Jeffrey Sachs challenges CEOs' climate action plans at Michelin's Movin'On

PARIS—Thirty years from now, the world will be drastically different. And while it's difficult to discern which technologies and big ideas will have emerged to lead us there, the consensus seems to be that the future will be more sustainable.

Michelin, through its Movin'On Summit, has committed to exploring mobility technologies, innovations and solutions on the horizon. The four-day event—hosted virtually with limited in-person attendance June 1-4 from locations in Paris, Singapore and Montreal—is designed as a forum for industry leaders and stakeholders to have conversations, network and debate about what future mobility holds.

To help kick off the summit, a panel of chief executives, including Michelin CEO Florent Menegaux, focused on the road to sustainable mobility and debated what it will take for the world to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

Julie Sweet, CEO of Accenture, a global professional services company with expertise in digital, cloud and security, said the world is at a significant crossroads when it comes to taking action on sustainability.

"Let me just start with saying that we need to move from collective awareness to collective action," Sweet said. "The question now is what does collective action take?"

Menegaux believes that achieving a zero-emissions target will involve a broad range of solutions from all industries that are implemented immediately. It's a perspective that was echoed by most of the panelists.

"It is time now to act," Menegaux said, noting the urgency climate has placed on the moment. "That transition will take some steps, and it is more important that we move into concrete steps right now than wait for the perfect solution that may come in 5 years, 10 years or 20 years from now. We need to make concrete progress right now."

Progress, he said, may feel slow, but it will be steady. If leaders and stakeholders from all industries commit to a zero-emissions vision, hitting the target is possible. Setting and achieving 2030 targets is the first step on that journey, he said.

"We will not switch the world from where it is today (by) tomorrow (with) a magic touch," Menegaux said. "We need to do something concrete every day, and that is what Movin'On is all about."

The global COVID-19 pandemic is propelling industries forward, too, according to Rodolphe Saade, chairman and CEO of CMA CGM Group. It has impacted businesses, people and communities in ways that many never expected, and it added urgency to sustainability goals.

"What we have seen from the COVID crisis is that we have learned two lessons: The first is the vulnerability of society and our models, and the second is the ability to change and adapt to change," Saade said. "The time for promises is over, and we feel it is important that we take serious action to try to remedy the situation we are being faced with."

Jeffrey Sachs, president of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network and director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, sees things differently. The pandemic hasn't changed the urgency of the moment, he said. It's only changed our perspectives.

"I think the pandemic has shocked the world, but it hasn't fundamentally changed our prospects on climate," Sachs said. "For that, we need an energy system transformation. And I would emphasize that it is not our 2030 targets that are crucial, it is our mid-century reaching zero that is crucial. 2030 is important because it's a measure of how fast we are moving to reality."

Sachs contends that the biggest obstacle to the net zero goal is not the daunting challenges of climate change or the timeline needed to address them. The world, he said, is fully prepared to achieve its biggest carbon neutrality goals within the needed time frame.

There also is no shortage of innovation or technology to get us across the net-zero finish line, according to Sachs. Wind and solar power, these are proven technologies, he said. The auto industry has proven that vehicle electrification not only is a possibility, it's an inevitability, and embracing that technology quickly—through the electrification of all light vehicles and many medium vehicles—will make a tremendous difference.

"We are at the end of the story now," Sachs said. "The climate has warmed dangerously. It's going to get out of control absolutely unless we put on the brakes right now. The point is to apply what we know, apply it rapidly, and to get to net zero everywhere. And that is also to say no to old, incumbent fossil fuel interests; they cannot go on wrecking the world.

"You see, the big problem is not that we lack what to do, because we know how to move to wind, solar, hydro and other zero-carbon energy sources," Sachs said. "… The problem has been the incumbent fossil fuel sectors, which have been politically powerful, and—in petro countries like the United States, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Canada—foot dragging. That has been the problem."

Saade touted some of the steps that CMA CGM Group has taken to cut greenhouse gas emissions, particularly on its ocean vessels. Leaning into liquid natural gas has helped to cut emissions and, in the coming months, at least 42 vessels will be powered by LNG, he said.

Saade sees this as one of many viable solutions that must be embraced today.

"All of these solutions must be encouraged," Saade said. "I know they are not the best, but at least they are available today. And when I hear some of our competitors criticizing what we are doing, I believe, today, what is more important is we need to join forces and find solutions that are good for the environment. And if we can do it all together, we stand a better chance to help the planet and move forward.

"LNG might not be the ideal solution, but it is a solution that is available today that allows us to reduce CO2 emissions by around 20 percent," Saade said.

It's also not the only technology the shipping and logistics company said it has embraced. Biomethane—a renewable energy around agricultural waste—can reduce emissions by between 70 and 90 percent, and biofuels made from recycled cooking oils can reduce emissions by 17 percent, Saade said.

Sachs pushed back on the idea that the best way forward is together incrementally.

Our climate problems, he said, are just too great to take on step by tiny step. They require giants leaps with big investments behind them. Sachs also contends that solutions touted as "incremental steps" often become permanent solutions or hindrances that derail true progress toward and achievement of sustainability goals.

To address the climate issues faced around the globe, Sachs implored companies to take the lead by investing in big, bold innovations that are not rooted in fossil fuels.

"We have to move fast, but we don't have to dig ourselves in deeper. Solutions that are called 'interim solutions' often are not interim solutions at all. They are just getting us deeper into trouble," Sachs said. "LNG is not a solution. What we need is decarbonized vessels, we need hydrogen combustion fuel cells or an alternative. What really counts is not reducing carbon emissions by 20 percent and saying 'yes! We did it quickly.'

" … I don't like an approach that says 'act now because we are all partners and then we'll figure out the next step.' I want to see the path to zero," Sachs said. "… It is not happy talk that is going to get us there. It is net-zero technologies that are going to get us there. So don't invest in new gas technologies that are just going to be another bottleneck, another stranded asset, another fight with the shareholders, another difficulty or another excuse, when what we need to do is get to zero. That is my view and I am sorry to put it so bluntly, but we are out of time. And out of time does not mean you do anything, it means you have a plan to get where you need to go."

Saade agrees that there needs to be a path to net-zero emissions within the next three decades. The problem, he said, is that the technology available today will not allow his company to switch quickly to the technologies that Sachs proposes.

"If we were to go for (zero-emissions) energy today, it is not possible," Saade said. "In our industry, in the shipping industry, it would take about 10 years to come up with a zero-carbon solution. So what do we do for 10 years?

"… What is important, as far as I am concerned, and as CEO of CMA CGM, my objective is to do it step-by-step," Saade said. "Let us start with LNG, with biomethane (and) with bioenergies. Then, after 10 years of hard research and development, if we come up with a solution that is zero-carbon, then I will be very happy. But for the time being, we don't have it, and I am not going to wait and sit."

The heart of the issue, Sachs said, is that the urgency of the moment demands strategic investments in new technologies that pull industries away from their dependence on fossil fuels.

Incremental steps, made on the backs of newer, proven technologies such as wind and solar will set industries up for success, he said.

"Gas is not a stepping-stone technology," Sachs said. "That is a line of the fossil fuel industry. It's never been true. It remains not true today. … It will take a few years to make the new technologies, but everything that is an investment in the fossil fuel industry—new pipelines, new oil and gas developments, new applications of gas and other hydrocarbon-based technologies—this is actually a dead end."

Despite the disagreements among the panelists, Sweet was optimistic. While she agrees that the path forward should be one that involves players from all industries taking advantage of all technologies and making everyday, incremental steps, she pointed out the disagreements were not about the end goal.

"I would say—and this is where Jeffery and I disagree—I believe in progress over perfection," Sweet said. "If we are united in a goal to get to zero, we need to move.

" … There seems to be absolute agreement in where we need to land, but disagreement in how we need to execute. I am optimistic that you have here CEOs who are very committed to taking action. I would really focus on progress over perfection, so we really do achieve net zero by 2050."