Projects: Finance | Overview | Technology | Economic Opportunity

Economic Opportunity

New technology promises opportunities for economies to develop new markets and diversify and create new jobs, but these will not be realised without government intervention. Our 2010 study of low-carbon employment in the energy sector argues that the bolder government policies to promote rapid growth in climate-friendly innovations and industries are, the higher the likelihood of new job creation on a significant scale.

We are now completing a series of six groundbreaking studies in China, India, Nigeria, Poland, South Africa and the United States, examining in each case the key elements of an overarching narrative for national low-carbon industrial strategies. The resulting papers, plus an overview of the seven golden rules of low-carbon industrial policy from IPPR, can be accessed on members’ websites using the links below.

Low-carbon Industrial Strategy

United States
Low-carbon Innovation: A Uniquely American Strategy for Industrial Renewal 

This report examines how industrial strategy in the United States to achieve carbon reductions must be orientated around innovation and should promote job creation, competitiveness and energy security.

Nigeria
Towards a low carbon industrial strategy for Nigeria 

Nigeria’s policymakers have set a clear path for economic growth in the next decade involving a diversification away from a reliance on oil and towards an expansion of industrial production. ICEED Nigeria argues that three priority sectors – energy, cement production and textiles – should form the basis of an industrial strategy as those in which the development and deployment of low-carbon technologies and practices will make a difference.

Poland
Low Carbon Industrial Policy: An example of the impact of Europeanisation on Poland (Niskoemisyjna gospodarka w Polsce – Polish only)
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Warsaw's Institute for Public Affairs, the newest member of the Global Climate Network, focuses on how, in order to find political favour, an industrial strategy to help reduce carbon emissions in Poland must be inherently Polish and not driven primarily from Brussels. It suggests that through such an approach, the Polish economy could have much to gain from a low-carbon focus. This work is particularly important in view of Poland's EU Presidency from July to December 2011, during which time it will lead the Europe's delegation to the critical UN climate talks in Durban, South Africa.