By Bill Wirtz, courtesy of the Austrian Economics Center The European Commission has unveiled its “European Green Deal,” after taking hints on denomination from its American counterpart, the “Green New Deal.” While the legislation introduced in the U.S. Congress remains fiction under a Republican executive and Senate, the Brussels initiative will become law unless […]
Tag: environment
EU hopes to lead world’s environmental-economic transformation
“Europe’s Apollo 11 will not be about the moon” By Simone Tagliapietra, courtesy of the Bruegel Institute “This is Europe’s ‘man on the moon’ moment.” These are the bold words used by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen 11 days into her job as she presented her plan for a ‘European Green Deal’ […]
Clean Energy Has A Dirty Secret
Greg Walcher, President, Natural Resources Group and former head of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources “Governments should temporarily provide funding for new energy technologies so that they can become market competitive with traditional energy resources.” So the Global Energy Network Institute and other renewable energy advocates have been saying for decades. Taxpayers […]
Like it or not, Greta and Extinction Rebellion are here to stay
“Green with Envy” By Steven Gislam, courtesy of Industry Europe As we see a ramping up of the climate change protests by a newly emboldened Extinction Rebellion, like with so many other issues facing the world at this point in history, their actions seem to result in a total division of opinion and a […]
Cities key to fight against climate change
“Climate Calling: Inside EU Cities’ and Regions’ Green Race” Courtesy of CASE As the United Nations (UN) Conference of Parties (COP25) approaches together with the widely announced European Green Deal of the incoming European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the end of year is once again dominated by climate-related discussions. What is different from […]
Yes, the government needs to do something about obesity
By Jason Peirce, George Mason University As our gross domestic product has risen, so has our body-mass index. This is not a coincidence but is instead a logical consequence of free markets. Our dietary preferences that evolved to prevent starvation are now promoting obesity and its related diseases. The market magic that efficiently […]
Yes, it’s time for Germany to spend on infrastructure and environment
“Make investments possible!” By Hubertus Bardt and Michael Hüther, courtesy of IW Koeln Germany faces enormous challenges in modernizing its capital stock. After neglecting public investment over the last two decades, it is now necessary to update the infrastructure and gradually reduce the investment backlog. Managing demographic aging and decarbonising the economy […]
Traffic pollution affects academic performance
“How traffic pollution affects children’s academic performance: Lower test scores, more behavioral incidents, and more absences” Courtesy of IZA Over 6.4 million children in the U.S. attend public school within 250 meters of a major roadway. Despite a growing body of research on air pollution, academic achievement, and human capital formation, little is known […]
How to make the European Green New Deal work
By Grégory Claeys, Simone Tagliapietra, and Georg Zachmann, courtesy of the Bruegel Institute European Commission president-designate Ursula von der Leyen has made climate change a top priority, promising to propose a European Green Deal that would make Europe climate neutral by 2050. The European Green Deal should be conceived as a reallocation […]
Zero carbon rule would just make UK housing (even more) unaffordable
IEA: UK housing market needs “less red tape, not more” By Dr. Kristian Niemietz, courtesy of IEA Responding to the Labour Party’s pledge to make all new homes zero carbon within three years, Head of Political Economy at the Institute of Economic Affairs Dr Kristian Niemietz stated: What the UK housing market […]