The world has spent $9 trillion to combat climate change since 2020. That is a World War II-type number.

Except we won WWII. But now even the left admits that this torrent of money has accomplished ... nothing.

According to ESG Today, citing a 2026 United Nations report, the "multinational goal to limit global temperature increase to 1.5 C, identified as the threshold to avoid the most significant impacts of climate change, is now out of reach." The "best-case scenario (is) now at 1.8 C."

In other words, we're doomed.

Well, not necessarily: According to the UN, Climate Policy Initiative "estimates that an average of USD 7.8 trillion a year will be needed through 2030 ... to stay on track" regarding climate mitigation. The price of poker — er, saving the planet — has just tripled.

To put that UN price tag in perspective, this global warming solution will cost roughly 10 times as much money as the $4 trillion in today's dollars that American spent to win WWII.

Yet even if we spend that money, temperatures will continue to rise.

Wouldn't it be smarter and cheaper to just get every household in the world air conditioning?

That may seem cavalier, but it would reduce the misery of any higher temperatures. But the UN is against air conditioning because it says that causes climate change. These people would be against electricity if we didn't already have it.

Sounds like we're in a cycle of ruin and misery no matter what we do.

Yet there is no reason to despair. First, climate change models have been notoriously wrong about temperature changes. Second, doom-and-gloom environmental predictions have been wrong over the past century. Since the 1970s, every study predicting apocalypse — including the coming of another ice age — by 2025 has turned out to be false.

This time may be different.

Sometimes a batter who bats 0.000 hits a home run. But almost never.

But please realize that the solution they are peddling is to make everyone poorer by installing a Stalinistic government that hangs out in your kitchen and your bedroom, regulating everything you do. We know with almost 100% certainty that that's a nightmare scenario in itself for the future of freedom and prosperity. To quote John Lennon, "If you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao, you ain't gonna make it with anyone anyhow."

I will take my chances with a warming planet rather than turn over more trillions of dollars and power to fools like these.

Stephen Moore is a former Trump senior economic adviser and the cofounder of Unleash Prosperity, which advocates for education freedom for all children.

Photo credit: Chris LeBoutillier at Unsplash