Wide-scale adoption of renewable energy is essential to ensure Europe decarbonizes its energy systems and meets its ambitious net-zero targets. But what motivates interested individuals to make the decision to invest? A recent study by Operations Management Professors Andrea Masini and Sam Aflaki (HEC Paris), Shadi Goodarzi (California State University and the University of Texas), and Behnam Fahimnia (University of Sydney Business School), sheds light on the influence of different communication sources on this process, with implications for policymakers, technology providers, and other sustainability stakeholders.
By Andrea Masini , Sam Aflaki
Though nations agree that they must speed the creation and use of renewable energy solutions in order to avert climate disaster, there is less consensus on what government policies would most effectively serve this end. New research by HEC Paris Professors Sam Aflaki and Andrea Masini, and East West University Professor Syed Abul Basher of Economics offers insight into the best use of public investment. Three ways to support Renewable Energy in a nutshell: Technology-push: Fiscal incentives for R&D stimulate radical innovation. Demand-pull: Downstream interventions like feed-in tariffs (subsidizing households) encourage the use of existing technologies like photovoltaic systems. Economic stimulus: Overall economic stimulation, such as lowering taxes, assuming wealthier countries are more likely to adopt renewables.
Feed-in tariffs (FITs) are crucial tools to increase the adoption of renewable energy technologies. But setting them at the right level (price) is a balancing act. If they are poorly designed, they can backfire, stunting the industry and wasting public money. A duo of HEC researchers, along with a colleague from the University of Texas at Austin, have shown that, to set optimal FIT levels, regulators must take into account the behaviours all players affected, including technology manufacturers.
By Sam Aflaki , Andrea Masini
Ratings and rankings have become powerful tools in global governance, frequently used to motivate companies to be good corporate citizens. A wide range of environmental and social matters such as access to medicine, climate change, obesity and working conditions increasingly transcend national borders and escape the reach of national regulators. For such issues, who should set the rules about the responsibilities of corporations? How can corporations that are by definition designed to generate profit, be guided towards making decisions that benefit society as a whole? Afshin Mehrpouya and Rita Samiolo explore the process behind the production of these rankings.
By Afshin Mehrpouya
Major advances in complex technologies require the cooperation of a broad range of parties – a whole business ecosystem. Professors Sihem Ben Mahmoud-Jouini (HEC Paris) and Florence Charue-Duboc (Ecole Polytechnique Paris) studied the case of the nascent hydrogen energy ecosystem to investigate how experimentation contribute to the emergence and consolidation of the ecosystem itself, and the characteristics of such experimentation.
By Sihem Ben Mahmoud-Jouini , Florence Charue-Duboc
Jean-Michel Gauthier began his career in the oil industry before switching to consulting. Having spent a total of 30 years in international energy, he now shares his expertise by training leaders from all sectors in energy-transition issues. Jean-Michel is affiliate professor in the finance department at HEC Paris, where he holds the Energy & Finance Chair sponsored by Société Générale.
By Jean-Michel Gauthier
Editorial by Marc Vanhuele, Professor of Marketing and Associate Dean. We live in a world of constant transformation. The role of research and education at a business school like HEC is to constantly innovate in order to give our students the knowledge, skills and mindset to live and work in a world with opportunities and challenges that may already have shifted by the time they graduate.
By Marc Vanhuele
Sam Aflaki and Serguei Netessine’s new research uncovers a problem with renewable energy incentive policies, such as feed-in tariffs and carbon taxes. Renewables like wind and solar power often depend on carbon costly backups which stunt investment rewards.
By Sam Aflaki
Given the urgent needs of different populations worldwide, economic development tends to be prioritized over climate issues. Short-termism is pitted against medium and long-term goals, economic growth and jobs against the climate. And yet, the horribly irony is that it is often the people living in emerging countries who suffer (and will suffer) the most from climate change. The urgent question is: how can economic development and environmental protection be pursued simultaneously without compromising on either?
By Nora Youcefi
In December a year will have passed since the celebration of COP21, a conference labeled a success as all 195 countries participating reached a global agreement, the so-called “Paris Agreement”. This aimed to reduce carbon emissions worldwide in order to bring down global warming below the 2°C threshold.
