[howmayiannoyyou]

| Climate Change is always my #1 priority when voting in elections

If every climate change candidate you favored for won in the US and Canada the impact on climate would be near zero. Why? Because China, Vietnam, India and Indonesia are now the majority contributors to emissions and they don't care about your agenda.

Such are the unintended consequences of progressive agendas. We regulated 'dirty' businesses out of existence (mostly) in North America and in so doing gave up our influence over how those industries operate.

And, no, we cannot coerce compliance via tariffs or sanctions. You cannot manufacture drugs, chemicals, electronics and other critical societal goods today without inputs from polluting countries.

The lack of dimensionality in progressive political agendas is disheartening and dangerous.

[matsemann]

I disagree. Force people to pay for the externalities their actions have. Like buying electronics from China could have a tax based on how polluting it is. Then factories will either get better to win on price, or someone might build a factory elsewhere and actually be able to compete.

[JohnWhigham]

Tarriffs aren't enough. Most companies/consumers will just eat the costs. You need the federal government to start actively supporting building things back home, which personally I don't think will be possible for at least a generation. Too many people are addicted to the lifestyle NAFTA enabled.

[jrmg]

We regulated 'dirty' businesses out of existence (mostly) in North America and in so doing gave up our influence over how those industries operate.

Thats a bit hyperbolic, but presuming it’s true, What influence do you believe we would’ve had if we hadn’t done that?

[howmayiannoyyou]

The pandemic proved the premise (not hyperbolic), with particular reference to drugs & PPE.

Had industries like refining, chemicals & primary materials manufacturing (as just 3 of many examples) remained centric to North America we would now be in a position apply the "Green New Deal" ethos and its vast expenditures to industries that provide offsetting jobs, tax revenues and secondary income flows at home. Instead, we must now direct the progressive agenda to things like real-estate, power grids, power generation, transportation & farming. These industries are either comparatively small employers or soon-to-be so due to automation; and several are reliant on inputs from China that simply transfer even more wealth from the US abroad.

[mnowicki]

if we hadn't done that already, then we'd have the opportunity to regulate the out of existence in the future - it's much different

[xwdv]

I like to think in a worst case scenario we can always use military power to halt or destroy their industries if necessary to save the planet. The developing nations emitting the most pollution have no chance against the United States.

[robotnikman]

Unfortunately most of those countries have nukes