Milton Friedman and Climate Change

Bob Inglis recently chaired a forum at the University of Chicago titled, “What Would Milton Friedman Do About Climate Change?” Two Chicago economists argued that Friedman would have applied the textbook analysis of “negative externalities” to the issue of climate change, and therefore would have supported a carbon tax. The only problem is, they gave no actual quotes of Friedman supporting a carbon tax, even though he died in 2006. Furthermore, there is at least one quotation from Friedman in which he denounces the fear-mongering of the global warming movement. Contrary to the claims of a few academics and retired government officials, a U.S. carbon tax is not a “conservative free market solution” to the issue of climate change.