The WEF issued a position paper Monday that links two purported global crises together: “decline of democracy” and the “climate change,” according to the WEF.
The document claims that as long as individuals switch to green energy in place of dirty fuels, fighting the old can save the new.
According to an article by the World Economic Forum, democracy has been declining worldwide for the past 15 years. To preserve and enhance freedom, “leading democracies must make their economies stronger while also protecting liberty.”
The statement then warns against “not acting in accordance with the low-carbon economy’s progress” is a danger to democracies, further emphasizing the wider demand of environmental advocates for businesses to cease investing in fossil fuels.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) predicts that Russia’s military incursion into Ukraine will increase attention on this economic shortcoming.
What is the solution for the United States and Europe? Pricing out other energy options from the market. It reads:
“First, leading nations should commit to ending the underpricing of fossil fuels, which is the primary reason for delaying a clean energy transformation. In 2020, $5.9 trillion in economic costs were associated with the underpricing of coal, oil, and gas production and combustion. Almost a quarter of these losses – $1.45 trillion – occurred in 48 major and minor democracies.”
“The G20’s major democracies should come together to eliminate subsidies for the production and consumption of fossil fuels. They should also transition to more efficient pricing methods such as taxes or tradable permits in order to cover the costs of local air pollution, worldwide warming, and other economic harms.”
Compliance, according to the paper, must be enforced.
“In order to protect domestic industries and deter businesses from moving overseas in order to avoid compliance at home, taxes may be imposed on carbon-intensive imports.”
According to the World Economic Forum, other countries should be forced to reform their under-pricing of fossil fuels in order to avoid the consequences of the policy, with U.S. President Joe Biden promising to penalize the fossil fuel industry out of existence.
“Leading nations risk making their economies more vulnerable as they continue to rely on fossil fuels by avoiding a clean energy transition, according to the paper.”
The WEF paper also notes, “Collectively acting to promote a green shift is not only beneficial for the environment, but it’s also critical for democracy.”
