FreedomWorks

The Issue

Politicians, the media, and some scientists are increasingly concerned that human activity is leading to increased carbon dioxide (CO2) in the earth’s atmosphere, and that these higher CO2 levels are in turn causing the planet to warm (Our planet, which is constantly heating and cooling, grew 0.7 degrees Celsius warmer in the 20th century). Although the causes and eventual impact of higher CO2 levels are still under debate, policymakers in the U.S. and abroad are pushing various plans to control and restrict human production of CO2.

The FreedomWorks Position

We will leave it to the scientific community to determine the precise cause and extent of global warming— FreedomWorks' mission is to focus on economic policy. In this regard, there is a very real risk that Congress will move prematurely to pass legislation that will substantially reduce our standard of living and increase the government's control over the economy, while doing little or nothing to address the global nature of carbon dioxide production.

Existing efforts to address carbon dioxide output, such as the Kyoto Protocol, are rigged against the United States and exempt some of the fastest growing producers, such as China, India, Brazil and South Korea. It makes little sense to handicap the U.S. economy in the name of global warming and then watch production shift to our competitors overseas. It also is unsettling that some of the groups and organizations pushing action on global warming — such as the United Nations, the environmental movement, and former Vice President Al Gore— have substantial institutional, ideological, and financial stakes in creating a restrictive new layer of global warming regulation. In addressing the global warming issue, Congress should fully examine the costs and possible benefits of any legislative action, and should encourage private sector mechanisms and innovations to provide the solution, not the heavy hand of government.