Professor Zeidan elaborates on how attention to details and combing through the fine print can enable real change
Rodrigo Zeidan, Associate Professor of Business and Finance at NYU Shanghai wants students to remember to look at details when it comes to creating sustainable change.
“We already understand the problem of climate change,” says Zeidan, “but finding solutions that are politically, economically, and socially feasible is the next step.” He draws on Tesla as an example-- the company wants to scale up electric car production but is ultimately failing to meet production targets.
For attainable solutions to sustainability issues, Zeidan says 14 cents can make a huge difference. When he judged an internal competition by L’Oreal, the team that won the sustainability dimension was judged the best because they clarified that the cost of using ethanol-based plastic would be 14 cents (Brazilian Real) more than petroleum-based plastic. “They won because they gave a precise estimate...and they made sure that L’Oreal would be able to produce these products well and to quality standards.”
Zeidan’s own research, recently published in Nature Sustainability, shows that the reduction of tariffs on only seven imports (like cylindrical roller bearings for wind turbines) used in renewable energy production could boost renewable energy outputs enough to offset fossil fuel emissions related to 2% of European GDP growth. As a result, the EU would be able to power its growth with sustainable energy sources, and be one step closer to meeting its Paris Agreement objectives.
By digging into the minutiae of EU tariff law, Zeidan’s research shows that abolishing tariffs on imports used in sustainable energy production would increase the demand for cleaner energy at almost no cost to society.
“This is a politically viable solution that the European Trade Commission could very well afford to promote,” he says.
Rodrigo Zeidan is the Associate Professor of Practice of Business and Finance at NYU Shanghai, as well as a member of the Center for Business Education and Research (CBER) at NYU Shanghai, which aims to promote innovative research on China-related business and to inspire academic collaboration among industry leaders, business faculty and students.
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教授观点——更美好的世界：细节决定成败
气候变化是全人类所面临的共同挑战。通过改变发展路径实现可持续发展，能够减缓气候变化带来的影响，但具体实施起来，需要投入精准的研究和资源，制定切实的执行计划并克服各种障碍。上海纽约大学商学和金融学实践副教授Rodrigo Zeidan的主要研究方向为可持续金融，并关注企业金融和发展经济学等问题。他希望组织和个人在探索如何通过可持续发展创造一个更美好的世界时，能够从细节入手，从而确保项目得以执行。
“我们已经了解了气候变化的严峻现实，但下一步要做的，是在政治、经济、社会层面都找到切实可行的解决方案。” Zeidan教授说。以特斯拉为例，他指出其提出了要扩大电动车生产产能的革命性想法，但因为缺乏对执行的足够重视，始终难以达到既定的电动车生产目标。
对于实际解决可持续发展问题来说，也许仅仅14分的雷亚尔（巴西货币）就能带来巨大改变。Zeidan教授曾在欧莱雅内部竞赛“Beauty Shaker”担任评委。其中，可持续发展类别的获奖团队精准地估算出相较于传统的石油基质塑料，使用乙醇基质塑料作为包装材料会增加14分的变动成本。“他们之所以获胜，正是因为能够做出精准的预估。这确保了欧莱雅能够顺利生产出达到产品质量标准的新型包装材料。”
Zeidan教授近期在《自然·可持续发展》期刊上发表的研究结果表明，如果降低用于生产可再生能源的七种商品（如风力发电机中的滚柱轴承）的关税，所带来的可再生能源增量便能抵消由生产欧盟GDP产量 2%所带来的化石燃料排放量。这样，欧盟可以持续提高可再生能源产量，向《巴黎协议》所制定的目标迈近。
通过深入钻研欧盟关税法的细节，Zeidan教授的研究表明：降低征收用于生产可再生能源的商品关税几乎不会对社会整体产生额外的成本，却能刺激市场对于新型洁净能源的需求。
“对欧洲贸易委员会来说，这是一个具备政治可行性并易于推广开来的解决方案。”Zeidan教授说。
Rodrigo Zeidan是上海纽约大学商学和金融学实践副教授，同时也是上纽大商学教育与研究中心（CBER）的成员之一。该中心是一个为校内外多方参与者建立的资源分享型平台，旨在促进商学教学和研究的创新品质，强化人文博雅教育对于高等商学教育的重要性。