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Working paper No. 365: Why Green deals may fail – evidence from biogas, bio-ethanol and “fossil free” steel

PublikationWorking paper
Christian Sandström

Sammanfattning

Environmental policy is no longer about imposing regulations on industry but is increasingly regarded as industrial policy. Both the EU and national governments are taking more active roles in initiating “green deals” and various technologies aimed to result in sustainable development. In this chapter we describe and discuss some recent experiences of green innovation policies. Historical examples concerning efforts in both biogas and ethanol are combined with a more contemporary description of “fossil free” steel, i.e. steel made by using hydrogen instead of coal. We argue that the presence of large public funds from different funding bodies such as the EU, various government agencies and municipalities has distorted incentives, making it rational for firms to pursue technologies without long term potential. The result has been an absence of sustainable development, mounting debt and financial problems for those actors that have been involved. We explain these results and draw policy conclusions concerning the risks related to green deals. Relatedly, we argue that the EU’s current efforts into hydrogen gas face similar challenges.

Sandström, C., & Alm, C. (2023). Why Green deals may fail – evidence from biogas, bio-ethanol and “fossil free” steel. Working Paper No. 365. Stockholm: Ratio.

Liknande innehåll

Learning from Overrated Mission-Oriented Innovation Policies: Seven Takeaways
BokkapitelPublikation
Henrekson, M., Sandström, C., & Stenkula, M.
Publiceringsår

2024

Publicerat i

Springer Nature.

Sammanfattning

This chapter integrates findings from several different case studies on mission-oriented innovation policies (MOIPs) and makes use of the existing literature to briefly describe three other missions: The War on Cancer, homeownership in the United States, and the Swedish Million Program. Together with the analyses in the other chapters of this volume, seven takeaways regarding mission-oriented innovation policies are developed and described: (1) wicked problems cannot be solved through missions, (2) politicians and government agencies are not exempt from self-interest, (3) MOIPs are subject to rent seeking and mission capture, (4) policymakers lack information to design MOIPs efficiently, (5) MOIPs distort competition, (6) government support programs distort incentives and result in moral hazard, and (7) MOIPs ignore opportunity costs. These seven takeaways are illustrated using the cases described in this chapter and elsewhere in this volume.

How Fares the Entrepreneurial State? Empirical Evidence of Mission-Led Innovation Projects Around the Globe
Artikel (med peer review)Publikation
Batbaatar, M., Larsson, J. P., Sandström, C., & Wennberg, K.
Publiceringsår

2024

Publicerat i

Foundations and Trends® in Entrepreneurship, 19(8), 664-772.

Sammanfattning

While considerable efforts have been made to conceptualize and outline the theoretical and normative logic of mission-oriented innovation policies and the role of the entrepreneurial state, there is a stark lack of empirical studies concerning how missions are designed and executed, and when they may work or do not. This monograph reviews theoretical rationales for mission-oriented innovation policy and provides an empirical overview of 30 articles which together cover 51 concluded or ongoing missions from around the world. We synthetize varieties of mission formulations, actors involved, and analyze characteristics of missions described as more or less failed or successful. Among the projects analyzed, many do not fulfill common definitions of “innovation missions.” Missions related to technological or agricultural innovations seem more often successful than broader types of missions aimed at social or ecological challenges, and challenges in the governance and evaluation of missions remain unresolved in the literature. None of the mission cases contain a cost-benefit analysis or takes opportunity cost into consideration.

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