Decarbonization Imperative – Transforming the Global Economy by 2050

Michael Lenox

Tayloe Murphy Professor of Business Administration, Special Advisor for the Dean, Darden School of Business, University of Virginia

Michael Lenox is a co-author of “The Decarbonization Imperative: Transforming the Global Economy by 2050,” published with his collaborator, Rebecca Duff. Recognizing the need to decarbonize the economy by 2050 to avoid the worst effects of climate change, Lenox and Duff propose a radical reconfiguration of industries, particularly those contributing most to the climate crisis. In his presentation, Lenox will describe how paradigm shifts involving disruptive innovation of industry dynamics across all sectors are key to decarbonization. Possible challenges and obstacles to transformation will be highlighted, as will realistic scenarios, given current business practices and products. Finally, he will outline ways to move toward clean tech and decarbonization through a combination of markets, policy interventions, and strategies.

Lenox is the Tayloe Murphy Professor of Business Administration at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, where he also serves as Special Advisor for the Dean, overseeing the research infrastructure in the Office of Research Services and leading other special projects. He served as the Senior Associate Dean and Chief Strategy Officer for the school between 2016 to 2023, and as Associate Dean of Innovation Programs and Academic Director of Darden’s Batten Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation between 2008 to 2016. He helped found and served as the inaugural president of the multiple-university Alliance for Research on Corporate Sustainability. In 2009, he was recognized as a Faculty Pioneer by the Aspen Institute and as the top strategy professor under 40 by the Strategic Management Society. In 2011, he was named one of the top 40 business professors under 40 by Poets & Quants.

Lenox’s primary expertise is in the domain of technology strategy and policy. He is broadly interested in the role of innovation and entrepreneurship for economic growth and firm competitive success. In particular, he explores the business strategy and public policy drivers of innovation. Lenox also has a long-standing interest in the interface between business strategy and public policy as it relates to the natural environment. His recent scholarly work includes the books “Can Business Save the Earth” (2018) and “The Decarbonization Imperative” (2021) both from Stanford University Press. He received his Ph.D. in technology management and policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1999 and the degrees of bachelor and master of science in systems engineering from the University of Virginia.

This seminar is co-sponsored by the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, The Center for Policy Research on Energy and the Environment, GradFutures Professional Development, and the Griswold Center for Economic Policy Studies.