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Gernot Wagner

Gernot Wagner

Writing for PS since 2016
27 commentaries

Gernot Wagner, a climate economist at Columbia Business School, is the author, most recently, of Geoengineering: The Gamble (Polity, 2021).

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  1. Averting Climate Catastrophe Requires Economic Growth
    terzi6_green transition degrowth Getty Images

    Averting Climate Catastrophe Requires Economic Growth

    May 1, 2024 Alessio Terzi & Gernot Wagner show why shrinking the global economy, as envisaged by advocates of degrowth, is a bad way to cut emissions.

  2. The Right Response to China’s Electric-Vehicle Subsidies
    wagner28_ PEDRO PARDOAFP via Getty Images_yellen PEDRO PARDO/AFP via Getty Images

    The Right Response to China’s Electric-Vehicle Subsidies

    Apr 5, 2024 Gernot Wagner & Shang-Jin Wei explains why the United States and the European Union are considering tariffs – and why that’s a bad idea.

  3. What Does Trump Mean for the Climate?
    wagner26_MARK FELIXAFP AFP via Getty Images_texassolar Mark Felix/AFP via Getty Images

    What Does Trump Mean for the Climate?

    Mar 4, 2024 Gernot Wagner doubts that a change of power in the United States would derail the long-term trends that really matter.

  4. How to Assess the Outcome of COP28
    wagner25_Sean GallupGetty Images_cop Sean Gallup/Getty Images

    How to Assess the Outcome of COP28

    Dec 13, 2023 Gernot Wagner thinks new climate pledges made in Dubai this year should be welcomed as another small step forward.

  5. What Steel Decarbonization Needs
    wagner24_Sean GallupGetty Images_steel Sean Gallup/Getty Images

    What Steel Decarbonization Needs

    Nov 21, 2023 Chris Bataille & Gernot Wagner detail the policy interventions needed to clean up an indispensable, but carbon-intensive, sector.

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  1. vaheesan2_Michael M. SantiagoGetty Images_gigworkersprotest Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
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    The Gig Economy vs. America’s Workers

    Sandeep Vaheesan warns that proposed ballot initiatives in Massachusetts would legalize exploitative employment practices.
  2. sherwin13_CURTIS MEANSPOOLAFP via Getty Images_repubicans trump trial CURTIS MEANS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
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    King Trump on Trial

    Richard K. Sherwin

    High-ranking Republican politicians have lately been turning up at Donald Trump’s New York City trial to demonstrate solidarity with the former president. But their attendance also serves a more alarming purpose: to validate Trump as a competing source of sovereign power, independent of the US Constitution and the rule of law.

     explains why a parade of Republican leaders have made appearances at the former president’s trial in New York.
  3. spence173_ Joe RaedleGetty Images_power Joe Raedle/Getty Images
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    Crunch Time for the Power Sector

    Michael Spence argues that developing flexible, stable, and resilient smart grids requires an expanded industrial policy.
  4. op_janeway16_SAUL LOEBAFP via Getty Images_bidenchips Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
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    The Rise of Mesoeconomics

    William H. Janeway

    A growing body of literature focusing on the domain between the microeconomic and the macroeconomic has become increasingly relevant in a world beset by supply shocks. Armed with such insights, those designing industrial policies will have a better chance of achieving their overlapping economic- and national-security goals.

     details how a long-neglected field of economic study can be applied to today's most pressing policy challenges.
  5. strain27_Philipp von Ditfurthpicture alliance via Getty Images_AIeducation Philipp von Ditfurth/picture alliance via Getty Images
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    What the AI Pessimists Are Missing

    Michael R. Strain points out that the technology will help to address many of the risks it creates.
  6. ito37_Spencer PlattGetty Images_columbiaprotests Spencer Platt/Getty Images
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    The Innocent Bystanders of College Protests

    Takatoshi Ito laments that a radical minority can disrupt the lives of so many in the broader university community.
  7. lacamera1_Wang DongzhenXinhua via Getty Images_COP28 Wang Dongzhen/Xinhua via Getty Images
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    Only Public-Private Cooperation Can Accelerate Decarbonization

    Francesco La Camera & Bruce Douglas explain how to translate political commitments into actual wind turbines and solar panels.
  8. haass167_ANATOLII STEPANOVAFP via Getty Images_ukrainesoldiers Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images
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    Defining Success in Ukraine

    Richard Haass calls for a shift to a defensive posture and efforts to bring about a long-term ceasefire.
  9. aslund75_Pierre CromGetty Images_ukraineconflict Pierre Crom/Getty Images
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    A Unified Western Strategy for Ukraine

    Anders Åslund proposes a maximalist approach to military aid to replace the current piecemeal injections of old weapons.

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