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
Top-quality research and teaching are essential to understand growing inequalities which hinder the urgently needed ecological transition, to interrogate the ESG factors, and to leverage theory and the most ambitious empirical methods. To do so, HEC scholars work with public and private regulators, peers from leading European academic institutions, CEOs and administrators to develop, test, and evaluate novel strategies, policies and practices designed to tackle inequalities in their field. In this Knowledge@HEC issue, we share academic knowledge and highlight professional experiences on those topics. Find the pdf of that issue here.
Professor of Finance and Executive Director of the Société Générale Energy & Finance Chair at HEC Paris, Jean-Michel Gauthier spoke to us on March 3, one week after Russia invaded Ukraine. Jean-Michel is a veteran of the energy business. After a start in the oil and gas industry, he moved to the energy consulting for 16 years as a partner at Deloitte. In parallel, he joined HEC Paris’ finance department in 2006. The school campus is where we discuss the dramatic events developing in Ukraine. Jean-Michel focuses on a key factor behind the conflict: the question of energy. Not just the pipelines that bring Europe 40% of its natural gas and much of its oil – but also the knock-on effects on all energy sources that prop up our global economy. He helps us understand what role energy is playing in this ongoing conflict and where these upheavals could lead the entire planet.
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.
Is the COVID-19 pandemic an opportunity for us to rethink our current energy system? Jean-Michel Gauthier, professor and Executive Director of the Energy & Finance Chair at HEC Paris, explains the global consequences of the coronavirus and paints a picture of the future of the Energy Transition right here at the heart of the European Union.
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
The recent attacks on oil facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais took about 5% of the global oil supply and about 70% of the Saudi export potential, out of the market. Why did the attacks fail to affect the global oil industry? Jean-Michel Gauthier, Professor at HEC Paris and Executive Director of the Energy & Finance Chair, shares his views.
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
