Can you create a 'snowball effect' to solve the climate crisis?

7th February 2020


Web energy saving istock 501033912 0

Related Topics

Related tags

  • sea ice loss

Author

robert speakman

By Kathryn Manning The University of Oxford in the UK is looking for bright ideas to create what they call a 'runaway solution' to combat global climate change. The best entry will win €1000 and the opportunity to pitch your idea to the team at Oxford. Those interested should submit their idea <a href=http://www.postcarbontransition.net/competition>here</a> by 1 March.

The reasoning behind the competition is that, in the face of global-warming, our political systems are moving too slowly and so a new approach is required. The idea is to find 'sensitive intervention points' – small actions that have the potential to tip the system and generate a large reduction in global emissions.

“Solutions to the climate change crisis aren't going to come from the same thinking that got us into this mess. That's why we are taking this competition global,“ said Cameron Hepburn, director of the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment. “We're looking for solutions that are simple but effective – and that bring a new perspective that we haven't thought of before.“ Hepburn's TEDx Talk explaining SIPs and the competition is available here.

A spokesperson from the University of Oxford explains: “In 2019, emissions were 4% higher than when the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015. In the face of national targets being missed, just 1 in 10 energy companies planning for decarbonisation, and growing ecological disasters, it can feel like no individual action can make a difference. But what if a small change could trigger outsized impacts?“

In 2019, researchers proposed a new approach. Based on this research on influencing behaviour they suggest designing climate interventions that take advantage of socio-economic and political tipping points. The paper states: “We focus on research and policies in which an intervention kicks or shifts the system so that the initial change is amplified by feedback effects that deliver outsized impact.“

Potential SIPs identified by the Oxford team include investment in key clean energy technology like solar power, with its dramatically declining costs, and changes to rules around financial disclosure of climate risk for shareholders: “When a system is at a tipping point, a relatively small change can trigger a profound impact. Think about a loud noise setting off an avalanche, or a lone Swedish schoolgirl inspiring climate strikes around the world. Identifying these 'sensitive intervention points' or SIPs, can lead to solutions with runaway positive impacts.“ Now these researchers are looking for ideas from around the world to accelerate the transition towards net-zero carbon emissions and decarbonise the global economy. The ‚Ǩ1000 cash prize will be offered for best new proposed SIP, which will then be pitched to the eminent Oxford advisory board in April 2020.

Conditions are that the SIPs must be able to be triggered in the near future; make use of systems that are “ripe for change“; and have self-reinforcing feedbacks that can generate accelerating change at scale. In other words, they are relatively small actions that might be taken in any aspect of our lives that have the potential to generate a large reduction in global emissions.

To enter, go to their website and send a concise description of your idea in less than 300 words by 1 March. Good luck!

Subscribe

Subscribe to IEMA's newsletters to receive timely articles, expert opinions, event announcements, and much more, directly in your inbox.


Transform articles

Facing the climate emergency challenge in local government

It’s well recognised that the public sector has the opportunity to work towards a national net-zero landscape that goes well beyond improving on its own performance; it can also influence through procurement and can direct through policy.

19th March 2024

Read more

The UK government’s carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) strategy is based on optimistic techno-economic assumptions that are now outdated, Carbon Tracker has warned.

13th March 2024

Read more

The UK’s new biodiversity net gain (BNG) requirements could create 15,000 hectares of woodlands, heath, grasslands, and wetlands and absorb 650,000 tonnes of carbon each year.

13th March 2024

Read more

The UK government’s latest Public Attitudes Tracker has found broad support for efforts to tackle climate change, although there are significant concerns that bills will rise.

13th March 2024

Read more

Multinational corporations are undermining their net-zero commitments with excessive air travel and no plans to reduce ‘the low hanging fruit’ of carbon footprints, a study by Transport & Environment has found.

13th March 2024

Read more

The UK government’s climate adaptation plans are ‘inadequate’ and falling ‘far short’ of what is required, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) has warned today.

13th March 2024

Read more

Large businesses across the world are avoiding climate action due to fear they will be called out for getting their work wrong, according to a new Carbon Trust report.

29th February 2024

Read more

A thought-provoking discussion on how storytelling can change the world took place in Central London last night, alongside an exclusive sneak preview of an upcoming IEMA film series.

29th February 2024

Read more

Media enquires

Looking for an expert to speak at an event or comment on an item in the news?

Find an expert

IEMA Cookie Notice

Clicking the ‘Accept all’ button means you are accepting analytics and third-party cookies. Our website uses necessary cookies which are required in order to make our website work. In addition to these, we use analytics and third-party cookies to optimise site functionality and give you the best possible experience. To control which cookies are set, click ‘Settings’. To learn more about cookies, how we use them on our website and how to change your cookie settings please view our cookie policy.

Manage cookie settings

Our use of cookies

You can learn more detailed information in our cookie policy.

Some cookies are essential, but non-essential cookies help us to improve the experience on our site by providing insights into how the site is being used. To maintain privacy management, this relies on cookie identifiers. Resetting or deleting your browser cookies will reset these preferences.

Essential cookies

These are cookies that are required for the operation of our website. They include, for example, cookies that enable you to log into secure areas of our website.

Analytics cookies

These cookies allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors to our website and to see how visitors move around our website when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works.

Advertising cookies

These cookies allow us to tailor advertising to you based on your interests. If you do not accept these cookies, you will still see adverts, but these will be more generic.

Save and close