Lesson9 Government Flashcards
Give examples where government participation played a vital role.
Moon landing
Internet
GPS
Human Genome Sequencing
Why is the US Government so important when tackling climate change?
It is our only mechanism for tackling something so big.
Where in particular are they most needed?
In the creation of breakthrough technologies.
Why?
The private sector tends to be too impatient to wait for the results.
Where has this worked well?
Digital technology
What is the goal?
That the governemtn sustains the development until it is commercially viable.
What can governments do to get started?
Set co-ordinated targets and make their citizens ready.
What about money?
Incubator companies need startup capital (seed capital).
What is the uncertainty of early investments?
Technology risks.
Some projects won’t pan out.
Which areas need this investment the most?
Energy storage for solar and wind,
Cement and steel production
What stage is government investment particularly needed?
When the technology is proven and you need to scale up.
What else can they do to help develop consumer markets?
Offer tax incentives to adopt the technologies.
What else?
Governments are huge consumers of building materials and energy.
How can they help with the need to invest in nuclear power?
They have to help the new nuclear technologies get to market by providing lab support and money.
In what form must this support take?
Long-term policy stability
Why is this difficult now?
Our political cycles are volatile.
Where could they start?
We are still subsidizing fossil fuels.
What’s wrong with biofuels for combustion engines?
It used land to grow the plants.
The problem is conbustion engines.
What positive sign is there?
The car companies get it.
What’s wrong with moving to natural gas?
It’s still in the carbon system.
We need to think outside that system.
What happens if we go all in on natural gas?
We may end up with stranded assets.
The investments will not live their write-off period.
What is the EU doing to help with this?
**A Carbon Border Adjustment Tax.
**
What is a Carbon Border Adjustment Tax?
It makes the tax code neutral between domestic and foreign goods.
It taxes imports based on carbon emissions.
It addresses the free-rider problem
What do Carbon Taxes or Cap-and-Trade system accomplish?
It increases the cost of the company’s products in the marketplace.
What is a cap and trade system?
The cap is a limit on pollution.
The trade is a market to allow companies to trade allowances.
What else can the government do?
Give temporary help to those who lose out to the new technologies.
How does that help?
We don’t wnat stranded assets, people or otherwise.
