According to Gernot Wagner, a climate economist at Columbia Business School, there are the two primary avenues cities have long used to raise revenue for particular investments: increasing the budget by raising taxes, or borrowing money through issuing municipal bonds.
What’s new, Wagner said, is politicians having the “gumption to come out and say we want to do something about climate change. And in order for us to act, we need to raise the funds. And then very directly calling it a climate tax, or a green fund, or a climate bond, or a green bond.”
Just as the broader European economy depends heavily on Germany, the continent's industrial powerhouse, Germany's own economy depends on access to affordable power. With geopolitical and climate conditions requiring an urgent transition to renewables, the task now is to develop a politically viable energy strategy.
