The last several years have seen an accelerated focus on climate change, whether in the halls of government, the boardrooms of corporations, or the daily lives of individuals. These discussions not only aim to seek solutions to limit warming to levels necessary to mitigate the most disastrous effects, but also to explore how societies and governments balance the immediacy and magnitude of the issue against other needs and goals. Historically, these fights have been viewed as environmentalists versus energy producers. But today’s world is far more complex, with a growing and diverse stakeholder community attempting to exert influence on these discussions, each with competing interests, priorities, and perspectives.
These debates are more complex than determining the feasibility and efficiency of a particular solution in lowering emissions. What are the costs, and who pays for them? What externalities are created by these solutions, and how are they distributed? And what happens to the industries and people impacted by the current fossil fuel economy, for better or worse? How individuals, firms, markets, and the government come together or grow apart in answering these questions requires an examination through both traditional Business School tools and the sausage-making of politics, involving the various parties with a stake in the game.
This course will attempt to address some of these issues. However, this course will not focus on the firm’s perspective, which is the customary starting point for most Business School courses. Instead, the course will focus on various governmental entities, commonly referred to as “the state.” The firm represents one of the actors that influences and is influenced by the State. However, we will also consider other stakeholders, including policymakers, politicians, financiers, lobbyists, workers, communities, and advocates. As politics is an exercise in coalition building, how these actors work with or against each other is critical to understanding the potential solution set while also considering the disproportionate way climate change impacts particular communities and people. To that end, the interests of a traditional profit-maximizing firm may conflict with those of others.
As many students will soon be entering firms, it will be essential to align the fundamentals of how a firm’s agenda aligns and conflicts with the needs and goals of various stakeholders who also have a voice. The course aims to support students in this endeavor in the field of climate and energy, but the skills learned apply to any regulated industry.
