Can the Democrats Design a Pragmatic Climate-Change Policy?


Photograph by Brendan Smialowski / AFP / Getty

Climate change is the most pressing issue in the world, and the twenty-three Democratic candidates for President have ideas about how to address it. For decades, economists have argued for a cap-and-trade system or a carbon tax as the cheapest and most efficient way to reduce CO2 emissions. Now progressives and climate activists are advocating for a different approach, focussing on renewable energy and creating jobs. Their efforts have resulted in the Green New Deal resolutions before Congress. What do the various proposals entail—and would any of them work?