New research released by the Institute of Economic Affairs today finds that government environmental policy has done little to solve environmental problems, and has come at great economic cost.
Vested interests driving environmental policy
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Vast sums of taxpayer money made available for ‘green initiatives’ present bureaucrats with numerous opportunities to expand budgets and initiate policies which bring with them new responsibilities and grand titles.
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Small, concentrated interest groups are more likely to engage in lobbying. The government’s search for ‘green initiatives’ in which to invest public money has led these groups to indulge in ‘rent-seeking’ behaviour – urging government to redistribute resources to them, taking it from dispersed groups such as taxpayers.
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Similar groups exist in the business world and often lobby successfully to capture the policy initiative. Policies have therefore been pursued by government which do little to mitigate environmental problems but instead serve to protect vested interests from competition.
Climate change policies increasing emissions
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International climate change agreements have failed to achieve their targets and instead have often served to increase emissions.
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Under carbon trading agreements, companies in the developed world are encouraged to divert resources into financing ‘clean’ factories and methods of production in the developing world.
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However, without such government interference, these factories &nd
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