Rich Lowry’s column today addresses the myth of the purported economic benefits to be reaped from adopting the Kyoto agenda. Hey, it’s supposedly a “global treaty” (covering 34 countries, that is) so there must be evidence in abundance, right? We know it’s working in Europe and, as Rich notes, those jobs are actually likely to be created in China and India. I have received calls from European colleagues after they’ve walked out of meetings with governmental officials offering “temporary exemptions” for energy intensive industries in certain countries experiencing capital flight, in order to get them to sign on to a “post-2012” agreement.

As noted in these pages once before, we already have 175 living breathing possibly even voting examples of “Kyoto jobs”. I have also had occasion to raise it not once but twice to a particularly prominent legislator hailing from the same state as these jobs. On neither occasion did he seem remotely impressed by the talking point.

At some point between now and the 2008 campaign, somebody had better find it useful or we might well jump on Europe’s sinking policy ship.