Green Growth, Green Paradox and the Global Economic Crisis

A Schumpeterian case can be made for boosting Green Growth in a global economic crisis. The best way to achieve this is a combination of R&D subsidies to redirect growth from polluting to clean economic activities and a credible, rising carbon tax to speed up the transition to the carbon-free era. If a carbon tax is infeasible, renewables subsidies might be a second-best alternative to reduce the duration of the fossil fuel era and curb cumulative carbon emissions despite some adverse, short-run Green Paradox effects. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.