Europe will have to pay the piper for all the 'free' stuff they gave away - so will we. But out of that can come a more responsible government. Or anarchy. In the US we have a rule of law tradition ... we'll be OK. Europe might or might not...
When you declare a end-of-world emergency then it can be used as a one sided debate, "We cant afford not to pass it right now...!" to silence all questions or opposition.
Both Obama and GWB used that to ram through bills without real debate.
Climate change has become more than that, it has become the new socialist economic plot that would force us to buy a expensive product generated by expensive union employees by paying for it with energy taxes on the more conventional economical energy sources : Cap and trade.