Monday, September 21, 2009

The office has spoken



It is the day for reports, this one from the office of Tony Blair on climate change. It writes:

It has not taken long for people to understand that climate change is more than just an environmental issue. The impacts of global warming threaten people's homes, their livelihoods, their food supply and their health. Businesses, transport systems and infrastructure are at risk. The economic consequences of unchecked climate change are likely to be huge.
We're not going to fisk it. It is not worth the time or effort. The "office" is totally mad. Amongst its gems, it argues that "ambitious efforts to cut emissions can create as many as 10 million new jobs by 2020." This, of course, is moonshine ... we know all about "green jobs". The "office" is displaying economic illiteracy on a heroic scale.

Climate change is a tragedy of the global commons, it then goes on to say. Tragedy it is indeed – that so much time, effort and wealth are being expended on a chimera. But "the office of Tony Blair" is beyond all that. And that's another tragedy.

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