Nations Capping Carbon Mocked as "Suckers" ...With Suckers

by David Almasi

[A PR response to Carbon Capping back in 2009 still is applicable today - ED]

Copenhagen, Denmark: Hundreds of candy suckers were distributed at the U.N. climate change conference in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2009 to mock nations that are imposing harsh limits on their carbon emissions at great economic cost for little or no environmental benefit. The group distributing them is the Washington, D.C.-based free market National Center for Public Policy Research.

The suckers bear the caption "Sucker for CO2 Limits."

"They say a sucker is born every minute, and looking around here, I'd have to say they're right," said David A. Ridenour, vice president of the National Center for Public Policy Research. "In the midst of the worst global economic downturn in decades, delegates are actually pressing for additional commitments for carbon reductions that would sap economic strength further."

The National Center contends that efforts to reduce emissions have not only proven expensive, but ineffective in reducing emissions.

"Despite spending many billions on their climate programs, Europe's emissions steadily rose until the global recession hit. In fact, they grew by 1.6% between 2003 and 2006 while the U.S.'s grew by just .6% during the same period," said Ridenour, who is leading the group's delegation to the conference. "Making matters worse is that the scientific house of cards upon which these climate policies were built seems to be collapsing following revelations that some key scientists were cooking the books. "

The National Center's David Ridenour, Tom Borelli and Deneen Borelli were in Copenhagen for the conference.

The National Center for Public Policy Research is a non-partisan, non-profit educational foundation based in Washington, DC. It can be reached online at www.nationalcenter.org and is a truly independent think-tank, receiving 94 percent of its funding through hundreds of thousands of individual gifts.