Cap and Trade is About Status – Not the Environment

Nicolas Loris / September 08, 2009

In economics, signaling to convey information about can come in a variety of forms. You can signal in job interviews by what you reveal on your resume; you can signal to people just by the type of car you drive. In New Zealand, the parliamentary committee is suggesting the country should implement carbon caps to signal to the rest of the world, even if it does nothing to improve the environment, that New Zealand is “doing something.”

The Wall Street Journal reports:

To the annals of global warming lunacy, add this gem from New Zealand: According to a parliamentary committee, Kiwis should accept lower standards of living to protect the national image abroad.

The findings of the “Emissions Trading Review Committee” aren’t binding, but they tell much about how deep today’s green religion runs. (more…)