The planet is heating up as greenhouse-gas emissions rise, contributing to extreme heat waves and once-unimaginable flooding. Yet despite the risks, countries’ policies are not on track to keep global warming in check.
The problem isn’t a lack of technology. The International Energy Agency recently released a detailed analysis of the clean–energy technology needed to lower greenhouse-gas emissions to net zero globally by 2050. What’s needed, the IEA says, is significant government support to boost solar and wind power, electric vehicles, heat pumps and a variety of other technologies for a rapid energy transition. One politically popular tool for providing that government support is the subsidy. The U.S. government’s new Inflation Reduction Act is a multibillion-dollar example, packed with financial incentives to encourage people to buy electric vehicles,…
Opinion: Opinion: How to design clean energy subsidies that work
