Project Syndicate
First, here’s an easy prediction: Carbon dioxide will continue to accumulate in the atmosphere at record levels, regardless of what happens with China, Ukraine, or the global economy. That’s the bad news.
The good news is that the global clean-energy race will accelerate, especially in the US. That also means the race between “fossil-flation” and “green-flation” will become more decisive. While increased demand for the materials used in renewables and electrification will inevitably become an excuse for inaction, this impulse must be resisted. The answer to slightly higher solar-panel or heat-pump prices is to build the clean-energy supply chain. By doing that, we can not only address climate change but also outcompete China, mitigate the fallout from the war in Ukraine, and possibly avert a recession.
In: “PS Commentators’ Predictions for 2023” (30 December 2022)
Related: “Best Reads in 2022,” Project Syndicate (16 December 2022)