Economics of Green Energy
Who receives most of the financial benefits from "green energy" subsidies?
Correct Answer
As detailed in scholarly publications like the encyclopedia "Environmental and Natural Resource Economics," the financial benefits of "green energy" subsidies "largely accrue to the owners of capital," or corporations. This is because: (1) "Energy development," whether "green or fossil fuels," is "capital-intensive," which means it uses much more materials and equipment than human labor. (2) Growth in "the green jobs sector does not necessarily imply net job creation" since it reduces the jobs "that would have been produced from fossil fuels," and thus, "net job creation may be zero (or negative)." (3) Consumers suffer because green energy subsidies promote "inefficient technologies that are more costly," and this reduces people's standards of living. Some forms of green energy have environmental benefits, but these are often more uncertain and less favorable than proponents of green energy make them out to be.