5 Questions With Gernot Wagner, Climate Economist

About the Researcher(s)

Gernot Wagner

Senior Lecturer in Discipline of Economics in the Faculty of Business: Economics Division

Faculty Director, Climate Knowledge Initiative: Tamer Institute for Social Enterprise and Climate Change

Faculty Fellow: CESifo

Board Member: CarbonPlan

Columnist: Project Syndicate

Climate and Solutions

Date: July 09, 2026

Climate and Solutions

Plastics After Oil

When Belgian-American chemist Leo Baekeland invented the first commercial synthetic plastic, Bakelite, in 1907, he started a materials revolution. Innovative and ultra-durable, this fossil fuel derivative quickly became foundational to early electrical and industrial manufacturing. But not long after, product design and packaging systems started increasingly prioritizing disposability and convenience, and plastics began dominating the materials market not based on durability, but on cost and throughput.Download Deck (PDF)Download Deck (PPT)

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Climate and Finance

Date: April 13, 2026

Maintenance workers service a solar panel.

Climate and Finance

Solving the World’s Most Perfect Problem

Professor Gernot Wagner explains how behavioral science can bridge the gap between what we know and what we actually do to fight climate change.

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Climate Knowledge Initiative

Date: April 10, 2026

Climate Knowledge Initiative

Mining for the Energy Transition

Securing the supply of key minerals is mission critical for the clean energy transition.Minerals Deck PPTMinerals Deck PDF

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Climate and Sustainability, Climate and Technology, Climate Knowledge Initiative

Date: March 10, 2026

Climate and Sustainability, Climate and Technology, Climate Knowledge Initiative

Geothermal Energy: Five Key Insights from Industry Leaders

Geothermal is a proven, clean source of baseload power. Yet despite decades of operational success, it accounts for less than 1% of global electricity generation. That's about to change.Conventional hydrothermal systems are ready to deploy today, and next-generation technologies like enhanced geothermal systems (EGS), closed-loop systems, and superhot geothermal will unlock heat resources beyond naturally occurring reservoirs, dramatically expanding geothermal potential.With federal support in the United States and unprecedented private investment, we've entered geothermal's breakout decade.Geothermal Power Deck (PDF)Geothermal Heating & Cooling Deck (PDF)

Read more about Geothermal Energy: Five Key Insights from Industry Leaders about Geothermal Energy: Five Key Insights from Industry Leaders

About the Researcher(s)

Plastics After Oil

Solving the World’s Most Perfect Problem

Mining for the Energy Transition

Geothermal Energy: Five Key Insights from Industry Leaders

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