Example Image
Civitas Outlook
Topic
Politics
Published on
Mar 13, 2025
Contributors
Joel Kotkin
Photo by Thomas Richter on Unsplash

The Climate Has Changed on Climate Change

Contributors
Joel Kotkin
Joel Kotkin
Senior Research Fellow
Joel Kotkin
Summary

As we face the threat of expanding war, intensified class and ethnic conflict, growing inequality and health crises, it’s time to look dispassionately at climate as one of the many challenges facing humanity.

Summary

As we face the threat of expanding war, intensified class and ethnic conflict, growing inequality and health crises, it’s time to look dispassionately at climate as one of the many challenges facing humanity.

Listen to this article

Like the Marxist dialectic, or the predictions of the Gospels, the green movement has long seen its triumph as preordained. Yet sometimes the inevitable turns out to be not so.

Over the past few years green policies — notably the drive for “net zero” — have been failing. Both markets and politicians have seen the light. What
Joe Biden’s treasury secretary Janet Yellen once called “the greatest business opportunity of the twenty-first century” has revealed itself to be something of a disaster.

The new American President is likely to be blamed for the implosion of the green agenda, but its collapse long pre-dates his re-ascension. Well before November the opportunity of the century was going bust — not least because the policies were having little apparent impact on the actual climate. On Wall Street, ESG-approved (environment, social and government) stocks have been tanking, according to leading studies, shackling firms with massive losses.

Continue reading at The Spectator

10:13
1x
10:13
More articles

The Hidden Costs of Expanding Deposit Insurance

Economic Dynamism
Nov 7, 2025

Conservatism Against the Machine

Pursuit of Happiness
Nov 7, 2025
View all

Join the newsletter

Receive new publications, news, and updates from the Civitas Institute.

Sign up
More on

Politics

Liberal Democracy Reexamined: Leo Strauss on Alexis de Tocqueville

This article explores Leo Strauss’s thoughts on Alexis de Tocqueville in his 1954 “Natural Right” course transcript.

Raúl Rodríguez
Politics
Feb 25, 2025
Long Distance Migration as a Two-Step Sorting Process: The Resettlement of Californians in Texas

Here we press the question of whether the well-documented stream of migrants relocating from California to Texas has been sufficient to alter the political complexion of the destination state.

James Gimpel, Daron Shaw
Politics
Feb 6, 2025
Who's That Knocking? A Study of the Strategic Choices Facing Large-Scale Grassroots Canvassing Efforts

Although there is a consensus that personalized forms of campaign outreach are more likely to be effective at either mobilizing or even persuading voters, there remains uncertainty about how campaigns should implement get-out-the-vote (GOTV) programs, especially at a truly expansive scale.

Grant Ferguson, James Gimpel, Mark Owens, Daron Shaw
Politics
Dec 13, 2024
National Poll from Civitas Institute: Trump Victory Driven by Voters Who Reject Status Quo

The poll asked 1,200 Americans an array of questions about how things are going in America.

Daron Shaw
Politics
Dec 11, 2024

The Three Whiskey Happy Hour

Steven Hayward brings you the Power Line Blog's perspective on the week's big headlines.

View all
** items
Decadent Ideology, Decaying Fraternity

Richard Reinsch reviews Prosperity and Torment in France by Chantal Delsol.

Richard M. Reinsch II
Politics
Sep 4, 2025
DC and LA Failures Play Into Trump’s Hands

Although clearly violating America’s long-standing federalist principles, Trump’s incursions are being justified by the incompetence of most blue-city leaders.

Joel Kotkin
Politics
Aug 14, 2025
Climate Lawyers Try a New Approach

Heatstroke killed Julie Leon on a 108-degree day. A lawsuit blames oil companies.

Michael Toth
Politics
Aug 11, 2025
Reading the New Conservatives

Richard Reinsch reviews The New Conservatives by Oren Cass.

Richard M. Reinsch II
Politics
Jul 31, 2025

Kotkin: Non-Aligned Nations Navigating a Multipolar World

Politics
Aug 19, 2025
1:05

Wall Street Journal: Donald Trump Takes On the Conservative Judiciary

Politics
Jun 2, 2025
1:05

Trump’s Drug Pricing Plan: Consequences for Innovation and Patient Access

Politics
May 13, 2025
1:05

John Yoo: The DOJ Is Being ‘Tricky’ but They May Be Right

Politics
Mar 18, 2025
1:05

John Yoo: How Will Trump Try to ‘Redirect’ the Justice Department Toward ‘Public Order and Safety’?

Politics
Mar 14, 2025
1:05
No items found.
No items found.
Eliminating Liberal Institutional Asymmetries

For now, the best way to advance conservatism is to eliminate liberal institutional asymmetries.

Josh Blackman
Politics
Nov 6, 2025
Can a Dithering Europe Stop Russia?

The European defense posture leaves much to be desired in the face of Russian aggression.

Jakub Grygiel
Politics
Nov 5, 2025
Ending Maduro

Maduro is only a small piece in a much broader geopolitical game.

Oscar Sumar
Politics
Nov 4, 2025
Tucker Carlson’s Sinking Ideological Ship

Carlson is not alone in abandoning the American conservatism of people like Ronald Reagan, but he is at the forefront of accelerating its abandonment.

Thomas D. Howes
Politics
Oct 31, 2025
No items found.