Think Bigger: Climate Innovation
Columbia Business School
"Climate Innovation"
December 5, 2025, 9:00-10:15 a.m.
Climate change is uniquely difficult to tackle. It's more long-term, global, uncertain, and irreversible than most any public policy problem. It's unique in the combination of all four.
Climate also poses a massive opportunity. Tackling it is nothing short of a wholesale transformation of the global economy, and this transformation is well underway.
We will explore how to think about climate risk, tech, policy, and business strategy looking at the seemingly easy and eminently scalable (solar & batteries) to the 'hard-to-abate' (steel & cement).
Readings:
Wagner, Gernot. “Business school teaching case study: Who pays for cutting carbon out of making cement?” Financial Times, 20 March 2025.
Wagner, Gernot. “Business school teaching case study: How can Ørsted overcome its US challenges?” Financial Times, 11 March 2025.
Wagner, Gernot. “Business school teaching case study: how should solar-panel makers respond to falling prices?” Financial Times, 11 February 2025.
Wagner, Gernot. “Business school teaching case study: capture or cut carbon to make steel greener?” Financial Times, 7 October 2024.
Faculty Director: Prof. Sheena Iyengar
