Climate Change Policy as Industrial Policy

In this course, we will inquire into the recent federal actions that have used industrial policy to pursue greenhouse gas emission reductions in the United States. We will begin by defining the climate challenges and reviewing past approaches to climate policy, and the relative failures of each of them. We will then look at “industrial policy” –defined as “a set of policies and programs explicitly designed to support specific targeted industries and technologies” – as the emerging frontier of climate policy. The class will interrogate three recent statutes that utilize an industrial policy approach, featuring speakers involved in the execution of each. Finally, we will evaluate the durability of these policies in light of the recent political changes in Washington, D.C. (ENVS 0211)