Modern, right-thinking people hold several matters to be self-evident. Like religious beliefs, they sit immune above mere factual criticism: economic inequality is wrong and the state should do everything possible to “correct” it; thinking in national terms is old-fashioned and disregards the fact of our common humanity; religious values and institutions are malevolent and everyone should be free to do what they feel is right; sex is not determined at birth but is something that everyone can consciously decide; and uncontrolled use of fossil fuels could cause so much global warming that human existence is threatened. The last of these core beliefs – in climate change – is now facing active challenge.
Campaigners and politicians belonging to the climate change establishment have long predicted terrifying consequences with a level of certainty that made them sound more like an “end-of-times” cult than policymakers who based their position on science. They have abused the precautionary principle to justify drastic action that has had little impact on global emissions but a big impact on energy prices and on economic activity in Europe, the continent that fell hardest for the cult. But the cult is now, as I say, facing active challenge.
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