War and subsidies have turbocharged the green transition
They may have knocked as much as ten years off the timeline
To many activists, Lutzerath, an abandoned hamlet in Germany, symbolises the nightmare of the global energy crisis. For months campaigners blocked the site’s demolition after Robert Habeck, the country’s energy minister, allowed a utility firm to mine for lignite—the dirtiest form of coal—under its graffitied houses. As a giant excavator swallowed its way closer, hundreds of police, unfazed by the pyrotechnics propelled at them, dragged protesters from their stations. Now the village is empty; its last buildings gone. Only bits of lutzi (cables and roads) are left for the bucket-wheeled machine to gobble up.
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Going great guns”
Finance & economics February 18th 2023
- War and subsidies have turbocharged the green transition
- Cobalt, a crucial battery material, is suddenly superabundant
- Scrutiny of major crypto institutions is intensifying
- Why more Chinese tourism means more capital flight
- Investors expect the economy to avoid recession
- The World Bank’s embattled chief steps down
- Lael Brainard will take control of America’s economic nerve centre
- The case for globalisation optimism
More from Finance & economics
Europe could be torn apart by new divisions
The continent is at its most vulnerable in decades
How corporate bonds fell out of fashion
The market is at its hottest in years—and a shadow of its former self
An American purchase of Greenland could be the deal of the century
The economics of buying new territory
China’s markets take a fresh beating
Authorities have responded by bossing around investors
Can America’s economy cope with mass deportations?
Production slowdowns, more imports and pricier housing could follow
Would an artificial-intelligence bubble be so bad?
A new book by Byrne Hobart and Tobias Huber argues there are advantages to financial mania