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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. posner33_David Dee DelgadoGetty Images_trump David Dee Delgado/Getty Images

    Rough Justice for Trump

    Eric Posner

    Following Donald Trump’s conviction in a Manhattan courtroom, the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board worries that the successful prosecution of a former president will usher in “a new and destabilizing era of American politics.” But that era already began in 2016, and the blame for it lies squarely with Trump himself.

    thinks the Manhattan jury’s guilty verdict is the best that can be hoped for, under the circumstances.
  2. haldar34_Alex WongGetty Images_imfworldbank Alex Wong/Getty Images

    Still Haunted by the Washington Consensus

    Antara Haldar thinks the old one-size-fits-all model is still causing problems, despite having been discredited.
  3. sayang2_ Frank Rumpenhorstpicture alliance via Getty Images_chatgpt Frank Rumpenhorst/picture alliance via Getty Images

    The Right Way to Regulate AI

    Joshua Gans argues that the key is to identify and reverse the technology’s unwelcome consequences soon after they appear.
  4. fofack24_KOLA SULAIMONAFP via Getty Images_repatriated art KOLA SULAIMON/AFP via Getty Images

    Restoring Africa’s Culture and Philosophy Is the Key to Development

    Hippolyte Fofack shows how the lack of a collective consciousness has reduced most governments to managing crisis after crisis.
  5. basu102_Jeff GritchenMediaNews GroupOrange County Register via Getty Images_shippingcontainers Jeff Gritchen/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images

    A Plea for Political Economy

    Kaushik Basu thinks understanding recent technological advances requires economists to revive an old tradition.
  6. aweber7_DANIEL ROLANDAFP via Getty Images_ECB Daniel Roland/AFP via Getty Images

    The Danger of Premature ECB Rate Cuts

    Axel A. Weber warns that inviting renewed persistent inflation would be much worse than keeping monetary policy too tight.
  7. patten166_ Dan KitwoodGetty Images_uk election Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

    Britain’s Make-or-Break Election

    Chris Patten laments the absence of responsible leaders capable of addressing the country’s many daunting challenges.
  8. roach141_STRAFP via Getty Images_china trade STR/AFP via Getty Images

    China’s Economy Cannot Export Its Problems Away

    Alicia García-Herrero & Alessio Terzi explain why the current growth strategy will inevitably fail to address the roots of the economy’s problems.
  9. roethig1_THOMAS COEXAFP via Getty Images_trade union THOMAS COEX/AFP via Getty Images

    Trade Unions Can Defeat Europe’s Far Right

    Oliver Roethig explains why stronger trade unions hold the key to countering the rise of extremist parties.

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