Incoherent U.S. energy and climate policies have cast a pall over the entire economy and are putting U.S. companies at a serious global disadvantage. The authors offer 10 prescriptions for reforms, two of which they describe in detail. First, they argue that the U.S. should impose a gradually increasing carbon charge; this would help internalize environmental costs, drive investment in energy efficiency, encourage innovation in renewable power, and raise substantial revenues that could reduce the national debt. Second, they say, the government should curb or redirect unwise energy subsidies and increase funding for clean-energy R&D. Environmental stewardship need not be an economic burden, they emphasize; on the contrary, investing in sustainability can enhance corporate and national competitiveness.
Read the working paper, "Environmental Sustainability and Competitiveness: Policy Imperative and Corporate Opportunity",
here.
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