The fight against global warming is hindered by the daunting economic implications it poses. The pace of action is sluggish not because the threat of global warming is underestimated, but because the cost of decarbonizing the economy would affect livelihoods, businesses, trade, jobs, incomes, and above all, it would exacerbate inequality. The political will is lacking not because of lobbying by greedy climate deniers but because swift legislation would ineluctably unleash high prices, unemployment, and a resounding backlash in favor of political extremists.
This book explains what are these economic shackles behind the unrelenting rise of CO2 emissions, what are the technical contingencies, what is the current plan’s economic viability to contain global warming, and what is at stake politically. As there is no convincing progress yet, another book “The Green-Market System” will be referred to in the last pages. This other book presents an original solution to speed up the transition to a carbon-free economy.
Vincent Lannoye was born in the US and grew up in Belgium in an industrial family, which sparked his curiosity to analyze and critique economics and politics. An engineer with an MBA from Edhec France, today he works in high-tech in Silicon Valley.
His past, his passion for politics, economics, and the challenge of limiting global warming, all have inspired him to write about economics.