Since climate change was identified as a serious threat to the planet, Europe has been in the vanguard of the effort to mitigate it. The policies it has adopted are designed with two aims in mind: to cut European emissions drastically and to push other big emitters into adopting similar policies. By both measures, they have failed. That America and China have not taken serious steps to reduce their own emissions is hardly Europe's fault. Yet had Europe's policies worked better, other countries might have been more inclined to emulate the leaders in the field. That is one reason why the European Commission's announcement on January 22nd of modest increases in its targets for emissions reductions and renewable-energy use, rather than a complete overhaul of the system, was such a disappointment. Another is that the existing policies impose heavy costs on European consumers and companies, and well-designed ones could cut emissions much more cheaply.
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