ABSTRACT
Governments, especially laggard polluting giants such as the United States, need to abandon ideological opposition to industrial policy generally and green industrial policy specifically as a tool of societal and economic planning. The power and authority of states, their resources, and public agencies are key to fighting this war and to reorienting economic and regulatory incentives to national and global goals. A greening of governments’ industrial policies can set the stage for a just, sustainable, resilient, and equitable economy. Evidence shows that when governments commit resources, especially in the early stages, to nascent technologies through research and development, seed funds, and strategic innovation policies, it can pay off. Government policies must work to ensure alignment, to speed the rate of diffusion of net-zero technologies, systems, and industrial approaches. Governments must force the industry to reform and redesign its processes, supported by regulation to reduce or capture greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions and apply more circular industrial processes that internalize GHG costs.
