Lesson9 Government

Question 1

Give examples where government participation played a vital role.

Answer 1

Moon landing
Internet
GPS
Human Genome Sequencing

Question 2

Why is the US Government so important when tackling climate change?

Answer 2

It is our only mechanism for tackling something so big.

Question 3

Where in particular are they most needed?

Answer 3

In the creation of breakthrough technologies.

Question 4

Why?

Answer 4

The private sector tends to be too impatient to wait for the results.

Question 5

Where has this worked well?

Answer 5

Digital technology

Question 6

What is the goal?

Answer 6

That the governemtn sustains the development until it is commercially viable.

Question 7

What can governments do to get started?

Answer 7

Set co-ordinated targets and make their citizens ready.

Question 8

What about money?

Answer 8

Incubator companies need startup capital (seed capital).

Question 9

What is the uncertainty of early investments?

Answer 9

Technology risks.
Some projects won’t pan out.

Question 10

Which areas need this investment the most?

Answer 10

Energy storage for solar and wind,
Cement and steel production

Question 11

What stage is government investment particularly needed?

Answer 11

When the technology is proven and you need to scale up.

Question 12

What else can they do to help develop consumer markets?

Answer 12

Offer tax incentives to adopt the technologies.

Question 13

What else?

Answer 13

Governments are huge consumers of building materials and energy.

Question 14

How can they help with the need to invest in nuclear power?

Answer 14

They have to help the new nuclear technologies get to market by providing lab support and money.

Question 15

In what form must this support take?

Answer 15

Long-term policy stability

Question 16

Why is this difficult now?

Answer 16

Our political cycles are volatile.

Question 17

Where could they start?

Answer 17

We are still subsidizing fossil fuels.

Question 18

What’s wrong with biofuels for combustion engines?

Answer 18

It used land to grow the plants.
The problem is conbustion engines.

Question 19

What positive sign is there?

Answer 19

The car companies get it.

Question 20

What’s wrong with moving to natural gas?

Answer 20

It’s still in the carbon system.
We need to think outside that system.

Question 21

What happens if we go all in on natural gas?

Answer 21

We may end up with stranded assets.
The investments will not live their write-off period.

Question 22

What is the EU doing to help with this?

Answer 22

**A Carbon Border Adjustment Tax.
**

Question 23

What is a Carbon Border Adjustment Tax?

Answer 23

It makes the tax code neutral between domestic and foreign goods.
It taxes imports based on carbon emissions.
It addresses the free-rider problem

Question 24

What do Carbon Taxes or Cap-and-Trade system accomplish?

Answer 24

It increases the cost of the company’s products in the marketplace.

Question 25

What is a cap and trade system?

Answer 25

The cap is a limit on pollution.
The trade is a market to allow companies to trade allowances.

Question 26

What else can the government do?

Answer 26

Give temporary help to those who lose out to the new technologies.

Question 27

How does that help?

Answer 27

We don’t wnat stranded assets, people or otherwise.