  First-best climate policy is a uniform carbon tax which gradually rises over
time. Civil servants have complicated climate policy to expand bureaucracies,
politicians to create rents. Environmentalists have exaggerated climate change
to gain influence, other activists have joined the climate bandwagon. Opponents
to climate policy have attacked the weaknesses in climate research. The climate
debate is convoluted and polarized as a result, and climate policy complex.
Climate policy should become easier and more rational as the Paris Agreement
has shifted climate policy back towards national governments. Changing
political priorities, austerity, and a maturing bureaucracy should lead to a
more constructive climate debate.
