Many countries are striving for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, requiring massive investments over the next decades. But many companies, especially smaller ones, will not be able or willing to invest in cleaner technologies. This column explores how organisational constraints can hold back the green transition of firms in less-developed economies. The findings reveal how financial crises can slow down the decarbonisation of economic production and caution against excessive optimism about the potential green benefits of the current economic slowdown, which - like any recession - has led to temporary reductions in emissions.
Ralph De Haas, Ralf Martin, Mirabelle Muûls and Helena Schweiger
19 March 2021
VoxEU
https://voxeu.org/article/how-firms-can-make-or-break-green-transition
This work is published under POID and the CEP's Growth programme.