VoxTalks Economics

“What is needed is non-marginal, transformative change to shift the economy, technology, and society”. That’s the typically forthright recommendation from Rick van der Ploeg of the University of Oxford and University of Amsterdam for how to ensure that climate policy is effective at changing our habits and behaviour. He argues that the gradual changes in habits that current policies target don’t go far enough, and that we run the risk of backsliding. But what does this mean in practice? Rick spoke to Tim Phillips about what policies to push, when to push them – and how big the push needs to be.

Ottmar Edenhofer, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, dives into the crucial role of carbon dioxide removal in climate strategy. He explores various technologies like bioenergy with carbon capture and direct air capture, weighing their costs and effectiveness. Edenhofer discusses the need for regulatory frameworks to ensure the permanence of carbon storage, and outlines how geographical advantages can shape global CDR efforts. He also suggests innovative funding models to incentivize these technologies while warning against the risk of relying on them at the expense of direct emissions reductions.

Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta, a renowned economist from the University of Cambridge, discusses his groundbreaking work on biodiversity and natural capital. He shares insights on how humanity is embedded in nature, challenging the notion of separation. Dasgupta highlights the need for economic indicators that value nature and warns about the decline of natural assets. He also tackles complex issues like deforestation, trade-offs in agriculture, and the urgency of addressing biodiversity loss, emphasizing the risks of inaction and the importance of wealth transfers between nations.

Can COP 30 get the green transition back on track? It’s not a great time for international cooperation right now and, with hindsight, was the period from 2017 to 2022 a “golden moment” the climate transition, and was it an opportunity missed? That’s the argument presented by Livio Stracca, Deputy Director General Financial Stability at the European Central Bank, also the chair of NGFS work on climate scenarios. He talks to Tim Phillips about what we can learn from this golden moment, and what can be done this time around to avoid the dangers of what Livio calls “climate agenda fatigue” among both the public and governments. 

In the first of our special episodes from the first Hoffmann Centre / CEPR / ReCIPE Conference, we’re discussing what chances there are of significant multilateral agreements being signed at COP 30 and, given that the chances are low, what plan B might be. Beatrice Weder di Mauro of CEPR, Hoffmann Centre and the Geneva Graduate Institute tells Tim Phillips that, if everyone can’t agree, then coalitions of the willing – climate or finance clubs that offer incentives for the countries that want to join – can agree their own sustainability policies. But what are those incentives? And who will lead?

A decade ago, the UK voted in a referendum to leave the European Union. It was the culmination of years of partisan arguments over membership. During that time, most newspapers in the UK took strong “leave” or “remain” positions in the stories they wrote. But were they less obviously partisan in their choice of pictures too? Wanyu Chung of University of Birmingham and CEPR was one of a team of researchers that used artificial intelligence to estimate the emotional impact of news images of politicians before and after the Brexit vote. Photo: European Union 2016 - European Parliament

Nathan Sussman and Rui Esteves, both affiliated with the Geneva Graduate Institute and organizers of the International Macroeconomic History Online Seminar Series, share insights from their series' remarkable growth. They discuss the significance of historical lessons in understanding modern economics, touching on pivotal topics like the Smoot-Hawley trade war and demographic shifts impacting inflation. The duo also highlights the lasting effectiveness of financial sanctions and the evolving roles of U.S. monetary policy, emphasizing the value of continuous learning through their webinars.

Matthias Kalkuhl, an economist at the University of Potsdam and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Research, dives into the concept of a European Carbon Central Bank. He explores how integrating carbon removal into EU policy is essential for achieving net zero goals. The discussion highlights innovative CDR technologies and their roles in facilitating reductions and undoing past emissions. Kalkuhl also breaks down the need for cleanup certificates and addresses the political challenges and urgency of implementing these reforms to combat climate change effectively.

In the first of two podcasts recorded at the conference “Addressing the Risks and Responses to Climate Overshoot”, organised by the AXA Research Fund, CEPR, and Paris School of Economics, Tim Phillips talks to Franck Courchamp of the University of Paris-Saclay about an aspect of climate change that is rarely talked about, increasingly important, and very costly. When plants or animals move, or are moved, to a place they don't belong, there is a risk of damage to natural habitats and an economic cost too. So how do we estimate the size of this risk, and what can we do about it? 

It’s cultural meme that teenagers in New York and Seoul will have more in common with each other than with their parents. Has where we come from been downgraded as an influence on what we like, or is there still what Thierry Mayer of Sciences Po and CEPR calls “gravity in tastes”?  His research focuses on a very important aspect of this question: regional French food. Is there still a France of butter, and a France of olive oil? And, if there is, can we draw it on a map, or is this now a cultural and social divide, rather than a regional one? Vote for VoxTalks Economics in the 2025 Signal Awards! https://talknorm.al/vote