Kelly Rigg: Forget logic, it’s climate schizophrenia

“When our political leaders can’t agree on whether climate change is a threat, the majority of people can’t either. The public is divided because our political leaders are polarized.”

This is the upshot of a recent study on U.S. public attitudes towards climate change according to one of its lead authors, J. Craig Jenkins of Ohio State University.

Courtesy: Kelly Rigg

The research suggests it was no coincidence that Americans were most concerned about the threat of climate change at a time when at least some leaders in both parties strongly advocated action. I suspect that if the same study were done in other countries, the findings would be similar.

But I can’t help wondering if polarization between political parties is the only determining factor — what about the inconsistent behaviour of climate champions themselves? Countless leaders recognize the threat of climate change and call for action to reverse it, yet continue to implement policies which do the opposite.

Take the EU Fuel Quality Directive for example. In a few days’ time, Europe will vote on a law which would formally designate (and thus penalize) tar sands oil as excessively carbon-intensive in comparison with other fuels. The UK, Netherlands and France — often considered climate leaders within Europe — are under pressure from petro-lobby interests and are thought likely to block the decision. If tar sands interests win out, it will be a significant setback for the fight against climate change.

Read more: Huffington Post >>

Tags: Airline Fuel Tax, Europe & Russia, European Union, Fossil Fuels, Voices top

Category: Voices