There are three trains of thought on climate change within the GOP. They are as follows:
- The most extreme faction, led by Donald Trump, dismisses climate change as a hoax and doubles down on the use of fossil fuels;
- A slightly more moderate group accepts the reality of climate change in an effort to appear sane to swing voters, but insists that any effort to address it would destroy the American economy. This group consequently views tens of billions of dollars in economic losses and hundreds of deaths per year as acceptable collateral damage for the privilege of burning fossil fuels. It probably speaks for the majority of voters in today’s GOP.
- The far left of the GOP (such as it is) accepts climate change and wants to fight it, but summarily rejects any solutions proposed by the Democrats as too radical and burdensome. Lacking any ideas of its own, the most it is willing to do is provide funds for mitigation before disasters, rather than after them.
All of these positions are irresponsible; it is just a question of degree. If the GOP really wants to fight climate change, it should support a carbon tax, which could permit cuts in other taxes and reduce the heavy hand of the federal government in picking winners and losers. It would also permit the government to eliminate some of Biden’s spending on green projects, which would reduce the deficit and make reactionaries happy.
There are a handful of well-known GOP figures who agree with me, but not nearly enough. New taxes are anathema to the mainstream. The likelihood of the GOP turning against fossil fuels in the foreseeable future is close to nil. As a result, we are going to see large scale climate migration and much tougher regulations on both development and behavior in my lifetime.
Pay me now, or pay me later. For the GOP, it’s pay me a lot more later.