It's hard to say how a global recession will play out on climate change. On the one hand, it's making countries much more nervous about any measures that could have a short-term economic cost. Poland, for instance, does not feel like giving up on coal just yet. And since fossil fuel prices have plummeted -- I saw gas for $1.99 yesterday -- renewable energy options suddenly look less profitable, and thus renewable energy projects that were near completion have been put on hold. T. Boone Pickens has even tabled his vaunted wind farm. Meanwhile, as credit dried up, a lot of nascent initiatives can't get funding. On the other hand, cheap fossil fuels should make it easier to price carbon, as consumers will be feeling a bit less squeezed. And a recession will naturally lower global emissions simply because there will be less demand for industry. The bigger question is whether countries will simply use the slump as an excuse for not doing things they never wanted to do anyway. That seems to be happening, and it's a worrying trend.
