Sustainable Transformation of Business and Finance: A Democratic Challenge in An Age of Climate Change and Artificial Intelligence

Abstract

Corporations are among the dominant contributors to climate change and environmental degradation. At the same time, they could still become champions to turn the ship around. With great power comes great responsibility. The emphasis on profit maximization led carbon majors to be one of the main contributors to climate change. Additionally, globalized and multi-level production and trade have led to concerns for human rights in business processes. Furthermore, the in-action of big techs in addressing mis/disinformation in their platforms has led artificial intelligence to destabilize democratic discourses. The planetary crisis, modern slavery, and democratic erosion propelled Academy fellows and faculty to respond with urgency. As the TBLSA Impact Paper puts forth, business law and finance offer effective avenues, such as the purpose-driven business model and the revaluation of asset management, for a just transition which takes into account climate justice, more meaningful transparency, and algorithm accountability so long as public and private actors implement the concrete policy recommendations proposed in this brief.

Keywords: Climate change, sustainability, artificial intelligence, algorithm governance, democratic crisis, carbon majors, asset managers, planetary crisis, climate justice, just transition