Globalization not only has raised a stage of cultural sharing and expansions, it has provided a wider scope in every aspect of common life whole round the world.
National politics is also not unscathed of the global effects. Out national politics and economics, so much depends on the various global international groups, organizations, planning commissions, treaties and protocols.
One of the most important of them is the Kyoto Protocol and Environmentalism is the new political mantra at the helm.
Almost every other country is now whirling around to cut the carbon emission rates.
Now when there are enough evidences that global warming is nothing but a fake idea, the environmentalist politicians have a new way to rush upon their emotional tactics based on the call to “save mother earth”.
US president Obama has promised to invigorate the green energy industry as the new engine for the economic growth. The current economic crisis is providing enough chances to raise his sticks and implement his plans to create the new bubble of green economy providing millions of new jobs and to achieve that, he is going to implement some governmental “incentives” to promote green energy.
These incentives include carbon taxes and huge subsidies for innovation and development of “renewable” non-carbon energy resources.
India is also not very far behind, and as India is a signatory member of Kyoto protocol, Indian government promised it would introduce new norms that would involve tax concessions, incentive schemes including legislative framework to motivate Indian Inc. to effectively undertake carbon emissions reduction program.^[1]
India is already facing an electricity crisis and we really do not produce enough electricity to provide electricity in every household. A big portion of rural India still remains in dark at nights. Yet our politicians can promise to reduce carbon emission within a scheduled period.
Obviously, politicians never promise to fulfill their commitments.
On reality grounds, the “green energy” drive is fake and failure because, the environmentalists not only oppose the coal thermal electric plants, they also oppose nuclear plants too, and what they support for is the “renewable energy resources” like wind, solar and sea energy and that makes it a conundrum.
The governments, by providing huge subsidies to the innovation in green energy market can make it some heavy deal, but it will not be helping anyone.
The renewable energy resources cannot fulfil our requirements of energy not because we lack technology, but because it is not viable nor it is economic.
Around 76% of Indian energy comes through coal thermal plants, 21 % by hydroelectric plants and 3 % by nuclear plants. With the new nuclear energy deal, India will try to look for options to increase the percentage of nuclear energy.^[2]
The “renewable” resources play almost no role. We cannot rely on wind mills because of intermittent nature of winds; also, wind mills require huge grounds. We cannot rely on solar cells, because of extremely low efficiencies of solar cells; also, it is not economically viable idea. The latest and most efficient solar cells use Lead selenide (PbSe) in their making. Just like PbSe, almost all heavy metal salts necessary for a solar cell are toxic in nature and can cause much greater harms to environment than what CO2 can cause. That is, the renewable resources can harm nature much more. In addition, heavy metals are rare, hence expensive, and thus not economically viable.
No matter how huge subsidies government provide, we cannot afford it.
Furthermore, such endeavours have already proven their failure.^[3]
Many European countries are again returning towards coal thermal plants because their earlier initiatives to bring upon carbon taxes, investment, and subsidies in green energy are making electricity too much costly and hence common people are suffering, also, no plans are working to decrease any carbon emission.^[3]
The conundrum of energy is because, fossil fuels are finite, we cannot remain dependent on them forever, renewable energy resources are not sufficient to fulfill our requirements, and nuclear energy is also not a very viable option.
Although fossil fuels may end earlier, yet the charcoal and coal tar beds will keep providing enough fuel and hence power to the world for longer periods.
The example of European failure clearly explains why taxes never work. Because of increased carbon taxes, the price of coal increased sharply and that was what government wanted to fight against global warming. Yet the result of all this is the huge increase in power rates needed for everyday usage.
India is already facing huge inflation rates. The rich can buy costly power and electricity too, the green energy steps will stress more burdens over the poor and no carbon tax can actually reduce that burden.
Carbon tax is also not a good economic move and it will increase poverty. We know that to reduce and ultimately remove poverty, production is the only way. By slapping carbon taxes on production houses, government will reduce the production and that will increase poverty.
The overall situation is government can provide no viable solution for electricity crisis and the environmental cause simultaneously. Government interference in market in support of environmentalism will not only make people poor, it will hurt the environment more. We cannot opt for hydroelectric plants because of the other side damages hydroelectric plants can cause (Earthquakes). With the limitations of wind and sea energy, and the economic failure of solar cells, we can not rely on them; furthermore, the making of solar cells can prove to be bigger danger to environment and human life. Not only Lead Selenide but polysilicons also left a huge toxic residual, which harms human life and nature much more than coal and we cannot rely on nuclear energy production too. Even in US nuclear power plants provide only 17% required energy and government are in opposition to nuclear plants because of the dangers of nuclear waste and the consequences. There is no safe way to dump nuclear wastes.
Overall, coal is the best option for our energy requirements and as we know that coal will keep serving us for many centuries more, we have enough time to innovate, invent and discover new ways, yet for that too, government interference is not viable.
In fact, the more we provide freedom to market, the more close we reach towards the solution for the energy conundrum.^[2]
The current electricity losses in India during transmission and distribution are around 45%. It is huge and if we privatize the production, transmission and distribution of energy, the private owners will reduce this huge loss because of their profit incentives and that not only will bring electricity within reach or poor, it will make many dark villages bright.
The privatization of electric distribution is already an ongoing process and it is helping in reducing the wastage, yet we need a free market in electricity sector as that would induce the private investment in the innovation and development of energy production techniques and that will include nuclear techniques too.
Furthermore, if government stop interfering in oil, coal market, and stop providing subsidies, the common users will also get incentives to reduce wastage and over usage.
Thus, the real green initiative will be the reduction of government interference in market and provision of property rights as that will reduce any chances of exploitation of common man through government supported corporatism. We need to understand the difference between corporatism or crony capitalism and free market laissez-faire capitalism, and we need to adopt the later one.
The current slapping of carbon taxes on Industries and dumping of collected tax in non-viable energy resources is not going to help either environment or the economy.
Basically, the US government and other governments also, aim to slap carbon taxes just to decrease the fiscal deficits, as government know that industries cannot work without carbon. Such moves are never taken for helping environmental cause; they are rather more Keynesian economic steps to increase taxes, which ultimately hurt the economy as production reduces.
The promises of huge governmental investments and subsidies in green energy are also nothing but similar Keynesian steps to increase government spending.
Yet, it is highly improbable to help any economy with such spending in non-productive activities; they will cause further economic downturn.
Taxation and subsidies never brings any good.

1. Indian government to Introduce new Carbon emission norms, Commodityonline news [↩]
2. Electricity in India, Wikipedia [↩] [↩]
3. Failure of European Green Initiatives, Reuters news [↩] [↩]