Oppenheimer’s project should inspire climate action urgency

Source: The post is based on the article “Oppenheimer’s project should inspire climate action urgency” published in Live Mint on 26^th July 2023.

Syllabus: GS 3 – Environment

Relevance: measures needed to tackle climate change

News: The article explains different models that can be adopted to tackle climate change.

What are the different models present that can be replicated for climate change?

Oppenheimer/Manhattan model: Robert J. Oppenheimer led the Manhattan Project during World War II to build an atomic bomb. The project was completed under the given deadline.

This highlights that when the social return on an investment is higher than the private return, the government can run focused projects better than the private companies.

Hence, given the urgency of climate change, there are questions about whether the success of the Manhattan Project could be replicated in tackling this global emergency.

Apollo Programme: It was a successful US government initiative to send astronauts into space during the 1960s before the Soviet Union. NASA received funds an equivalent of 0.7% of GDP in the 1960s and employed 400,000 people to achieve the mission before the Soviet Union could.

As per the findings of research, the investment made by the government and technological assistance, increased productivity in US counties that already had relevant technology capabilities.

However, the impact on overall productivity across the entire US economy was limited.

Hence, a key takeaway from the study is that directing focused spending towards particular sectors to achieve specific geopolitical or climate objectives can potentially lead to enhanced productivity in those specific sectors.

However, its effect on the entire economy remains uncertain.

Can these two models be adopted for green transition?

A common objective in both the models was the need to accomplish a massive task under time pressure, requiring a substantial push, which is also required for green transition.

However, the government was the sole user of the new technology in both the models. Whereas the green transition requires a much broader adoption of new technologies across society, involving firms, cities, and citizens.

This presents challenges on both the demand and supply sides.

Must Read: Financing the Green transition: initiative and challenges – Explained

What can be the way ahead for green transition?

The practical approach to the green transition will involve targeted investments in new areas, a combination of subsidies and a carbon tax to encourage technology adoption, requiring efforts from both the state and the market.

However, there may also be a need to replace capital more quickly than normal, which carries risks. One such risk is governments’ ability to select technology more effectively through industrial policy than through market forces.

Hence, urgent action is needed to tackle climate change while taking all the factors into consideration.