You can read our briefing for the Environmental Audit Committee’s Seventh Carbon Budget inquiry showcasing 4 research programmes from @inetoxford.bsky.social that could help inform decisions @doynefarmer.bsky.social @emilienravigne.bsky.social @bapeterj.bsky.social www.inet.ox.ac.uk/news/complex...

*NEW WORKING PAPER* Using vision-language models to extract network data from images of system maps We need to test whether gen AI tools can help with systems mapping. Here, we lay out a formal approach for doing so, and test a specific use case on 7 models. www.inet.ox.ac.uk/publications...

Applications Now Open The Oxford Climate Society is delighted to announce that applications for the School of Climate Change (SoCC) are open until Saturday 11 October, midnight (11:59pm UK time) oxfordclimatesociety.com/school-of-cl...

Really excellent article on approaches to AI and the connections between geopolitics and academia... www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte...

New @inetoxford.bsky.social working paper from the fantastic Brendon Tankwa. “Who rides the renewable cost curve? Country evidence on prices, learning, and policy.” In it, we kick around country-level cost data on solar and wind every which way we could think of! www.inet.ox.ac.uk/publications...

was wondering what happened to Nina Chen and if the OCC still somehow had a chief climate risk officer, but no... she's at LSE

🚨 Warning 🚨: cheesy career news post incoming 🧀 . Apologies in advance! From mid-September, I am very excited to be joining UCL Arts and Sciences (UASc) as a lecturer in social economics! @artshumsucl.bsky.social

New open access paper on how to identify and assess positive tipping points to catalyse the low-carbon transition. This work synthesises a lot of ideas in this space and makes them practical and usable in research and policy work. Check it out: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Fed up with economists using inappropriate methods to study climate change and net zero? Here is a paper for you, "Economic models and frameworks to guide climate policy"! We speak to governments about what they need, and show which economic methods can deliver. academic.oup.com/oxrep/advanc...

Shiny new report on 10 System Archetypes of the energy transition. Addresses the questions, how can governments manage the transition, given its countless moving parts and complexity? Which actions will be self-amplifying, and which will be self-defeating? www.scurveeconomics.org/publications...

Why the energy transition is non-linear: Excited to share that an article I co-authored on how feedback loops & non-linear thinking can inform climate policy is now published by the @weforum.org. We dive into why systems thinking is crucial for real climate progress. www.weforum.org/stories/2025...

Shiny new report on 10 System Archetypes of the energy transition. Addresses the questions, how can governments manage the transition, given its countless moving parts and complexity? Which actions will be self-amplifying, and which will be self-defeating? www.scurveeconomics.org/publications...

🚨 NEW RESEARCH: The energy transition is more disruptive—and could move much faster—than most people think. It’s not just about swapping old tech for new. Shift to clean energy is a complex web of feedback loops, tipping points & surprises. Our new 📖 👇 www.scurveeconomics.org/publications... 🧵

The climate movement keeps saying 'stop talking about system change' and inaccessible jargon. Well, if this makes you sad then see 'system' and 'feedback loops' and 'levers' jargon put to excellent use in our new report. Summary in @carbonbrief.org too www.carbonbrief.org/guest-post-h...

Solar hit 700GW in 2020—10x what was forecast in 2006. Why? Feedback loops & non-linear change, not just tech swaps, drive clean energy. Our new @carbonbrief.org piece: Early policy support + smart market design + cross-sector links = faster decarbonisation. www.carbonbrief.org/guest-post-h...

New revamped @cecan.bsky.social fellowship scheme! www.cecan.ac.uk/cecan-fellow... 1) Interact with our team of experts on policy evaluation and analysis, systems thinking and complexity. 2) Work on mini-project related to challenges in your work. Open to anyone working in these areas!

A new working paper from @bapeterj.bsky.social's team develops an approach for using natural language processing in policy analysis. Yuan Fu & Pete show that NLP workflow is full of subjective judgements and choices 🔗 www.inet.ox.ac.uk/publications... @inet-complexity.bsky.social #complexity

🚨 New working paper - geeking out on systems mapping 🤓 *Using natural language processing to create prelim system maps* www.inet.ox.ac.uk/publications...

New guidance on using LLMs to support systems mapping exercises. LLMs can be a useful tool, but only as a complement to a wider exercise. The won't do your systems thinking for you! www.cecan.ac.uk/wp-content/u...

THREAD: How the Sun screwed up its "smoking gun" story on net-zero study The Sun: "As much as 10% wld be wiped off economic growth by end of decade" Source: "At no point does this study suggest there will be a drop in UK GDP. It talks abt a 10% transfer…within GDP" Oops! 1/10

The latest paper from @bapeterj.bsky.social with Domenica Cox and Alexandra Penn examines systems thinking in UK environmental policy making www.inet.ox.ac.uk/publications...

New working paper! 🚨 Systems thinking in UK environmental policy There has been a big uptick in the use of systems thinking in UK gov working on environmental and energy policy…we take a look at what’s going on! Feedback welcome! www.inet.ox.ac.uk/publications...

How is the net zero economy contributing to regions across the UK? Data 🧵

UK net zero by 2050: technically & economically feasible ✅ 6️⃣5️⃣% of all Brits support the net zero target (22% oppose) ✅ Clear majority see renewables & clean tech as top growth sector ✅ 🇬🇧 net zero economy 📈 by 10% in 2024 ✅ Global momentum only going in one direction buff.ly/7Gm9c1F

In Nature Climate Change, @chrisbataille.bsky.social and I describe three common situations when energy/economic models are detrimental to climate policymaking efforts 🧵 rdcu.be/ecSMX

The superpower of solar/storage is that it can be built very quickly. It's also cheap. electrek.co/2025/03/10/s...

School meals not only advance children's education, health and equity–for @NewStatesman I argue that school meals in the UK should be universal and can further climate and economic goals through well-structured investment such as innovative procurement mechanisms. Read more ➡️ buff.ly/oK7GDAz

Jesus fucking christ

Beyond enraging how same people who were happy to take an economic hit from Brexit because of sovereignty insist we can't take a smaller (and possibly non-existent) economic hit from net zero because it's only about protecting the only known habitable biosphere. www.businessgreen.com/news/4410408...

There is no country/zone with a) high prices and low carbon emissions or b) with low prices and high emissions. The higher the carbon emissions from electricity generation in 2024, the higher the prices and vice versa. HT Esko Heinonen

When I'm told on social media that heat pumps don't work in old buildings I invite people to my 144 year old Victorian house to see it with their own eyes. So far no one has accepted the invitation so I allow you to virtually step inside my house. Come on in! www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5k7...

Coming up on Wednesday 5th March 2025 @ 16:30 GMT ➤ The Oxford Systems Thinking Hub: Fireside Chat with Peter Drobac 🙋 In person event 🔗 www.inet.ox.ac.uk/events/the-i... #systemsthinking @reubencollege.bsky.social @inet-complexity.bsky.social @bapeterj.bsky.social

Final event of this term is on 5 March...sign up now!

Still a few spaces, but only a few so get in quick! This FREE event will be of interest if you work anywhere near the science-policy interface or are interested in how we make research more useful for decision makers in gov, industry, and NGOs.

Some interesting shifts in language in the CCC's Seventh Carbon Budget report, compared to the Sixth. - the emphasis on UK "leadership" has almost gone ⬇️ - references to "justice/fairness" have plummeted by 85% ⬇️⬇️⬇️ - references to "households" have skyrocketed by 400% ⬆️⬆️⬆️ A short 🧵

The UK’s Seventh Carbon Budget level should be set at 535 MtCO2e, an 87% reduction against 1990 levels. This country has a prosperous and secure future ahead. The fossil fuel age is over – it’s time to electrify the United Kingdom. www.theccc.org.uk/2025/02/26/e...

How do state of the art language models work? Great non-technical explainer video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xTGNNLPyMI (ht. F Geiecke)

Three people just came to visit and see our #heatpump It was really satisfying to be able to answer their questions 🙂. Why not visit one near you? www.visitaheatpump.com

Grateful for the chance to share my thoughts on responsible use of LLMs in psychology research @spspnews.bsky.social #spsp2025. Here's a summary of my presentation for those who missed it. Thanks to @ashwinia.bsky.social for organizing this panel! How should LLMs be used in psychology research? 🧵

It matters that scientists speak out against what is being done to US science. Staying silent is neither "objective" nor "staying out of politics". Silence now *is* political - it supports the status quo, says "nothing to worry about". We need to sound the alarm. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

"In an era where political forces seek to distort, suppress, or co-opt scientific knowledge for ideological purposes, the scientific community must recognise that staying silent in the face of these challenges is no longer an option." My latest substack kityates.substack.com/p/uk-and-oth...

📢 New Open Access paper alert! Led by Marcus Taylor, we argue that projects should centre justice as the primary goal of transformative adaptation by confronting power relations, embracing knowledge pluralism and bottom-up coalitions, & recognising unexpected outcomes. doi.org/10.1016/j.gl... 1/2

As expected paulkrugman.substack.com/p/trump-to-n...

🧵Who is opposing the Trump administration? I analysed 76 actions of the administration since inauguration and then searched for *meaningful* opposition to each. I grouped the types of opposition and considered what we can learn from both them & actions where opposition has been lacking 1/24

We just published a map of climate policy research. It has lots of useful resources, including a new typology of instrument types and a literature hub where you can search for studies by sector and instrument: climateliterature.org#/project/pol... www.nature.com/articles/s44...

World’s largely unprotected peatlands are ticking ‘carbon bomb’, warns study www.theguardian.com/environment/...

We got a message from the university to remove any use of the "DEI", "diversity", "equity", or "inclusion" from all public-facing documents. They said that even "biodiversity" is being flagged by the federal government. We live in the dumbest timeline.

EVENT: Putting Science into Action: building a research system to address environmental crises Thursday 20 Mar 2025, 9:30am- 2:00pm, in Oxford SIGN UP: www.agile-initiative.ox.ac.uk/events/event...

Are you considering applying to #Complexity Global School 2025? Join us for one or both upcoming information sessions about the school and application process. The sessions will cover: - An overview of the CGS program - Eligibility requirements and program benefits - Application process and deadline