Declining renewable energy prices have not led to a long-predicted renewables boom, because green energy still isn’t sufficiently profitable for pri

Why Private Investment Isn’t Driving a Rapid Green Transition

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2024-02-27 17:00:15

Declining renewable energy prices have not led to a long-predicted renewables boom, because green energy still isn’t sufficiently profitable for private investors. Public investment and ownership is essential to driving a rapid green transition.

One of the main reasons that capitalism hasn’t been greening at the pace we need is precisely because it’s not an attractive proposition in profitability terms. (Wikimedia Commons)

In 2019, for the first time, renewables became as cheap as dirty fuel — an event many heralded as overcoming the final hurdle to an economically viable green transition. Commentators, politicians, and green industry leaders alike predicted that price parity would usher in a renewables boom, drastically reduce fossil fuel use, and mitigate the worst impacts of climate change.

In his new book, The Price Is Wrong: Why Capitalism Won’t Save the Planet, Brett Christophers shows how cheaper renewables did not trigger an adequate energy transition, arguing that lower prices alone will not transition us to a green future. He explains the continued importance of public investment in renewable energy and illuminates the wide-reaching and differential global impacts of the energy crisis of 2021–22.