John Barry: Larry Elliott, the Guardian's Business editor, has just written this article 'Emerald Isle plots green revolution', outlining a possible Green New Deal path for the Irish economy out of the recession and into the beginning of the transition to a low carbon, green economic path.
In this article, Elliott notes that on the basis of interviews with politicians and policymakers he has had, that "Ireland appears quite keen to act as Europe's guinea pig for the green new deal concept, and is likely to reap a considerable dividend as a result" and that "the Celtic Tiger period of the 1990s provided Ireland with a core of hi-tech expertise in sectors such as IT, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment. The intention is to use this strong industrial platform as the springboard for a green manufacturing revolution."
His argument is similar to the one I posted here a couple of weeks ago, but of course what we need alongside or following such 'big picture' macro-economic strategies are more detailed policies about how to make it happen. Nevertheless, it's clear the Green New Deal does capture something of the economic thinking we need to get out of this current mess....
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