements that are still left undone while the EU pays the coal industry to burn trees.