Are the Conservatives Best Positioned to Lead on Clean Energy?

Preston Manning makes the case:

… the Harper government has not made hypocritical international commitments on GHG reductions as did the Liberals at Kyoto nor has it bungled the presentation of a major environmental initiative (carbon taxes) as did the Liberal opposition under Stephane Dion. At the national level, it is therefore the Conservative government that is in the best position to provide fresh start leadership on the environmental front. Such leadership might especially include more vigorously establishing the connection between “conservatism” and “conservation” (the words come from the same root); applying the core concepts of fiscal conservatism – “living within our means” and “balancing budgets” – to living with our means ecologically and balancing the ecological budget; re-assessing the conservative application of science to environmental issues, including global warming, to ensure that it is principled and balanced; and most importantly, making the harnessing of market mechanisms to the task of environmental protection and conservation the “signature contribution” of conservatives to environmental and economic sustainability.

I had missed Manning’s op-ed yesterday and I wanted to post the link for others that missed it too. I’m fascinated by Manning’s advocacy for a green conservatism as the next wave of politics. As to which party is best positioned? There’s definitely a Nixon-to-China case to be made but personally I think the clean energy agenda is just ripe for the plucking by whichever federal political party is willing to make a serious go for it. Make it an affirmative agenda, align with the bulk of the Canadian population, off to the races!