Natural Resources committee  I think that's an excellent point you make. It's one area where there's a distinction between what firms will do as a reaction to the markets is important.... I say this because in setting the policy, whether it's a carbon tax or environmental policy generally, it's important to

Natural Resources committee  Sure. The idea here is simply that much of the benefit of using these clean technologies doesn't go to the person who invests in the technology. An externality is when one person's action affects somebody else. A smoker's second-hand smoke affects the person next to them. A firm'

Natural Resources committee  If you're thinking about where to get the most bang for your buck, that would be much more effective than providing a subsidy. The idea behind it is that with the infrastructure, you're enabling people to do something they can't do right now. If you don't have charging stations,

Natural Resources committee  You've asked an interesting question. I think the key thing is that there are a lot of policies still going on at the state level. The largest markets in the U.S.—California, the northeast, New York, Massachusetts—are still making efforts towards a climate policy, so I don't thin

Natural Resources committee  Yes. I think there are two things there. One, as I heard in the previous session, involves making a distinction between more basic research, or the more fundamental science and the engineering behind these technologies, versus the applied research, or trying to commercialize thes

Natural Resources committee  I'd like to make a couple of points with regard to that question. I think there is obviously now less collaboration between the U.S. and Canada on environmental policy than there would have been before the election in November. As far as the Canadian perspective goes, I think the

Natural Resources committee  Your characterization is exactly right. I would not be in favour of giving money to people who can afford a Tesla to help support that purchase.

Natural Resources committee  I think the important thing there is that breakthrough is really a question of timing. It's about technologies that are five or 10 years away from the market, so the market isn't going to finance the development. The most important thing is to think about the government's role to

Natural Resources committee  I think that's the right way to look at it. Renewables are things that are created from sources or inputs that are not finite. It could be wind and solar, but it also could be biomass. It could be the generation of electricity from municipal solid waste, which means that renewabl

Natural Resources committee  Thank you, Chair. Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today. I'm a professor of public administration and international affairs at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. I'm an environmental economist who has studied the interactions between policy and clean techno