WASHINGTON – Institute for Energy Research President Thomas Pyle issued the following statement upon the release of the report titled, Risky Business: The Economic Risks of Climate Change in the United States:
“This morning, billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and former US Treasury Secretary and investor-class Republican Hank Paulson, along with others, released their report titled, Risky Business: The Economic Risks of Climate Change in the United States. Although not explicitly stated, the goal of this report is to promote a carbon dioxide pricing scheme such as a carbon tax or a cap-and-trade system, which, if implemented, would levy huge costs on the American people.
“This report is yet another PR scare tactic to convince people that our most reliable energy resources are bad for us, when in fact, the opposite is true. America’s environment, air quality, and standard of living is better in large part because of our energy use.
“Having access to reliable and affordable energy improves people’s lives and attempting to undermine this will only result in hurting those who can least afford it—families, the poor, the elderly, and those on fixed incomes. This might be hard to fathom for a group of billionaires who might not think twice about their electricity bill each month, but for the average American family this will have a devastating impact on their everyday lives. The only risky business here would be to indulge in these harmful policies.”
