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The Green Mirage: Why a low-carbon economy may be further off than we think

John Constable, August 2011

The move towards a low-carbon economy has been described as the second industrial revolution. As state mandates drive the adoption of renewable energy sources, we are assured that multiple benefits will result. In The Green Mirage, John Constable challenges this optimistic scenario. Constable marshals evidence suggesting that target-led, state-managed and subsidy-driven clean energy policies are likely to cause the remature adoption of costly technologies exhibiting low productivity, with resulting net economic contraction and wealth destruction. Eventual consumer resistance is inevitable and will become politically salient, thus further delaying the hoped-for green transition.

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