Dr. Lin Zhang’s working paper entitled “Do We Still Need Carbon-intensive Capital When Transitioning to a Green Economy” has recently been awarded the “Outstanding Paper for Sustainable Paths Toward Carbon Neutrality” by CICC Global Institute.

Jointly authored by Prof. Wei Jin from Tianjin University and Prof. Frederick van der Ploeg from Oxford University, the awarded paper is about identifying a new role of carbon-intensive capital in the process of green economic transition. It is argued that if climate regulations induce stepping-up of carbon-free capital to offset warming damages, the economic value of carbon-intensive capital can be protected and the running down of carbon-intensive assets can be mitigated. The use of carbon-intensive capital gives the economic means to enhance clean capital accumulation and sustain endogenous growth. Both carbon-intensive and carbon-free capital may thus be needed for an efficient transition to green growth.

The working paper is available for free download here.