Green industrial policy

Green Industrial Policy
Green industrial policy seeks to address market failures and protect the environment.

Green industrial policy (GIP) is strategic government policy that attempts to accelerate the development and growth of green industries to transition towards a low-carbon economy.[1][2] Green industrial policy is necessary because green industries such as renewable energy and low-carbon public transportation infrastructure face high costs and many risks in terms of the market economy.[3] Therefore, they need support from the public sector in the form of industrial policy until they become commercially viable.[3] Natural scientists warn that immediate action must occur to lower greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the effects of climate change.[4] Social scientists argue that the mitigation of climate change requires state intervention and governance reform.[5][6][7] Thus, governments use GIP to address the economic, political, and environmental issues of climate change. GIP is conducive to sustainable economic, institutional, and technological transformation. It goes beyond the free market economic structure to address market failures and commitment problems that hinder sustainable investment.[8] Effective GIP builds political support for carbon regulation, which is necessary to transition towards a low-carbon economy.[9] Several governments use different types of GIP that lead to various outcomes. The Green Industry plays a pivotal role in creating a sustainable and environmentally responsible future; By prioritizing resource efficiency, renewable energy, and eco-friendly practices, this industry significantly benefits society and the planet at large.[10]

GIP and industrial policy are similar, although GIP has unique challenges and goals. GIP faces the particular challenge of reconciling economic and environmental issues. It deals with a high degree of uncertainty about green investment profitability. Furthermore, it addresses the reluctance of industry to invest in green development, and it helps current governments influence future climate policy.[11]

GIP offers opportunities for energy transition to renewables and a low-carbon economy. A large challenge for climate policy is a lack of industry and public support, but GIP creates benefits that attract support for sustainability. It can create strategic niche management and generate a "green spiral," or a process of feedback that combines industrial interests with climate policy.[12] GIP can protect employees in emerging and declining industries, which increases political support for other climate policy.[13] Carbon pricing, sustainable energy transitions, and decreases in greenhouse gas emissions have higher chances of success as political support increases. GID is closely associated with the green recovery, a set of policy directives to address the economic effects of COVID-19 and the environmental effects of climate change by encouraging renewable energy expansion and green job growth.[14] However, GIP faces many risks. Some risks include poor government choices about which industries to support; political capture of economic policy; wasted resources; ineffective action to combat climate change; poor policy design that lacks policy objectives and exit strategies; trade disputes; and coordination failure.[15] Strategic steps can be taken to manage the risks of GIP. Some include public and private sector communication, transparency, and accountability; policy with clear objectives, evaluation techniques, and exit strategies; policy learning and policy experimentation; green rent management; strong institutions; and a free press.[16]

Governments in various countries, states, provinces, territories, and cities use different types of green industrial policy. Distinct policy instruments lead to several outcomes. Examples include sunrise and sunset policies, subsidies, research and development, local content requirements, feed-in tariffs, tax credits, export restrictions, consumer mandates, green public procurement rules, and renewable portfolio standards.

  1. ^ Cosbey, Aaron (2013-10-30). "Green Industrial Policy and the World Trading System" (PDF). ENTWINED Issue Brief. 17: 3 – via ENTWINED.
  2. ^ Schmitz, Hubert; Johnson, Oliver; Altenburg, Tilman (2015-11-02). "Rent Management – The Heart of Green Industrial Policy". New Political Economy. 20 (6): 813. doi:10.1080/13563467.2015.1079170. ISSN 1356-3467. S2CID 154101344.
  3. ^ a b Koh, Jae Myong (2018). Green Infrastructure Financing: Institutional Investors, PPPs and Bankable Projects. London: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-3-319-71769-2.
  4. ^ Nicholas, Stern (2006). The economics of climate change: the Stern review. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 2.
  5. ^ Meadowcroft, James (2011-06-01). "Engaging with the politics of sustainability transitions". Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions. 1 (1): 70–75. Bibcode:2011EIST....1...70M. doi:10.1016/j.eist.2011.02.003.
  6. ^ Rodrik, Dani (2014-10-01). "Green industrial policy". Oxford Review of Economic Policy. 30 (3): 470–471. doi:10.1093/oxrep/gru025. ISSN 0266-903X.
  7. ^ Schmitz et al. 2015, p. 812.
  8. ^ Karp, Larry; Stevenson, Megan (2012). "Green Industrial Policy Trade and Theory" (PDF). Policy Research Working Paper. 6238: 2 – via The World Bank.
  9. ^ Meckling, Jonas; Kelsey, Nina; Biber, Eric; Zysman, John (2015-09-11). "Winning coalitions for climate policy". Science. 349 (6253): 1170–1171. Bibcode:2015Sci...349.1170M. doi:10.1126/science.aab1336. PMID 26359392. S2CID 206637403.
  10. ^ Ahmed, Siam (2023-07-26). "What is the Green Industry and How does It Benefit?". Neo Observer. Retrieved 2023-09-05.
  11. ^ Karp & Stevenson 2012, p. 1.
  12. ^ Zysman, John; Huberty, Mark (2014). Can Green Sustain Growth? From the Religion to the Reality of Sustainable Prosperity. Stanford, California: Stanford Business Books. p. 80. ISBN 9780804788571.
  13. ^ Hallegatte, Stéphane; Fay, Marianne; Vogt-Schilb, Adrien (2013). "Green Industrial Policies: When and How" (PDF). Policy Research Working Paper. 6677: 12 – via World Bank.
  14. ^ "Leading economists: Green COVID-19 recovery best for jobs and growth | Greenbiz". www.greenbiz.com. 8 May 2020. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
  15. ^ Meckling et al., 2015; Rodrik, 2014; Hallegatte et al., 2013.
  16. ^ Meckling et al., 2015; Rodrik, 2014; Schmitz et al. 2015; Hallegatte et al., 2013.