Gernot Wagner
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gwagner.com
Gernot Wagner
@gwagner.com
23K followers 2.1K following 2.7K posts

Climate economist, Columbia
https://gwagner.com
It’s pronounced juggernaut without the jug.

Videos

Gernot Wagner is an Austro-American climate economist at Columbia Business School. He holds an AB and a PhD in political economy and government from Harvard University, as well as an MA in economics from Stanford University. A founding co-director of Harvard's Solar Geoengineering Research Program (2017–2019) he joined the faculty of New York University in 2019, moving to Columbia University in 2022. Wagner writes a monthly column for Project Syndicate, and is the co-author, with Martin L. Weitzman, of Climate Shock, a Top 15 Financial Times-McKinsey Business Book of the Year 2015. He won the "Austrian of the Year" award in 2022, awarded by Austrian daily Die Presse. .. more

Economics 35%
Environmental science 29%
Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by Gernot Wagner, Erin O’Donnell

ryanjreilly.com
Ryan J. Reilly “paints a vivid and urgent portrait of… disarray” @ryanjreilly.com · 7h
“Having neither and bringing the adage into the 21st century, she pounds X (f/k/a Twitter).”

gwagner.com
Gernot Wagner @gwagner.com · 20h
And yes, offshore wind + grid investments + much, much more renewables capacity would help bridge NYC over this cold spill, avoiding gas plants having to burn fuel oil!

gwagner.com
Gernot Wagner @gwagner.com · 20h
Another solar spill, necessitating overnight emergency drilling in subzero temperatures 🤷‍♂️

(Yes, rather happy our building is off gas completely.)
Gas leak

gwagner.com
Gernot Wagner @gwagner.com · 1d
True, too, and the €300m for BMW's H₂ car are pure waste. But at least there's no government pushing away from electrification.

gwagner.com
Gernot Wagner @gwagner.com · 1d
Detroit is toast
I Test Drove a Chinese EV. Now I Don’t Want to Buy American Cars Anymore. Amazing battery range, customizable interiors and sleek software—our columnist fell in love with a Xiaomi SU7 Max after driving it for a few weeks

Reposted by Gernot Wagner

imbernomics.bsky.social
Scott Imberman @imbernomics.bsky.social · 1d
Let’s be clear- the cost here is dead kids.

gwagner.com
Gernot Wagner @gwagner.com · 1d
File under: "What could possibly go wrong?"

Even for scientists producing peer-reviewed papers, it's basically all about, "How long can I use AI to BS my way to more publications, until someone finds out I'm not actually contributing anything novel?"

Sigh.
AI has supercharged scientists—but may have shrunk science Analysis of 41 million papers finds that although AI expands individual impact, it narrows collective scientific exploration

gwagner.com
Gernot Wagner @gwagner.com · 1d
One thing snow in Manhattan makes painfully clear: How much public space is occupied by cars dumped there for free long-term storage. #TheHighCostOfFreeParking
Car covered in snow Car covered in snow

Reposted by Shannon Vallor, Rebecca Solnit, Nandita Sharma , and 9 more

washingtonpost.com
The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 2d
More than 34,000 Minnesotans signed up to be trained as ICED observers with various activist groups in recent weeks, many of them since Jan. 7, when a federal agent shot and killed Renée Good.
Thousands of new ICE watchers hit the streets after two killings
Minnesotans outraged by the killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti have signed up in large numbers to monitor and protest ICE with other activists.
www.washingtonpost.com

gwagner.com
Gernot Wagner @gwagner.com · 2d
I believe that's measured in the effective corporate tax rate, or lack thereof.

Reposted by Gernot Wagner

donmoyn.bsky.social
Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 2d
I talk about this a bit in the piece. Large chunks of US institutions were ready to go along with this, including the Supreme Court and a de facto state media that came from the private sector.

gwagner.com
Gernot Wagner @gwagner.com · 2d
I suppose the one big question here is how to account for the decades-long process of building up an alternate reality — talk radio, cable news, "think" tanks, etc.
donmoyn.bsky.social Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 2d
New from me: It is not just that the US is experiencing democratic backsliding. Authoritarianism has emerged more quickly than in other benchmark countries.

This graph from John Burn-Murdoch sums it up. 🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/autocracy-...
graph tracking democratic backsliding is occuring more quickly in the US than elsewhere.

Reposted by Anne Applebaum, Ben H. Ansell, Colin F. Camerer , and 17 more

donmoyn.bsky.social
Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 2d
New from me: It is not just that the US is experiencing democratic backsliding. Authoritarianism has emerged more quickly than in other benchmark countries.

This graph from John Burn-Murdoch sums it up. 🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/autocracy-...
graph tracking democratic backsliding is occuring more quickly in the US than elsewhere.

gwagner.com
Gernot Wagner @gwagner.com · 2d
Sigh

gwagner.com
Gernot Wagner @gwagner.com · 3d
Science: 1
Deception: 0

www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/c...
A Secret Panel to Question Climate Science Was Unlawful, Judge Rules
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Gernot Wagner

dangearino.bsky.social
Dan Gearino @dangearino.bsky.social · 3d
Despite everything, energy transition investment grew in 2025. I spoke with @gwagner.com and @femkenijsse.bsky.social about the findings, which come from a BloombergNEF annual report:
insideclimatenews.org/news/2901202...
#energysky
Global Energy Transition Investment Grew in 2025 Despite Major Obstacles; Here Are the Numbers - Inside Climate News
Clean transportation led the way while renewable energy spending decreased.
insideclimatenews.org

gwagner.com
Gernot Wagner @gwagner.com · 5d
From @npr.org's @gbrumfiel.bsky.social:

bsky.app/profile/gbru...
gbrumfiel.bsky.social Geoff Brumfiel @gbrumfiel.bsky.social · 5d
EXCLSUVIE: The Trump administration has secretly rewritten nuclear safety rules and shared them with the companies they're meant to regulate, without making the new rules publicly available.

We've obtained a copy of the new rules and here's what we found.

www.npr.org/2026/01/28/n...
The Trump administration has secretly rewritten nuclear safety rules
The rewrite was done to speed up the construction of a new generation of nuclear reactors. Critics warn it could compromise safety and public trust.
www.npr.org

gwagner.com
Gernot Wagner @gwagner.com · 5d
I s'pose that's one way to cut nuclear costs:

"Trump administration secretly loosens nuclear safety rules" www.npr.org/2026/01/28/n...
Changes Protection of Drinking Water and Ground Water Ground water must be protected from radiological contamination Consideration must be given to avoiding or minimizing potential radiological contamination of groundwater from NE-authorized nuclear facilities and radiological activities,to ensure compliance with public dose limits in this Order and consistent with ALARA process requirements. To this end: (i) baseline conditions of the ground water quantity and quality are documentedmay be considered; (ii) potential sources of, and potential for, radiological contamination are may be identified and assessed; (iii) strategies to control radiological groundwater contamination are documented and implemented; may be developed, as appropriate;

Reposted by Matthew Bunn, Ken O. Buesseler, Gernot Wagner , and 3 more

gbrumfiel.bsky.social
Geoff Brumfiel @gbrumfiel.bsky.social · 5d
EXCLSUVIE: The Trump administration has secretly rewritten nuclear safety rules and shared them with the companies they're meant to regulate, without making the new rules publicly available.

We've obtained a copy of the new rules and here's what we found.

www.npr.org/2026/01/28/n...
The Trump administration has secretly rewritten nuclear safety rules
The rewrite was done to speed up the construction of a new generation of nuclear reactors. Critics warn it could compromise safety and public trust.
www.npr.org

Reposted by Nancy Kanwisher, Peter Thorne, Brendan Nyhan , and 9 more

mjfree.bsky.social
Morgan J Freeman @mjfree.bsky.social · 8d

gwagner.com
Gernot Wagner @gwagner.com · 8d
Genuine fascination with the effort that is NYC snow preparedness, check.

A call for everyone to chip in for the public good, ✅

Fun along the way, ✅ 💚
Kid shoveling The other kid shoveling Snow angels

gwagner.com
Gernot Wagner @gwagner.com · 8d
While one of the bigger storms blankets the U.S., leading to power outages for millions... Republicans move to dismantle one of the most important climate & weather prediction agencies.
Snow blanketing Eastern U.S. Ice in the south Power outages across the South

gwagner.com
Gernot Wagner @gwagner.com · 8d
They just did.

Reposted by Peter Thorne

gwagner.com
Gernot Wagner @gwagner.com · 8d
"Videos Contradict Federal Accounts of Fatal Shooting"

@nytimes.com just dropped the "appear to" in front of the "contradict[s]." Anyone who knows anything about NYT headline writing knows how big a deal that is.
NYT: "Videos Contradict Federal Accounts of Fatal Shooting"

gwagner.com
Gernot Wagner @gwagner.com · 9d
🤝

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Jan W. Mueller, Elizabeth Saunders , and 32 more

reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 9d
You have to read this. Firsthand affidavit from one of the women who was there and recording the video. She talks about how Alex Pretti was directing traffic when she arrived. She watched him be killed in front of her. She's afraid to go home, worried she'll be arrested.
1. I am a resident of the Whittier neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota. I am over 18 years of age. I am a children's entertainer who specializes in face painting. 2. On Saturday, January 24, 2026, at about 8:50 am, I was getting ready to go to work when I heard whistles outside. I knew the whistles meant that ICE agents were in the area, so I decided to check it out on my way to work. I've been involved in observing in my community because it is so important to document what ICE is doing to my neighbors. Connecting to your local community and knowing who your neighbors are is something I profoundly value. 3. I drove to Nicollet Ave. and 26th where I could hear the whistles coming from. I turned south onto Nicollet. There were already several ICE agents there and they'd set up a sort of vehicle convoy on Nicollet and 28th. There were also about 15 observers there, recording and observing ICE. 4. I saw ICE agents surrounding cars and punching car windows. I also saw them stopping vehicles further down Nicollet, so I backed up because I didn't feel safe continuing on. 5. I noticed a man sort of acting to help traffic move more smoothly. He helped me find a place to park. I got out with my whistle and my camera. I went over to him and said something like, "I'm going to film and use my whistle." 6. It seemed like most ICE activity was happening a little farther down the street from us, near 27th. Someone was being thrown to the ground. 7. I started recording. There was an agent by a car across the street. Two observers were a few feet away from the agent, blowing their whistles. One was wearing a backpack. 8. I and the man who was observing and helping direct traffic were standing in the street. There was a phone in the man's hand recording a video. 9. An agent approached and asked us to back up, so I moved slowly back onto the sidewalk. 10. The man stayed in the street, filming as the other observers I mentioned earlier were being forced backward by another ICE agent threatening them with pepper spray. The man went closer to support them as they got threatened, just with his camera out. I didn't see him reach for or hold a gun. 11. Then the ICE agent shoved one of the other observers to the ground. Then he started pepper spraying all three of them directly in the face and all over. The man with the phone put his hands above his head and the agent sprayed him again and pushed him. 12. Then the man tried to help up the woman the ICE agent had shoved to the ground. The ICE agents just kept spraying. More agents came over and grabbed the man who was still trying to help the woman get up. All three of the observers looked to have been badly affected by the pepper spray. I could feel the pepper spray in my eyes. 13. The agents pulled the man on the ground. I didn't see him touch any of them-he wasn't even turned toward them. It didn't look like he was trying to resist, just trying to help the woman up. I didn't see him with a gun. They threw him to the ground. Four or five agents had him on the ground and they just started shooting him. They shot him so many times. 14.1 don't know why they shot him. He was only helping. I was five feet from him and they just shot him. 15. The video I recorded of what happened accurately depicts the events leading up to the agents shooting him and several minutes afterwards. The video is attached as Exhibit 1. 16. I have read the statement from DHS about what happened and it is wrong. The man did not approach the agents with a gun. He approached them with a camera. He was just trying to help a woman get up and they took him to the ground. 17. I feel afraid. Only hours have passed since they shot a man right in front me and I don't feel like I can go home because I heard agents were looking for me. I don't know what the agents will do when they find me. I do know that they're not telling the truth about what happened. I've heard that other witnesses might have been arrested and taken to the Whipple Building. 18. I am disgusted and gutted at how they are treating my neighbors and my state. I keep alternating between crying and feeling determined it is important to remember the value of documenting injustice. We show up for the people who need us to bear witness, because it can't just be one group of people bearing the brunt of their tyranny. This is a struggle to protect our freedom and democracy, those things are on the line. He lost his life for those values. I declare under penalty of perjury that everything I have stated in this document is true and correct. Dated and signed on Jan 24, 2026 in Hennepin County, State of Minnesota.

gwagner.com
Gernot Wagner @gwagner.com · 9d
In the ocean?

gwagner.com
Gernot Wagner @gwagner.com · 9d
Why "actually"? Nobody's debating weaker cold extremes or stronger hot extremes, nor arguing against GCMs, for that matter.

Are you debating whether warmer oceans mean more moist air?

Reposted by Timothy Snyder, Kim L. Scheppele, Jason Mittell , and 23 more

brandyzadrozny.bsky.social
Brandy Zadrozny @brandyzadrozny.bsky.social · 9d
Alex Pretti "used to tell people off when they made sexist comments to female physicians. He bought me coffee when I had a really bad day as an intern...I laughed alongside him daily. He made a point to teach medical residents without judgement, but with a smile on his face and a joke."