Why We Need a Green Industrial Policy

It is our aim in this book to identify the key drivers of green industrial policy, the processes involved and the factors on which its success depends. ‘Greening’ the economy, transforming it to ensure environmental sustainability, is becoming increasingly urgent at the current rates of natural resource depletion. It is, however, a goal which will require enormous investment. As markets in their current form are failing to provide the required incentives, governments must take the driver’s seat. There they will face lobbying from various interest groups, with a serious risk of political capture, windfall profits and rent seeking. Managing rents is therefore at the heart of green industrial policy and is the focus of this book. Taking support for renewable energy technologies as our example, we show how governments can manage rents to mobilize private investment in clean technologies while avoiding inefficiencies. We focus on the emerging powers, which are so important for the future of our planet