Poor island nations threatened by rising seas should wait for money through trickle-down economics, according to the founder of the US-based Competitive Enterprise Institute. The free-market think tank believes that curbing greenhouse gas emissions to combat climate change will be too costly to the US and global economies.
“If the focus in this century is on wealth creation, then the islands will be much better prepared for the risks if they materialize,” Fred Smith, founder of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, told the AP.
Low-lying islands nations say they are already feeling the effects of rising sea levels that have been going up approximately 3 mm every year since 1993. Estimates range widely for sea level rise by the end of the century, but recent studies predict somewhere between 0.18 and 2 meters. Some island nations are looking at purchasing land abroad to move if their home is submerged.
Mohamed Nasheed, the President of Maldives, the lowest lying islands in the world, has stated that complacency at the Conference on Climate Change inCopenhagen would mean a “global suicide pact”. Recently Nasheed held a cabinet meeting at the bottom of the sea to bring world attention to the plight facing island nations. If sea levels rise by one meter, the Maldives will be underwater.
Currently the Copenhagen conference is discussing a fund to help developing nations adapt to climate change impacts such as rising seas, drought, melting glaciers, and extreme weather.
The Competitive Enterprise Institute made other news this week by threatening to sue the Obama Administration over Monday’s ruling by the EPA that labeled carbon an endangerment. The ruling gives the EPA regulatory power over emissions. Lisa Jackson, the head of the EPA, received a standing ovation at the Copenhagen conference today for the ruling.
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