A progressive framework for green industrial policy

Abstract

In the age of ecological breakdown, there is a growing need for ‘green’ industrial policy. However, existing frameworks for green industrial policy fail to address unsustainable growth in energy and resource use in high-income economies. In this sense, they are not adequate to achieve core ecological objectives. This paper fills a gap in the literature by offering a progressive framework for green industrial policy that combines traditional green industrial policy perspectives with insights from ecological economics and literature on post-growth and degrowth. The framework has three key pillars: (1) scale down ecologically harmful industries and sectors to directly reduce energy and resource use; (2) organise production more around public benefit, with greater democratic control and guidance over investment and production; and (3) work towards global ecological justice and enable greater ‘ecological policy space’ for the global South to pursue industrial development. The paper argues that this progressive approach to green industrial policy is necessary due to the scale and urgency of the ecological crisis. The framework shows how productive capacity can be liberated and redirected towards more socially and environmentally beneficial ends, while also democratising control over the economy.