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Environmental Protection for Sale: Strategic Green Industrial Policy and Climate Finance

Author

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  • Fischer, Carolyn
Abstract
Industrial policy has long been criticized as subject to protectionist interests; accordingly, subsidies to domestic producers face disciplines under World Trade Organization agreements, without exceptions for environmental purposes. Now green industrial policy is gaining popularity as governments search for low-carbon solutions that also provide jobs at home. The strategic trade literature has largely ignored the issue of market failures related to green goods. I consider the market for a new environmental good (like low-carbon technology) whose downstream consumption provides external benefits (like reduced emissions). Governments may have some preference for supporting domestic production, such as by interest-group lobbying, introducing a political distortion in their objective function. I examine the national incentives and global rationales for offering production (upstream) and deployment (downstream) subsidies in producer countries, allowing that some of the downstream market may lie in nonregulating third-party countries. Restraints on upstream subsidies erode global welfare when environmental externalities are large enough relative to political distortions. Climate finance is an effective alternative if political distortions are large and governments do not undervalue carbon costs. Numerical simulations of the case of renewable energy indicate that a modest social cost of carbon can imply benefits from allowing upstream subsidies.

Suggested Citation

  • Fischer, Carolyn, 2016. "Environmental Protection for Sale: Strategic Green Industrial Policy and Climate Finance," MITP: Mitigation, Innovation and Transformation Pathways 234935, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:feemmi:234935
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.234935
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    Cited by:

    1. Avenyo, Elvis Korku & Tregenna, Fiona, 2022. "Greening manufacturing: Technology intensity and carbon dioxide emissions in developing countries," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 324(C).
    2. Carolyn Fischer, 2016. "Strategic Subsidies for Green Goods," Working Papers 2016.30, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    3. Yen-Ju Lin & Yan-Shu Lin & Tsung-Han Chou & Pei-Cyuan Shih, 2024. "Environmental policy, licensing strategy, and social welfare," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 143(2), pages 141-159, October.
    4. Haiqian Ke & Bo Yang & Shangze Dai, 2022. "Does Intensive Land Use Contribute to Energy Efficiency?—Evidence Based on a Spatial Durbin Model," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-17, April.
    5. Fischer, Carolyn & Greaker, Mads & Rosendahl, Knut Einar, 2018. "Strategic technology policy as a supplement to renewable energy standards," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 84-98.
    6. Ge, Tao & Cai, Xuesen & Song, Xiaowei, 2022. "How does renewable energy technology innovation affect the upgrading of industrial structure? The moderating effect of green finance," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 1106-1114.
    7. Cui, Li & Chan, Hing Kai & Zhou, Yizhuo & Dai, Jing & Lim, Jia Jia, 2019. "Exploring critical factors of green business failure based on Grey-Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL)," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 450-461.
    8. Juanjuan Qin & Yuhui Zhao & Liangjie Xia, 2018. "Carbon Emission Reduction with Capital Constraint under Greening Financing and Cost Sharing Contract," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-32, April.
    9. Kotchen, Matthew J. & Costello, Christopher, 2018. "Maximizing the impact of climate finance: Funding projects or pilot projects?," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 270-281.
    10. Lin, Boqiang & Li, Minyang, 2024. "Micro Mechanisms Driving China's Clean Energy Flourish: Business Expansion and Financing," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    11. Lidia Vidal-Meliá & Eva Camacho-Cuena & Miguel Ginés-Vilar, 2019. "Market size asymmetry and industrial policy in an international duopoly: Environmental tax vs. production subsidy," Working Papers 2019/01, Economics Department, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón (Spain).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Environmental Economics and Policy;

    JEL classification:

    • F13 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations
    • F18 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Environment
    • H21 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Efficiency; Optimal Taxation
    • Q5 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics

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