Danish Conservative Speaks Out on Climate Change
Denmark’s Minister of Climate and Energy, Connie Hedegaard, is considered a “conservative” in that country — and she’s quoted in the New York Times with an interesting remark that makes me wonder if she’s been reading Little Green Footballs (OK, not really — but I can dream, can’t I?): Danish Conservative Prepares for Climate Debate.
COPENHAGEN — Connie Hedegaard, Denmark’s minister of climate and energy, feels little kinship with the green end of the political spectrum — people who stage sit-ins at power plants or vote for the Green parties in elections.
“I’ve never understood why the environment should be a left-wing issue,” said Ms. Hedegaard, with an exasperated sigh. “In my view there is nothing as core to conservative beliefs — that what you inherit you should pass on to the next generation.”
Denmark — and Ms. Hedegaard — will play host in December to hundreds of nations that will gather in Copenhagen for the United Nation-sponsored global climate treaty negotiations. The meetings are tasked with finalizing a new global plan to tackle climate change. Ms. Hedegaard, who two years ago offered her city as the site for the negotiations, will be the president and the chairwoman of the 12-day event.
Her point that caring for the environment should be (but unfortunately is not) a core conservative value is one that I’ve made repeatedly in our threads related to climate change. Here’s what I wrote last month:
The only way we’ll ever be able to realistically debate political solutions is if we start by accepting a few baseline realities.
The scientific evidence that humans are responsible for an alarmingly rapid rise in global temperature is pretty overwhelming at this point. I’m not taking anybody’s word for this, either — I’ve been reading a lot on this subject, from all sides, for the past year or so.
Call me a traitor, call me a RINO, call me late for dinner, but it’s really clear to me that the Republican Party has been responsible for a vast amount of disinformation on climate science. Both sides are guilty of exaggeration and hype, but the right wing side has distorted the truth far beyond what I see from the scientists — who may not be perfect, but are only rarely outright liars.
This is a very sad situation, because I happen to believe it’s very much a conservative value to behave responsibly toward the environment. The stuff coming from Michele Bachmann, James Inhofe, etc. is just unconscionable and completely betrays conservative principles in my view.
The GOP has ceded several important issues to the Democrats, and environmentalism is definitely one of them. Unfortunately, it’s all tied in with a pernicious anti-science influence that comes largely from the religious far right.
