New Report: U.S. – Do Not to Repeat Europe’s Energy Mistakes

NEW YORK, NY – As Americans increasingly call for greener energy, some policymakers are beginning to emulate Europe’s renewable energy strategies. A new report by Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow Robert Bryce warns that implementing such policies—which Europe has already begun to turn away from—would be a costly mistake for America.

Bryce shows that between 2005, when the E.U. adopted its Emissions Trading Scheme, and 2014, residential electricity rates in the E.U. increased by 63 percent, on average. Over the same period, residential rates in the U.S. rose by 32 percent. Furthermore, the E.U. countries that have intervened the most in their energy markets—Germany, Spain, and the U.K.—have seen their electricity costs increase the fastest. Between 2005 and 2014, residential electricity rates in Germany increased by 78 percent, in Spain, by 111 percent, and in the U.K., by 133 percent.

While the E.U.’s energy policies did reduce carbon-dioxide emissions, Bryce argues that the reduction must be put into context: between 2005 and 2014, the E.U. cut its annual per-capita emissions by 1.2 tons, while the U.S. cut its by 1.6 tons.

Today states like New York and California are following in Europe’s path and they are doing so  even though surging electricity prices have already led Germany, Spain, and the U.K. to cut subsidies for renewable energy. Bryce argues that U.S. policymakers should avoid Europe’s costly mistakes. Before mandating increases in renewable energy, policymakers should be required to do rigorous cost-benefit analyses as well as calculations that show how projected emissions reductions will affect global temperatures.

Click here to read the full report.