Larry Kudlow: Biden's climate reparations scam is a terrible idea

So, this latest Joe Biden-John Kerry Green New Deal socialist scam that the wealthy Western economies are supposed to sign up for so-called "climate reparations," they’re going to pay poor countries for alleged damage caused by the industrial world's use of fossil fuels — all this is a terrible idea.  

Just another one of these socialist, central planning, redistributionist thoughts that always plague the Biden administration and unfortunately too many other countries as well, especially the Europeans.  This came out of the 2015 Paris Accord and it was never implemented in the U.S. because the Republican Congress wouldn't do it during the Obama years.  

One of Donald Trump's best ideas was pulling out of the 2015 Paris Accord altogether and instead opting to turn on the spigots for all forms of energy. Incidentally, fracking, renewables, nuclear... you name it.  That gave the U.S. energy dominance and, ultimately, independence. Especially independence from the looney tunes 2015 Paris Accord. 

Now, for the umpteenth time, I will note that the U.S. is the world leader — at least among the advanced countries — world leader in reducing carbon emissions — by far. We will talk to climate scientist Bjorn Lomborg later in the show, who has steadfastly argued that the poor countries would like as much energy as they can to improve their poverty-stricken economies. Most of them would very much like to have oil and gas power, including fertilizer to solve the plague of food scarcity.  

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In fact, most of the low-income countries have no interest in abolishing fossil fuels. They're way smarter than Mr. Kerry and his radical New Green Deal followers. Heck, even Germany and the European Union has now relabeled natural gas as a clean-burning green fuel. In other words, the European greenies are a lot smarter than the U.S. greenies.  

Once upon a time, one of these Paris Accord meetings promised $100 billion a year that the rich would pay the poor, but that never happened.  This latest reparation scam thus far has no set amounts and no timetables. Rest assured, the Republican Congress will not approve any such funding, no matter what the final number might be.  

Meanwhile, Mr. Kerry and his merry band of prosperity killers really has his eyes on the so-called international development banks, doesn’t he? Especially the World Bank, which Kerry and his followers would like to convert into a world climate bank. Fortunately, World Bank president David Malpass, who has already approved some energy rescue money, will not allow any sort of ultra-green takeover and then, of course, it looks like China will get off scot-free because they hold on to their nonsensical category as a so-called undeveloped, or middle-income, nation.  

This is exactly the same kind of scam they use in the World Trade Organization, the WTO, to maintain rule-breaking high tariff and non-tariff barriers that have done so much damage to American blue-collar working folks.  China, of course, has been a model of Green New Deal citizen on the world stage – since that well-known renewable fuel called coal accounts for 60% of their power and they're planning for over 200 new coal plants over the next ten years.  

Additionally, let me add, climate science has not definitively linked carbon to natural disasters. Again, Bjorn Lomborg has a lot to say about this subject and shown it not to be the case.  But what should be the case is the application of free-market capitalism to energy, as well as every other part of the world economy.  

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Free-market capitalism is the greatest prosperity creator and poverty fighter ever known. Free-market capitalism spawns undreamed-of technological advances and innovative practices that will solve climate issues, just as they have solved every other problem ever known to mankind.  

So, let’s just say "NO" to climate reparations or other redistribution schemes and socialism in general. You know why? Because it's a loser. Always has been and it always will be and that is my riff.   

This article is adapted from Larry Kudlow's opening commentary on the November 21, 2022, edition of "Kudlow."