Launch of the Research Chair “For a successful Energy Transition”

Press release - Launch of the Research Chair “For a successful Energy Transition” (PDF - 205ko)

AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM) and the AXA Research Fund have joined forces with Paris School of Economics (PSE) to launch a new Research Chair “For A Successful Energy Transition”, in order to further identify the conditions for an energy transition to a net zero emissions world.

This Chair incorporates three pillars:

• To better understand the scale of the cost induced by the energy transition, in particular assess the impact of climate policies in terms of stranded assets and green investments,
• To identify the macroeconomic scenarios of the transition and their consequences,
• To reassess the instruments of climate policies in terms of their social and political acceptability.

Led by Mouez Fodha (PSE, Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University), Fanny Henriet (PSE, CNRS) and Katheline Schubert (PSE, Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University), the Chair aims to create a privileged forum for collaboration between investment experts, researchers and practitioners. The considerations will be fed by work combining theoretical analysis of mechanisms, simulations and empirical estimates based on historical data. Surveys and experiments will be conducted to better understand the preferences and behaviour of individuals towards the types of instruments that can be used to drive the energy transition and the link in the development of trust towards institutions.

Scientific estimates of the carbon budget (the amount of CO2 that we can still emit into the atmosphere while limiting the temperature increase to +2°C) conclude that it is a necessity to reach the objective of net zero emissions by 2050. This emergency requires major structural changes, with a prior transition phase that must consider our societies’ energy choices, but also institutional, financial, budgetary, social and political choices.

Gilles Moëc, AXA Group Chief Economist and Head of Research at AXA IM, said: “By partnering with Paris School of Economics to create this Chair, AXA IM wishes to contribute to the effort to mitigate the effects of climate change and foster the transition to a more sustainable future. Some solutions to these issues do not yet exist. Collaborating with scientific and academic communities is therefore essential to identify solutions and new approaches to fight climate change.”

AXA IM, the AXA Research Fund and PSE would like to make the newly launched Chair a shared place for an informed public on the topic, with the objective to improve knowledge by considering instruments beyond the taxation of carbon emissions to conciliate efficiency and social support, through events, seminars and scientific contributions.

Marie Bogataj, Head of the AXA Research Fund and Group Foresight, said: “The AXA Research Fund’s mission is to address major societal challenges by supporting decision-making with scientific knowledge and dialogue with relevant experts. On this specific AXA-PSE Chair, we are partnering with AXA IM to build a collaborative platform on the interdisciplinary topic of efficient and fair ecological transition.”

Jean-Olivier Hairault, Director of Paris School of Economics (PSE), said: “This partnership with AXA is emblematic of the PSE’s ever-stronger commitment to the energy transition, to study the technological, financial and social conditions and implications. It also reflects PSE’s commitment to create innovative shared spaces for researchers and practitioners.”

The Steering Committee brings together the Chair’s holders, a representative of the PSE management and representatives of AXA: Gilles Moëc (AXA Group Chief Economist and Head of Research at AXA IM), Nancie Vendette (Head of Communication, Corporate Responsibility and Smart Working at AXA IM) and Marie Bogataj (Head of the AXA Research Fund and Group Foresight).

Press contact : Nathalie Bandolo - 01 80 52 17 08