How the Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²ÊÖÐÌØÍø Climate Action Unit built new climate metrics
6 June 2023
On 5th June 2023, Kris De Meyer presented the process used by the Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²ÊÖÐÌØÍø Climate Action Unit to turn climate data into useful, usable metrics to a data & policy expert audience.
The presentation took place at a Data Bites event hosted by the Institute for Government. This was one of several events to introduce the Unit's climate metrics to different professional audiences.
View the presentation slidesÌý
You can watch the presentation via YouTube:
And now we're off to 'Climate change in numbers' from Kris de Meyer
— IfG events (@ifgevents)
The work all started with a kickoff workshop - with experts from different domains - that considered how R number became a useful and popular metric to communicate covid risk.
— IfG events (@ifgevents)
The R number caught on because:
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- it was closely linked to the dynamics of the system
- smaller numbers are easier to parse and remember
- clear threshold between "good" and "bad"
- it showed what the situation was right now
The R number also gained meaning over time:
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- as it was repeated again and again
- was well explained in story and graphical forms
- it could be linked to people's lived experiences
How can these lessons on R number inform the communication of climate change?
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Climate change has been, historically, communicated through what data was available.
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This represented a chance to reset the communication mode to encourage and engage the public on climate change.
Working with Data4Change and then design sprints and stakeholder groups, the team learnt what worked, how much needed to be explained and eventually, via a second iteration, what the prototype should look like.
— IfG events (@ifgevents)
Ended with three metrics showing:
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- Imbalance in the earth's energy system and how much energy is being trapped
- The speed of temperature change
- The unusualness (i.e. level of unusual and record breaking weather events)
For more on this, go visit
— IfG events (@ifgevents)
And to hear more, see another event from the team at London Climate Action Week in the last week of June.