![innovation in products and
services is essential to
achieving deep
decarbonization. Europe is
suffering from an “innovation
deficit”.
• Actually, Europe may be suffering more from a diffusion
and deployment deficit. Consider the wedges approach
of Pacala/Socolow and Blok et al.
• There are many analysts [e.g., Amory Lovins (2011) and
Robert Ayres (2016)] who argue that there are many
technologies already in existence which could be
defused into use, but which suffer by the inadequacies
of appropriate market and regulatory signals, sufficient
market demand, and/or lock-in due to inappropriate
policies -- and influence and agency capture by
incumbent technology providers
• Actually, it is system innovation that is needed,
integrating changes in the activities of previously
unconnected actors, some operating in different
networks. Government Trusteeship for an industrial
transformation is key.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/wssd-u-2016sept14openingpanel-161007132706/85/WSSD-U-2016-Sept-14-Opening-Panel-27-320.jpg)
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WSSD-U-2016 Sept 14 Opening Panel
- 1. Designing Tomorrow’s Campus: Resiliency,Vulnerability, and Adaptation 14-16 September 2016 WSSD-U 2016
- 2. WSSD-U 2016 attendees:33 countries
- 3. connect download the guidebook appand get speaker bios, full agenda, and more! guidebook.com/g/sustainconnect16 WSSD-U-2016
- 4. 4:00 PM OpeningRemarks & Welcome 4:15- 5:30 PM Keynote Panel : Are Sustainability policies good indicators of commitment of higher education institutions? 5:30 PM Light reception Agenda: 14 September 2016 WSSD-U-2016
- 6.
- 7. How can MITbe a game changing force for campus sustainability in the 21st Century? guiding question:
- 8. MIT Office ofSustainability
- 12. How can WEbe a game changing force for campus sustainability in the 21st Century? guiding question:
- 13. Moderator: Walter Leal,Manchester Metropolitan University UK & HAW Hamburg, Germany Panelists: Nicholas Ashford, Professor of Technology and Policy, MIT Wu Jiang, Professor, Tongji University, Global University Partnership of Education for Sustainability co-chair Chris Shiel, Professor of Life and Environmental Sciences, Bournemouth University Keynote Panel 4:15-5:30 Are Sustainability Policies Good Indicators of Commitment of Higher Education Institutions? WSSD-U-2016
- 14. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT POLICIES Theireffect on institutions of higher learning and where institutional changes could be made. Nicholas A. Ashford, PhD, JD Professor of Technology & Policy Director, MIT Technology and Law Program Massachusetts Institute of Technology Copyright © 2016 Nicholas A. Ashford
- 15. Environment Technological change & globalization Work Economy Theeconomy provides goods and services adequate to satisfy the basic material needs of all members of society and provides abundant and equitable opportunities for the realization of human potential Livelihoods are secure and available that provide satisfying engagement in work and equitable reward for labor, permit the maintenance of a decent standard of living, and are conducted in a safe working environment Long-run flows of environmental services are provided at a level sufficient to maintain a stable ecosystem and to support human health and welfare What is the meaning of sustainable development? Copyright© 2016 Nicholas A. Ashford
- 16. Preliminary Observations onthe Sustainability Cris • We are facing the longest recovery period of jobs/employment in modern history. Unemployment rates do not tell the whole story; wages & job growth continue to fall. • We are facing unprecedented wealth (and income) inequality. And that distortion in wealth has a profound effect on the economic & political agenda of democratic countries (Piketty; Atkinson; Stiglitz). • We are hollowing out the middle class with a divergence between the stock market and the ‘real economy’ … skill-based technological change and the spreading of earning capacity (MIT’s 2nd Machine Age) • There is great volatility in the US and global economic system. • We seem bent on believing in an economic recovery (GDP and productivity), rather than a transformation of the industrial state. • We continue to believe that increasing technological innovation is the most assured pathway to better times (contrast the 2nd Machine Age). • Global climate disruption/environmental issues present a continuing challenge. • Reform of the financial system remains illusory. • We have an unresponsive political system. Copyright© 2016 Nicholas A. Ashford
- 17. What is theNature of the Current Crisis? The perfect storm: reinforcement of bad outcomes • FINANCE • WEALTH CONCENTRATION • EMPLOYMENT • CONSUMPTION • INVESTMENT AND PRODUCTION • ENVIRONMENT Copyright© 2016 Nicholas A. Ashford
- 18. The Nature ofthe Current Crisis • FINANCE: Origin - decades of the relaxation of regulatory controls - reckless provision of credit (to both producers and consumers) + issuance of dubious financial instruments - short-termism, money chasing money Aftermath: collapse of the housing and financial markets => - reluctance of lenders to lend, and … - reluctance of producers and consumers to borrow or spend in uncertain and volatile futures - This affects employment, consumption, and growth • WEALTH CONCENTRATION • EMPLOYMENT • CONSUMPTION • INVESTMENT AND PRODUCTION • ENVIRONMENT Copyright© 2016 Nicholas A. Ashford
- 19. What can bedone about the Current Crises? (recovery or transformation?) • FINANCE (reform the financial system) – transparency, regulation, oversight, international agreements – democratize credit – public or community-based financing of sustainable growth • (the B-Corp or Benefit Corporation) • WEALTH & INCOME CONCENTRATION (redistribution; basic income guarantees) • EMPLOYMENT (shorten the workweek, maintaining income; redesign jobs) • CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION (green the economy?) • ENVIRONMENT (build a circular economy; regulation; economic instruments) • TRADE (fairer trade practices; “re-shoring”; change the trade rules; disengage from the world trade regimes? (TTIP and TPP?)
- 20. KEY QUESTIONS • Howmight the modern industrial or industrializing state be envisioned? i.e., what is the system? • How is the concern with sustainability affecting institutions of higher learning? – Engendering a focus on environmental sustainability • What is the role of those institutions in addressing the sustainability challenges? – Contribute to greening the economy through S&T – Broaden research & teaching to other sustainability goals
- 21. Extraction industries Manufacturing Agriculture Transportation Energy Services Housing ICT SOLUTIONS Education & HumanResource Development Industry Initiatives Government Intervention/Regulation Stakeholder Involvement Financing Sustainable Development Consumer Consumption Commercial Consumption Government Consumption SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGES Inadequate Supply of, and Access to, Essential Goods & Services Toxic Pollution Climate Disruption Resource Depletion Biodiversity/Ecosystem Integrity Environmental Injustice Employment/Purchasing Power Economic Inequity Copyright© 2016 Nicholas A. Ashford
- 22. Extraction industries Manufacturing Agriculture Transportation ENERGY Services Housing ICT Producer-created demand SOLUTIONS Education&Human ResourceDevelopment Industry Initiatives Government Intervention/Regulation StakeholderInvolvement Reform the FinancialSystem Consumer Consumption Commercial Consumption Government Consumption SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGES Inadequate Supply of, and Access to, Essential Goods & Services Toxic Pollution Climate Disruption Resource Depletion Biodiversity/Ecosystem Integrity Environmental Injustice Employment/Purchasing Power Economic Inequity FINANCE Subsidies Credit Copyright© 2016 Nicholas A. Ashford
- 23. What is involvedin “greening the econom • Dematerializing, de-toxifying, and de-energizing production, products, and services (building a circular economy/moderate supply-side changes) • Moving to less environmentally-damaging energy sources (moderate supply-side changes) • Greening manufacturing and energy green jobs? A triple dividend? (more radical supply-side changes are possible, but jobs are likely to be redistributed between sectors with no net gain in employment; a lowering of skills may be demanded, depressing wages) • Consuming less (serious demand-side changes) • Travelling less (serious demand-side changes) • Working less? (with lower wages ~ lowering demand) • Whatever the developed countries do, there is the overwhelming pressure for increased growth and consumption in the developing
- 24. What systemic factorscontributes to unemployment and under-employment? • Technological displacement and attendant deskilling of labor, leading to decreases in wages and purchasing power • Tendency to shift from utilizing labor to utilizing physical capital and energy, driven by both costs associated with labor benefits and by volatility of the economy • Location of production/service facilities abroad (offshoring slowing/reversing now in the US = “re- shoring” but without job/wage growth) • Reluctance to expand employment in volatile timesCopyright© 2016 Nicholas A. Ashford
- 25. Alternative ways ofincreasing earning capacity and improving the environment, cont’d. • Meet essential needs of consumers in a different way (shift to product services; a shared economy?) – lowering consumption, environmental impacts and costs to consumers; and increasing wages • Encourage the production of essential goods and services and discourage others – regulate advertising; tax the “bads” • Invest in labor-intensive production and services • Adopt a four-day workweek but maintain workpay parity • Change workers into owners – thru changes in business ownership and corporate structures • By allowing them to acquire capital with the (future) earnings of capital (two-factor economics – R. Ashford) • Tax Corporations that shift production/services/ownership abroad • Educate workers/consumers for the economy of the futureCopyright© 2016 Nicholas A. Ashford
- 26. THE ENERGY CHALLENGE •In addition to others (Sachs 2015), the Energy Transition Commission (2016) has also warned th at meeting COP21 targets will not come close to achieving a 1.5 degree C rise to stem serious climate disruption…The COP21 commitments are unbalanced between the supply and demand levers, and are very limited in scope outside the power sector. • In addition into making technology-specific changes, changes to the international trading system needs to receive immediate and serious consideration. The EU ETC (2016, p. 9) observes that: “the shift in countries offshore a significant percentage of their domestic emissions (up to 48% according to some estimates).” • This argues not only that redesigning the WTO (and TTIP) trade rules needs to be undertaken, but also that trade policy has to be an integral and important part of the overall strategy to achieve deep decarbonization. • There is a need to recognize some myths about industrial economies (Ashford and Renda 2016)
- 27. innovation in productsand services is essential to achieving deep decarbonization. Europe is suffering from an “innovation deficit”. • Actually, Europe may be suffering more from a diffusion and deployment deficit. Consider the wedges approach of Pacala/Socolow and Blok et al. • There are many analysts [e.g., Amory Lovins (2011) and Robert Ayres (2016)] who argue that there are many technologies already in existence which could be defused into use, but which suffer by the inadequacies of appropriate market and regulatory signals, sufficient market demand, and/or lock-in due to inappropriate policies -- and influence and agency capture by incumbent technology providers • Actually, it is system innovation that is needed, integrating changes in the activities of previously unconnected actors, some operating in different networks. Government Trusteeship for an industrial transformation is key.
- 28. Myth #4: Governmentscannot pick winners. Winners pick governments. – The US experience with aircraft, computers, the internet, space technology, and pharmaceuticals (to name just a few examples) clearly demonstrates the power of government funding of research, e.g., see the U.S. examples of DARPA and ARPA-E. – Winners may pick governments if the incumbents dominate the policy agenda and interventions.
- 29. Myth #6: Regulationinhibits beneficial innovation. • The Porter Hypothesis • The MIT Hypothesis • Better Regulation is not about cutting red tape and allowing incumbents to negotiate targets.
- 30. Myth #7: Carbonleakage presents a practical disincentive and limits to what NATIONAL regulation can achieve in terms of decarbonization. • Carbon leakage is a BIG problem which is why multi- lateral action is needed and why revision of the world trade
- 32. • If weattributed to the developed countries the GHG emissions associated with producing goods and services for them by China, emissions now attributed to China would be much less and those attributed to the developing countries would be much more. In addition, China is a very inefficient producer. • Since 2005, government subsidies to assist firms in achieving compliance with environmental/global climate goals for their exports are considered “actionable – i.e., subject to border adjustments by countries receiving those exports. • India’s “buy national policy” on solar panels declared illegal by the World Trade Organization, discouraging needed infrastructure in India. • All the above contribute to carbon leakage and increases in GHG emissions. • Trade policies and trade rules must be revised.
- 33. THIS IS NOT(JUST) A TEXTBOOK: ASHFORD & HALL 2011 YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Editor's Notes
- #6 Arrived at MIT and conducted a 100 plus listening tour to get to know MIT as a campus and familiarize myself with the organization. Assumptions, visions, characteristics, perceived barriers etc.
- #9 As an Office of Sustainability, how can we achieve greater impact and reach? Really leverage the unique capacity of MIT be a gamechanger in the field of campus sustainability?
- #10 Start with the individual. We want people to find their place in this framework. Recognize the deep interconnectivity – and need for working at these scales.