2013年-世界发展银行全球_Green_Industrial_Policies___When_and_How_26页_492kb

Green Industrial Policies: When and How

Core Content

This paper explores the role of green industrial policies in achieving sustainable economic growth while addressing environmental challenges. It argues that these policies are essential to complement or substitute for traditional price instruments such as carbon taxes, especially in the context of significant market and governance failures. The authors define green industrial policies as sector-targeted policies aimed at altering the economic production structure to generate environmental benefits, rather than purely pricing mechanisms.

Main Messages

1. Greening Growth Requires Industrial Policies: Even with appropriate price mechanisms, industrial policies are necessary to drive the transformation required for greener growth. The pace and scale of change needed for environmental sustainability often exceed what can be achieved through market forces alone.

2. Sunrise Green Industrial Policies: These policies are crucial for developing new technologies and sectors. They help overcome market failures related to knowledge spillovers and increasing returns, and are particularly important in the absence of carbon pricing.

3. Sunset Green Industrial Policies: These are needed alongside carbon pricing to address competitiveness and unemployment concerns. They can smooth the transition to a low-carbon economy by supporting industries during adjustment periods.

4. Market and Governance Failures: Green industrial policies must navigate both market failures (such as externalities and capital market imperfections) and governance failures (such as corruption and rent-seeking). These policies are often not subject to market tests due to their reliance on public support.

5. Evaluation and Design: Green industrial policies should be evaluated based on their ability to address specific market failures, their cost-benefit balance, and their effectiveness in avoiding unintended consequences. A well-designed policy mix is essential.

Key Information

• Green Industrial Policies: Sector-targeted policies that aim to alter the economic production structure for environmental benefits.
• Market Failures: Include knowledge externalities, capital market imperfections, and increasing returns, which justify the need for industrial policies.
• Governance Failures: Risk of regulatory capture, corruption, and rent-seeking behaviors, which must be managed carefully.
• Sunrise Policies: Support the development of new green technologies and sectors, reducing emissions even without carbon pricing.
• Sunset Policies: Help mitigate the negative impacts of carbon pricing on competitiveness and employment, often used with safety nets.
• Policy Mix: A combination of environmental and industrial tools is often necessary to achieve the desired outcomes.
• Case Studies: Japan and Korea used industrial policies to drive economic development, which can offer lessons for green policies.

Policy Tools and Instruments

• Subsidies: For production, R&D, and access to cheaper capital.
• Regulation: Including trade policies and public procurement rules.
• Public Participation: Direct government involvement in industries.
• Innovation Support: Financial incentives for R&D and technology development.
• Feed-in Tariffs: Policies to promote renewable energy adoption.
• Consumer Mandates: Encouraging the use of greener products.

Challenges and Considerations

• Market Test Limitations: Green technologies often depend on public policies, making them difficult to assess through market mechanisms.
• Unintended Consequences: Include rebound effects, misallocation of capital, and rent-seeking behaviors.
• Political Acceptability: Policies must be designed to minimize social and political resistance, especially in the context of competitiveness and employment concerns.
• Context-Dependent Effectiveness: Industrial policies are most effective in countries with strong institutions, high accountability, and a focus on physical capital development.

Conclusion

Green industrial policies are a vital component of the green growth toolkit. Their success depends on a precise understanding of the market failures they aim to address, careful evaluation of their costs and benefits, and the inclusion of termination clauses to avoid long-term dependency on public support. The paper emphasizes the need for a tailored approach, considering the unique economic and social contexts of each country.