Full Title: Busting the Myths around Public Investment in Clean Energy
Author(s): Jonas Meckling, Joseph E. Aldy, Matthew J. Kotchen, Sanya Carley, Daniel C. Esty, Peter A. Raymond, Bella Tonkonogy, Charles Harper, Gillian Sawyer and Julia Sweatman
Publisher(s): Nature Energy
Publication Date: July 15, 2022
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
Critics have opposed clean energy public investment by claiming that governments must not pick winners, green subsidies enable rent-seeking behaviour, and failed companies means failed policy. These arguments are problematic and should not determine the direction of energy investment policies.
A slew of recent studies has made clear that the pathways to net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 demand significant re-gearing of the global economy — which will require major governmental funding across the world. These public investments need to go beyond research and development — and support technology demonstration, manufacturing, and deployment as well as energy efficiency and the build-out of electricity infrastructure at scale.