Climate Costs and Sergeant Schulz

I attended a symposium on climate change at Hofstra University in New York on Thursday, January 31. I could not help but think of Sergeant Schultz in the old “Hogan’s Heroes” television show, as he said, “I see nothing, nothing.”

A wide array of speakers discussed certain aspect of the science, the policies and the politics. But there was deafening silence on the economics.

One speaker, a biologist, attempted to paint a dire economic picture if nothing is done on the policy front. Those numbers were highly debatable, to say the least.

There was no real talk about the costs of capping or reducing carbon-dioxide emissions. How would that be accomplished? How would the tax and/or regulatory measures affect energy costs, and consumers, small businesses and large firms? What about job creation? Would the U.S. lose competitive position, and lose jobs overseas? And so on. But during a day of several panels and many speakers, we got nothing on these critical topics.

Of course, most economic studies that address these important questions offer rather grim answers. Maybe that’s why economics could not be found on the agenda. Remember, Sgt. Schultz did not want to see the things going on around him.