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Gernot Wagner

Gernot Wagner

30 commentaries

Gernot Wagner is a climate economist at Columbia Business School.

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  1. The Climate Policy Pendulum
    wagner31_Westend61Getty Images_climatependulum Westend61/Getty Images

    The Climate Policy Pendulum

    Jan 16, 2025 Gernot Wagner notes that green technologies retain their many advantages, regardless of national political developments.

  2. What Will Trump’s Victory Mean for the Climate?
    wagner30_HoustonChronicleHearstNewspapersGettyImages_us_solar_plant_danger Houston Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers/Getty Images

    What Will Trump’s Victory Mean for the Climate?

    Nov 8, 2024 Gernot Wagner notes that the president-elect’s proposed policies will mainly harm America, not the global energy transition.

  3. The Best Climate Policy Puts Carrots Before Sticks
    schnitzer1_Michael P. FarrellAlbany Times Union via Getty Images_solarpanelsUS Michael P. Farrell/Albany Times Union via Getty Images

    The Best Climate Policy Puts Carrots Before Sticks

    Aug 8, 2024 Monika Schnitzer & Gernot Wagner show how the sequencing of positive and negative inducements can make all the difference.

  4. Averting Climate Catastrophe Requires Economic Growth
    terzi6_green transition degrowth Getty Images

    Averting Climate Catastrophe Requires Economic Growth

    May 1, 2024 Alessio Terzi & Gernot Wagner show why shrinking the global economy, as envisaged by advocates of degrowth, is a bad way to cut emissions.

  5. The Right Response to China’s Electric-Vehicle Subsidies
    wagner28_ PEDRO PARDOAFP via Getty Images_yellen PEDRO PARDO/AFP via Getty Images

    The Right Response to China’s Electric-Vehicle Subsidies

    Apr 5, 2024 Gernot Wagner & Shang-Jin Wei explains why the United States and the European Union are considering tariffs – and why that’s a bad idea.

  1. bremmer41_Dan KitwoodGettyImages_containrs_on_tarmac_uk_port Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

    Up Against Trump’s Tariff Wall

    Ian Bremmer explains why US trade policy is tantamount to an unprecedented economic “own goal.”
  2. tharoor201_Hindustan TimesGettyImages_voters_at _polling_station Hindustan Times/Getty Images

    Is a North-South Divide Opening in India?

    Shashi Tharoor fears that the government’s push to redraw the electoral map will favor poorer, more populous states.
  3. fischer226_Ivan AbreuSOPA ImagesLightRocket via Getty Images_usflag Ivan Abreu/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

    American Suicide

    Joschka Fischer mourns the loss of the United States and the relative peace and prosperity that its global leadership enabled.
  4. sherwin15_Andrew HarnikGettyImages_donald_trump_rose_garden_tariffs Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

    Trump’s Tariffs and the Will to Power

    Richard K. Sherwin

    Donald Trump views tariffs as much more than a policy. While they will make life materially worse for people around the world – not least Americans – what matters to him is the spectacle of a heroic leader demonstrating his capacity to induce shock and awe.

    thinks those who question the rationality of recent US trade policy are missing the point.
  5. qian41_TIMOTHY A. CLARYAFP via Getty Images_NYSE Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images

    Americans Can’t Win from Trump’s Trade War

    Nancy Qian sees only nonsense in the administration's rationale for “reciprocal” tariffs and the formula for setting them.
  6. op_moon2_JUNG YEON-JEAFP via Getty Images_ Jung Yeon-je/AFP via Getty Images

    South Korea’s Flourishing Culture and Teetering Democracy

    Katharine H.S. Moon

    While the Constitutional Court has upheld President Yoon Suk-yeol’s impeachment and formally removed him from office, South Korea’s fragile democracy is likely to remain on shaky ground. As long as political polarization persists, the threat of authoritarianism will continue to loom large.

    traces the country’s recent turmoil to the lasting impact of the Cold War and decades of military rule.
  7. schell25_Sean GallupGettyImages_china_eu_flags Sean Gallup/Getty Images

    China’s World – or Europe’s?

    Orville Schell urges Europeans to dispel wishful thinking about what the post-American world will require of them.
  8. johnson185_Artem PriakhinSOPA ImagesGettyImages_tussian_oil_tanker Artem Priakhin/SOPA Images/Getty Images

    A US Tariff Idea That Makes Sense

    Simon Johnson touts the benefits of a bipartisan Senate bill that would target Russian oil exports.
  9. basu111_Justin SullivanGetty Images_UScartariffs Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

    Trump’s Tariffs Will Accelerate America’s Economic Decline

    Kaushik Basu draws parallels between the administration’s policies and those that led to Argentina’s decades-long slump.

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