The radical and unnecessary climate policies being pursued by Democrats may not be doing much to save the planet, but they are putting a large dent in the wallets of people living in Democratic-run areas.
New York, Massachusetts, and California are among the states seeing soaring energy prices as all three states pursue the kinds of terrible energy policies that climate activists want foisted upon people. California is seeing its highest rate hikes since the 1970s, driven by the rapid transition to renewable energy that left the state’s grid failing and reliant on “dirty” fossil fuels and nuclear energy. The cost of California’s renewable energy transformation is estimated to be up to $370 billion by 2045. For reference, that is more than California’s annual budget.
New York is also lagging on its climate goals as costs rise, leaving the state to use $200 million in taxpayer dollars to aid in paying people’s utility bills. New York is considering legislatively capping utility costs at 6% of income for low-income families, while coastal California Democrats want to repeal the proposal that would saddle higher-income households with a larger chunk of energy costs after their constituents complained.
These states have continued to shoot themselves in the foot through their overambitious and unrealistic goals. New York has lost two years of progress after several offshore wind contracts fell through, thanks to the rising utility bill costs for residents. California has had to backtrack wildly on its renewable energy plan and reembrace nuclear energy and natural gas to spare California Democrats from the embarrassment of the regular rolling blackouts that afflicted the state for years.
All of this was clearly reckless and ill-thought-out, but it is made worse by the fact that the rapid transitions Democrats in those states have embraced were unnecessary. China’s carbon emissions are rising, dwarfing whatever smaller gains California and New York are making, and yet both states decide to barrel forward without the proper infrastructure or any real plan in place.
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The problems are only going to get worse: California’s grid, for example, is going to be strained by millions of more electric vehicles that it is mandating residents buy, even as Democrats have had to reverse course on the role of nuclear and fossil fuels simply to keep the lights on. Again, the infrastructure was never ready, and the plan wasn’t so much a plan as it was a series of pie-in-the-sky promises that have politicians scrambling to keep them.
Democrats in these states were warned this transition was rushed, yet they pushed ahead anyway. The rising costs, carbon setbacks, and other failures were all completely avoidable, but ridiculous promises and unscientific policies, such as the rejection of nuclear energy, have left those Democrats looking to push the blame on anyone else.