This week, I participated in an online discussion about climate policy hosted by Braver Angels, an organization that works to debate important political issues in forums that are respectful and thoughtful.

I had four minutes to address the resolution that “Free market forces will never be enough to address climate change; the government needs to play a strong role.”

Government-run programs designed to reduce the risk of climate change have performed very badly and consistently fail to live up to the promised results. Most of the reductions in CO2 emissions have come from innovation and the wealth created by market economies to reduce environmental impact.

The simple truth is that the more you care about climate change, the less you should rely on the promises of politicians and the more emphasis you should put on innovation and markets.

You can read my full statement below.