Greening global industry: clean energy, trade and development
In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie is joined by Bruegel’s Director Jeromin Zettelmeyer and Affiliate Fellow Ben McWilliams to discuss new research on climate action and international cooperation. They present their chapter in the Paris Report 3, exploring the decarbonisation of energy-intensive industries, the design of the Clean Industrial Deal, and relatively high energy costs. They discuss how the EU could work in partnership with developing countries to achieve efficient global industrial decarbonisation.
Bruegel has released two Policy Briefs which feature in the Paris Report 3: Global Action Without Global Governance: Building coalitions for climate transition and nature restoration, a joint initiative by Bruegel and CEPR (Pisani-Ferry et al, 2025). This year’s focus is on accelerating the energy transition and restoring nature in emerging and developing economies.
Relevant research:
McWilliams, B., S. Tagliapietra and J. Zettelmeyer (2025) ‘Reconciling the European Union’s clean industrialisation goals with those of the Global South’, Policy Brief 18/2025, Bruegel
Pisani-Ferry, J., B. Weder di Mauro and J. Zettelmeyer (2025) ‘Building coalitions for climate transition and nature restoration’, Policy Brief 17/2025, Bruegel
CEPR (2025) Paris Report 3: Global Action Without Global Governance: Building coalitions for climate transition and nature restoration, Centre for Economic Policy Research, available at https://cepr.org/publications/books-and-reports/paris-report-3-global-action-without-global-governance-building
--------
41:01
--------
41:01
The EU’s capital markets quest
In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie discusses how common financial-services supervision could jumpstart the EU single market with Bruegel’s Nicolas Véron and Enrico Letta, former Italian prime minister and author of the EU’s flagship single-market report. They talk about ways to boost the European Securities and Markets Authority, the current regulator, and move away from national silos by putting ESMA offices in every member state. They also discuss how better capital markets would make the EU more competitive and lead to a stronger and safer European economy.
Relevant research:
Letta, E. (2024) "Much more than a market - Speed, Security, Solidarity", Report
Véron, N. (2025) "Breaking the deadlock: a single supervisor to unshackle Europe's capital markets union", Blueprint, Bruegel
--------
38:40
--------
38:40
How do China, the US, and the EU fare in critical technologies?
Critical technologies including artificial intelligence, semiconductors and quantum computing are gaining increasing attention due to their strategic importance and indispensable role in national security. In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Yuyun Zhan invites Alicia García-Herrero and Claudio Feijóo to look into how the world’s three leading global economies, China, the US and the EU, are advancing in these cutting-edge sectors. Which economies are leading in specific subfields? How quickly are these technologies being translated into real-world applications?
Relevant publications:
García-Herrero, A., M. Krystyanczuk and R. Schindowski (2025) ‘Radical novelties in critical technologies and spillovers: how do China, the US and the EU fare?’, Working Paper 07/2025, Bruegel
García-Herrero, A., M. Krystyanczuk and R. Schindowski (2025) ‘Which companies are ahead in frontier innovation on critical technologies? Comparing China, the European Union and the United States’, Working Paper 08/2025, Bruegel
This episode is part of the ZhōngHuá Mundus series of The Sound of Economics. ZhōngHuá Mundus is a newsletter by Bruegel, bringing you monthly analysis of China in the world, as seen from Europe. Sign up now to receive it in your mailbox!
--------
45:29
--------
45:29
Digital euro: why now and what's next
In this episode of the Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie talks about the proposed digital euro with ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone and Bruegel Senior Fellow Pablo Hernández de Cos. Why does the EU need a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)? How much should citizens be able to hold? How will it affect financial stability and the banking system? They discuss the state of play and why the case for the digital euro has become stronger.
--------
48:38
--------
48:38
Fighting poverty, creating jobs: how development finance helps
In this episode of the Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie discusses global development with Bruegel director Jeromin Zettelmeyer and Alfonso García Mora, vice president for Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean at the International Finance Corporation, the World Bank Group’s arm for mobilizing private finance. They discuss what tools are available, what needs can be addressed, and how that fits into today’s geopolitical environment. By helping public and private funders work together, these efforts allow recipient countries like Ukraine to get more out of international assistance.
The Sound of Economics brings you insights, debates, and research-based discussions on economic policy in Europe and beyond.
The podcast is produced by Bruegel, an independent and non-doctrinal think tank based in Brussels. It seeks to contribute to European and global economic policy-making through open, fact-based, and policy-relevant research, analysis, and debate.
Ireland