In this article for New Labor Forum, Robert Pollin grapples with two critical questions: how do we build a clean energy economy, and how do we create a financial system focused on channeling money toward productive investment as opposed to destabilizing speculation? The challenge then becomes to combine these goals in a single set of policies: how can we design financial systems that inherently support a clean-energy economy?

The reality is that there are only two possible ways to finance a clean-energy transition—public or private funding—and both sources will be needed. The key will be to ensure that private funds are channeled into green investments and away from fossil fuels. Pollin begins to explore the mechanisms that will leverage the needed private funds along with public expenditures, and guarantee that both sources of funds are channeled towards socially-desirable goals.