Re: Investment Executive March 2022 editorial, Regulators must act now to forestall climate disaster
It is a disservice to the readership served by the Investment Executive that the editor promotes political IPCC climate alarmism rather than proven science on this subject.
When it comes to climate-related risks, by far the greatest is that of government and regulatory interference. A perfect example of this is playing out these days with huge increases in energy prices caused by years of governments attacking the most abundant, cheap, dense, flexible and scalable energy known to man: fossil fuels.
Now that the folly of relying on the Russian dictator for oil and gas is apparent and the insanity of relying on dictators in China for the minerals required for intermittent and unreliable energy sources like wind and solar is becoming apparent, economically and scientifically illiterate politicians who have threatened to “end fossil fuels,” promoted net-zero and pushed ESG are blaming high energy prices on the very businesses they have been trying to destroy.
Human beings, left free to innovate and produce (especially in the energy field that powers all other industries) have easily and can continue to adapt even better to the historically modest changes recently seen in our climate. When coercion is used against producers and one-size-fits-all political rules are made, then risks become systemic instead of diversified.
The editors of a newspaper giving voice to the investment sector should do proper due diligence instead of promoting ideas that are demonstrably false and cause great damage to human flourishing.
David McGruer, CFP, PFA, CEA, is a financial advisor in Ottawa.