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26 Windsor Rev. Legal & Soc. Issues 179 (2009)
Climate Change Charades: False Environmental Pretences of Statist Energy Governance

handle is hein.journals/wrlsi26 and id is 181 raw text is: Vol. 26     1          Climate Change Charades           1        179
CLIMATE CHANGE CHARADES: FALSE ENVIRONMENTAL
PRETENCES OF STATIST ENERGY GOVERNANCE
Bruce Pardy*
Abstract
Climate change is a poor justification for energy statism, which consists of
centralized government administration of energy supplies, sources, prices,
generating facilities, production and conservation. Statist energy governance
produces climate change charades: government actions taken in the name of
climate change that bear little relationship to the nature of the problem. Such
actions include incremental, unilateral steps to reduce domestic carbon
emissions to arbitrary levels, and attempts to choose winners and losers in
future technology, using public money to subsidize ineffective investments.
These proffered solutions are counter-productive.  Governments abdicate
their responsibility to govern energy in a manner that is consistent with
domestic legal norms and competitive markets, and make the development of
environmental solutions less likely rather than more so.
Resume
Le changement climatique constitue une mauvaise justification pour le
dirigisme  de  l 'Vconomie   nergdtique, ce  qui est l 'administration
gouvernementale centralisde des fournitures, des sources, des prix, des
installations de gdn&ation, de la production et de la conservation de
1'6nergie. La gouvernance dirigiste de l 'nergie rdsulte en charades : les
actions gouvernementales entreprises au nom du changement climatique qui
n 'ont pas beaucoup ci voir avec la nature du probldme. De telles actions
incluent les ddmarches unilatdrales et incrdmentales dans la rdduction des
omissions de carbone domestiques 6 des niveaux arbitraires, qui tentent
* Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Queen's University. This article is based upon a paper
presented at the Queen's Business Law Symposium, October 2007. I am grateful for the
excellent research assistance of Kimberley Broome, LL.B. Any errors are my own.
Comments are welcome at pardyb@queensu.ca.

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