Climate change and resource management: a liberal consensus?

4 16 November 2012
Are we heading for a global catastrophe or is the issue of man-induced climate change just another example of successful scaremongering on a grand scale? What is the liberal response? What should it be? During the course of the last decade climate change has become a serious issue in international relations. It is also an issue steeped in controversy. Increasingly it seems as if two camps are emerging: countries committed to tackling the problem in a determined and concerted manner and those who are equivocal and refuse to implement proactive policies to mitigate or offset the effects of human activity on the earths climate. The term itself is subject to criticism given that climate has always changed in response to a multitude of factors, most of which have little to do with human activity. But it has gained currency as a convenient short-hand label used to describe a problem many of our contemporaries are worried about: massive emissions of greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide (CO ) in particular, and their warming effect on the earths atmosphere. The science is complex and although many claim that there is a consensus, an overview of peerreviewed scientific literature shows that there is a lot of uncertainty. Many findings are tentative as even the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) admits. A major problem in the debate on climate change is that many experts believe that policy makers and the general public require simplified and straightforward messages in order to elicit the responses considered necessary. From a liberal point of view this is a problematical approach. First of all we consider fellow citizens to be rational beings capable of critical thought. Secondly, scientists should be concerned about communicating findings in a comprehensible manner but there is a thin line between this and campaigning with political overtones. Thirdly, liberals insist on high standards as far as scientific method is concerned and will always be sceptical of anyone purporting to know the truth. How do we know that CO2 one of a multitude of major climate drivers is in fact the most significant one for current trends in world climate? The workshop will look at the science carefully. And it will certainly avoid taking sides in the current propaganda war on climate change that is being waged by so-called alarmists on the one hand and sceptics or denialists on the other. There is as yet no coherent liberal position on climate change. The aim of this part of the workshop will be to establish what the major characteristics of a liberal position should consist of.

There is no coherent liberal position on how to deal with the purported threats emanating from maninduced climate change either. Given that there is a problem with CO2 emissions, what kinds of solutions should we be looking for? This is also a matter of dispute. Should we attempt to prevent and cut back emissions or should humans adapt and use resources accordingly? Or should wait and focus on our own serious environmental problem in each of our respective countries, as a prominent Australian scientist proposes? The second and major part of the workshop will thus be devoted to policy. What should liberal politicians, policy makers and activists do? Should we strive to develop and promote policies that are distinctively liberal or should we simply endorse the solutions offered by other political mainstreams? Is it desirable and realistic to do so, given that almost all of them involve massive state intervention? What would the main elements of an alternative liberal approach be? The workshop will survey the work that has already been done on the subject and try to build on this. Certainly some of the proposals being put forward by climate alarmists are a direct challenge to the freedom and free markets that liberals seek to protect. Many of the measures already being taken in a number of countries including Germany amount to massive state intervention in markets through subsidies and regulation. There are many examples of perverse incentives that have little to no overall effect on the climate. Material benefits tend to accrue to vested interests and harm the well-being and interests of less privileged members of society lower income groups, for instance. The same can be claimed for attempts to encourage developing countries to adopt clean technologies usually more expensive technologies. Liberals fear that solutions that choose to ignore individual freedom, property rights, human inventiveness, entrepreneurship and principles of a free market economy will prove inhumane and unsustainable. But can we convince people that a liberal approach is an effective and a better one, given the challenges we face?

What will the IAF workshop attempt to achieve? Given our commitment to reason, we will survey the science underlying the issue of climate change and subject it to critical appraisal, bearing scientific method in mind. The aim is to help orient participants in a difficult and controversial subject. We will then look at various ways in which purported problems are being dealt with, their respective merits and shortcomings, and then try to assemble the main elements of an alternative liberal policy together with an underlying rationale. The aim is not to achieve a consensus at all costs. It is entirely conceivable that liberals will pursue different policies in different parts of the world. If this is the case, another objective of the workshop will be to promote mutual understanding of these various approaches and the reasoning behind them.

Who is the workshop aimed at? (target groups) The workshop is aimed at individuals who are active in politics, in policy making and in think tanks. It is also aimed at economists and journalists who have an interest in policy issues related to climate change. All participants must have a basic interest in and some knowledge of the subject matter in one or more of its more important aspects. Some participants will be asked to contribute a short introductory input on policy-related matters. Closing Date for Submitting of requiring Documents (CV, Application Form and Essay on the Topic): 14 September 2012, 5 p.m.

Languages: English