Trump Wants U.S. Energy Dominance; Solar Is the Way to Get There
Despite the administration’s push for fossil fuels, solar is faster, cheaper, more stable, and increasingly American-made. Here’s why it’s the smartest path to true energy leadership.
Writing
My columns, essays, books, as well as research and teaching materials like case studies.
Updating Climate Beliefs Based on Latest IPCC Report Points to Increased Willingness to Invest in the Clean Energy Transition
by Mark Freeman, Ben Groom, Frikk Nesje, and Gernot Wagner
Who pays for cutting carbon out of making cement?
Financial Times business school teaching case study
The Green Key to Germany’s Economic Recovery
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.
Danone: Redefining Corporate Responsibility
Columbia Business School Case
LONGi and the Green Hydrogen Opportunity
Columbia Business School Case
Climate change is both predictable and unpredictable. We don't need certainty to know it's a crisis
The next climate disaster is sure to come. When and where is the question
To help scale climate finance, MDBs must seek replicable leverage
Combining public priorities with private investments is the key to climate action – but speed is of the essence
How can Ørsted overcome its US challenges?
Financial Times business school teaching case study
How should solar-panel makers respond to falling prices?
Financial Times business school teaching case study
The Climate Policy Pendulum
Although US President-elect Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans give climate advocates plenty to worry about, all hope is not lost. Clean-energy technologies still have decisive physical advantages over the alternatives, and economic common sense will eventually win out.
What Will Trump’s Victory Mean for the Climate?
On climate and especially environmental policy, the return of Donald Trump to the White House is clearly bad news. But the outlook is uncertain, because Trump has sent mixed signals about the kinds of policy changes he might pursue, and it remains to be seen what effect he can have on broader technological and market trends.
Capture or cut carbon to make steel greener?
Financial Times business school teaching case study
Floods are wreaking havoc around the world. Vienna might have found an answer
The Austrian capital has been spared the worst of recent flooding. Its experience could be a lesson in how to tackle the climate crisis
Gute Industriepolitik ebnet den Weg zu effektiven CO2-Preisen
Es gibt handfeste Gründe dafür, effizienten Technologien zum Durchbruch zu verhelfen.
The Best Climate Policy Puts Carrots Before Sticks
Economists have long insisted that the only way to cut emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases rapidly and at scale is to put a price on them. But while that is true, the key to a successful, politically sustainable climate policy is to ensure that the benefits precede the costs.
Tipping Carbon
Going, Going, Gone?
Don’t Slam the Door on Inexpensive Chinese Electric Vehicles
by Gernot Wagner & Conor Walsh
Averting Climate Catastrophe Requires Economic Growth
Improving energy efficiency is not enough for advocates of degrowth, who espouse energy sufficiency as the best way to fight climate change. But their argument is absurd: using limited inputs more efficiently is the definition of economic productivity – which, in turn, boosts growth.
The Right Response to China’s Electric-Vehicle Subsidies
by Gernot Wagner & Shang-Jin Wei