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Those of us who look upon the whole affair with anything less than apocalyptic fervour are called “sceptics,” which is less harsh than “denier,” but not quite as strong as “heretic,” which is the more accurate theological term. I am actually an agnostic on climate change itself, considering it a scientific question ill-suited to the ideological dogmatism with which it is usually discussed. I believe in the moral obligation to care for our common home, and it follows that some significant state action will be required, even if the history of ecological improvement demonstrates that it is usually prosperity, democracy and technology that deliver cleaner air, water and land.

I am more sceptical of the motivations of the climate class. The problem may be new and urgent, but the solution is tired and worn — greater regulation of the economy, less economic freedom and more central planning.

Over the weekend, Maurice Strong, the great impresario of the climate change world — “he invented the environment,” as admirer Adrienne Clarkson said of him — died. The process of secular saint-making being rather less strict than the canonical one, I expect that St. Maurice will be canonized before the last private jet lifts off from Paris.

Strong, quondam head of Power Corporation, Petro-Canada in its nationalized era and Ontario Hydro, had been organizing environmental conferences since Justin Trudeau was an infant. He organized the first major UN environment conference, in Stockholm in 1972. It wasn’t about climate change, or global warming, because back then, to the extent anyone thought about climate, cooling was the problem. Overpopulation was also a big issue at the time; now we worry about demographic decline. But through Cairo in 1992, Kyoto in 1997, Copenhagen in 2009 and now Paris, the worries have changed, but the solutions remain remarkably constant.