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From "Green Growth" to Sound Policies: An Overview
Energy Economics (Elsevier)

“Green growth” is an attractive slogan with a variety of possible meanings. This essay critically examines several potential meanings of this slogan and provides a brief overview of some of the main implications of the other papers in this special issue. Taken together, these papers argue for the importance of careful analysis of energy/environmental policies, particularly ambitious ones claiming to offer huge benefits with little or no cost.

This article appeared in the Energy Economics Supplemental Issue: Green Perspectives.

Carbon Taxes, Path Dependency and Directed Technical Change: Evidence from the Auto Industry
Organisation :
Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy (CCCEP)
University of Leeds
Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment
London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
London School of Economics and Political Science
Can directed technical change be used to combat climate change? This paper constructs new firm-level panel data on auto industry innovation distinguishing between “dirty” (internal combustion engine) and “clean” (e.g. electric and hybrid) patents across 80 countries over several decades. It shows that firms tend to innovate relatively more in clean technologies when they face higher tax-inclusive fuel prices. Furthermore, there is path dependence in the type of innovation both from aggregate spillovers and from the firm’s own innovation history. Using this model this paper simultaes the increases in carbon taxes needed to allow clean to overtake dirty technologies.
Fast-tracking 'Green' Patent Applications: An Empirical Analysis
Organisation :
Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy (CCCEP)
University of Leeds
Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment
London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
London School of Economics and Political Science
This paper presents the first empirical analysis of programmes to fast-track ‘green’ patent applications in place in seven Intellectual Property offices around the world. The paper fnds that only a small share of green patent applications (between 1% and 20%, depending on the patent office) request accelerated examination, suggesting that patent applicants have a strong incentive to keep their patent applications in the examination process for as long as possible. Fast-tracking programmes reduce the examination process by several years, compared to patents going through normal examination procedure and have seemingly accelerated the diffusion of technological knowledge in green technologies. 
 
In addition, the paper finds that applicants require accelerated examination for patents of relatively higher value and that fast-tracking programmes seem to be particularly appealing to start-up companies in
Elements of a New Climate Agreement by 2015
Organisation :
Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI)
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI)
United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment)

A global climate agreement is crucial in keeping global warming below the target of maximum 2 degree increase in this century. This will require enhanced ambitions by all Parties and need transformational change towards sustainable, low carbon development and green growth. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and its UNEP Risø Centre have in cooperation with the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) prepared the Perspectives 2013 to respond to this global challenge. The publication focuses on how elements of a new climate agreement can contribute to close the ‘emissions gap’. Six articles have been invited to address crucial aspects of a possible new agreement;

Understanding the Adaptation Deficit: Why are Poor Countries more Vulnerable to Climate Events than Rich Countries?
Organisation :
Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy (CCCEP)
University of Leeds
Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment
London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
London School of Economics and Political Science
Poor countries are more heavily affected by extreme weather events and future climate change than rich countries. This discrepancy is sometimes known as an adaptation deficit. This paper analyses the link between income and adaptation to climate events theoretically and empirically. The authors postulate that the adaptation deficit is due to two factors:
 
A demand effect, whereby the demand for the good “climate security” increases with income, and an efficiency effect, which works as a spill-over externality on the supply-side:
 
Adaptation productivity in high-income countries is enhanced because of factors like better infrastructure and stronger institutions.