Assistant Professor Vincent Pons discussed the case he wrote, “Climate Change: Paris, and the Road Ahead,” with students in a Business, Government, and the International Economy class in spring 2019. (photo by Kavita Pillay)

Assistant Professor Vincent Pons discussed the case he wrote, “Climate Change: Paris, and the Road Ahead,” with students in a Business, Government, and the International Economy class in spring 2019. (photo by Kavita Pillay)

“Climate Change: Paris, and the Road Ahead,” a case taught in the MBA Program’s first-year Required Curriculum in spring 2019, begins with a description of the euphoric moment in Paris on December 12, 2015, when delegates from around the world jumped from their seats, “crying, clapping, screaming” in celebration of their collective agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions “as fast as possible.”

Assistant Professor Vincent Pons wrote the case with Amram Migdal (a former research associate) and Mike Lynch (MBA 2017) for the Business, Government, and the International Economy class to help students explore the impact of policymaking on business around climate change. The case offers background on the decades of scientific study, multilateral negotiations, and tedious wordsmithing that led up to the Paris Agreement. It also examines the consequences of President Donald J. Trump’s 2017 withdrawal from the accord; the emerging leadership of the European Union and China on the issue; and the economic, political, and scientific realities that make achieving the agreement’s goals so difficult.

“I wrote the case to better understand how so many of us view climate change as both a global threat and one of the most important issues facing business in the 21st century, and yet so little has been done about it,” says Pons. The project received support from staff at the School’s Europe Research Center, who facilitated contacts with 13 top executives and policymakers at European businesses and institutions.

When Pons teaches the case, students consider the history of climate science, how country- specific concerns affect public opinion and climate policies, and the relative cost of various energy sources. “There is always lively classroom discussion about whether industries that pollute are paying a high enough price for their trans­- gressions and whether innovation and R&D alone can help companies stop polluting,” Pons says. They also discuss government regulation and the societal responsibility of business leaders versus their obligation to shareholders.

“Climate Change: Paris, and the Road Ahead” is one of several new cases introduced in the MBA Program to encourage deeper learning about key issues facing society. Michael Toffel, the Senator John Heinz Professor of Environmental Management and chair of the Business and Environment Initiative, says HBS faculty are developing and teaching cases that incorporate environmental sustainability issues for required courses ranging from Finance to Leadership & Corporate Accountability to Technology & Operations Management. “We’re working to keep pace with practice and expand curricular options,” Toffel notes. “Regardless of their career paths, our students are unlikely to confront a more multifaceted or urgent global issue.”

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