Describe a day in the life of a character of your choice in a carbon-neutral society in 2050. This is the unconventional exercise proposed to second-year students of the Master in Management - Grande Ecole Program - to better understand the challenges and stakes of climate change. The Energy for Society Chair has published a selection in an ebook and invites you to dive into their imagination!
Describe a day in the life of a character of your choice in a carbon-neutral society in 2050. This is the unconventional exercise proposed to second-year students of the Master in Management - Grande Ecole Program - and to international third-year students in the Global Management program of the Bachelor in International Business (BIB), now known as International BBA to better understand the challenges and stakes of climate change. The Energy for Society Chair has published a selection in an ebook and invites you to dive into their imaginative world!
Within the framework of the course “Technological and Social Innovation to Transform the Energy Sector,” second-year PGE students and students from GEM’s third-year “International Contemporary Issues” course were tasked with writing an essay in which they imagine a day in the life of a character of their choice in a carbon-neutral society in 2050.
An unconventional exercise to understand climate challenges
Much like the storytelling initiative co-founded by Agency for Ecological Transition, Ademe, the exercise invites students to unleash their imaginations. Utopia or dystopia, individual or collective restraint, unbridled technological innovation or frugality—each story reflects the anger, hope, and expectations of the students in the face of a challenge that will almost certainly have a significant impact on their lives. Most of these essays were written before the onset of the energy crisis.
“We proposed this unconventional exercise to our students because transitioning to a carbon-neutral society will require us to renew our collective imagination—and with it, our relationship with energy and nature,” explains Anne-Lorène Vernay, associate professor and member of the Energy for Society Chair.
An initiative featured in an ebook by the Energy for Society Chair
The Energy for Society Chair at GEM chose to support this initiative by publishing a selection of the best essays in an ebook.
says Carine Sebi, associate professor and coordinator of the Energy for Society Chair.
In this second ebook, five essays were selected:
- Letter from an Old Friend
- Journal 2050 – Climate Generation
- The More We Cooperate, The Less We Will Have to Sacrifice for Carbon Neutrality
- Viewing 2050 – ‘I plant, I sow, I water, I cherish, I harvest, I sell, I plow, I prune, and it's back to work.
- An Ideal Lifestyle in Switzerland
This collection has existed since 2022 and aims to select the best student works each year based on predefined criteria.
Download the 2022 Edition in French
The Energy for Society Chair’s goal is to test the effectiveness of new measures that reconcile business attractiveness with citizen engagement. At the same time, the chair produces and disseminates knowledge through conferences, roundtables, publications, media appearances, and more.
- Sustainability
- Energy
- Research
- GEM Research
