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Gernot Wagner

Gernot Wagner

30 commentaries

Gernot Wagner is a climate economist at Columbia Business School.

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  1. The Climate Policy Pendulum
    wagner31_Westend61Getty Images_climatependulum Westend61/Getty Images

    The Climate Policy Pendulum

    Jan 16, 2025 Gernot Wagner notes that green technologies retain their many advantages, regardless of national political developments.

  2. What Will Trump’s Victory Mean for the Climate?
    wagner30_HoustonChronicleHearstNewspapersGettyImages_us_solar_plant_danger Houston Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers/Getty Images

    What Will Trump’s Victory Mean for the Climate?

    Nov 8, 2024 Gernot Wagner notes that the president-elect’s proposed policies will mainly harm America, not the global energy transition.

  3. The Best Climate Policy Puts Carrots Before Sticks
    schnitzer1_Michael P. FarrellAlbany Times Union via Getty Images_solarpanelsUS Michael P. Farrell/Albany Times Union via Getty Images

    The Best Climate Policy Puts Carrots Before Sticks

    Aug 8, 2024 Monika Schnitzer & Gernot Wagner show how the sequencing of positive and negative inducements can make all the difference.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  1. perincek1_KENZO TRIBOUILLARDAFP via Getty Images_EUrawmaterials Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Images

    Ensuring Europe’s Supply of Critical Minerals

    Rüya Perincek & Andreas Goldthau call for coordinated funding, resource diplomacy, and secondary material partnerships to boost recycling.
  2. tyson122_Andrew HarnikGettyImages_gavin_newsom Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

    Readying the Resistance, Again

    Laura Tyson & Lenny Mendonca

    The United States is not a monarchy, but a federal republic. States and cities controlled by Democrats represent half the country, and they can resist Donald Trump’s overreach by using the tools of progressive federalism, many of which were sharpened during his first administration.

    see Democrat-controlled states as a potential check on Donald Trump’s far-right agenda.
  3. khrushcheva189_Konstantin ZavrazhinGettyImages_nostalgic_man Konstantin Zavrazhin/Getty Images

    Russia’s Nostalgia Machine

    Nina L. Khrushcheva explores how the Kremlin relies on an idealized version of the past to comfort – and subdue – the public.
  4. goldberg33_Lauren DeCiccaGetty Images_shippinglaos Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images

    The Trade Shifts Redefining Economic Development

    Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg & Michele Ruta consider the long-term implications of three major trends that could reshape globalization.
  5. fischer224_Chip SomodevillaGetty Images_trumpinauguration Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    Trump at the Gates

    Joschka Fischer urges Europeans to recognize that they are now on their own in an increasingly dangerous world.
  6. stiglitz347_Kevin DietschGettyImages_bye_biden Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

    The End of Progress?

    Joseph E. Stiglitz

    Though the United States has long led the world in advancing basic science and technology, it is hard to see how this can continue under President Donald Trump and the country’s ascendant oligarchy. America’s rejection of Enlightenment values will have dire consequences.

    predicts that Donald Trump’s second administration will be defined by its rejection of Enlightenment values.
  7. varoufakis123_China PhotosGetty Images_chinayuandollar China Photos/Getty Images

    China’s Trump Dilemma

    Yanis Varoufakis thinks the real choice facing Chinese leaders may be whether to challenge the dollar's hegemony head-on.
  8. lamy10_Badru KatumbaGettyImages_jackfruit_farmer Badru Katumba/Getty Images

    The Key to Narrowing the Development Gap

    Pascal Lamy, et al. explain how investments in African agri-food systems can advance many of the Sustainable Development Goals.
  9. galbraith39_rudall30Getty Images_businessmanforest rudall30/Getty Images

    Economists’ Way Out of the Wilderness

    James K. Galbraith argues that the continued dominance of nineteenth-century thinking has resulted in a catalogue of failure.

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