Climate change

This OECD workshop aimed to provide insights to the Climate Change Advisory Council on ways in which climate change mitigation efforts in the transport sector can lead to the transformational changes needed to reach the country’s ambitious climate targets while improving well-being outcomes. This project builds on, and applies, the OECD well-being lens process.

The first phase of this project involved carrying out desk reviews of national and local policies and strategies, and interviewing stakeholders.

The workshops held on 28 - 29 April are part of the second phase of the project. A final workshop will be organised at the end of May 2022. The output of this project will be a report to the Climate Change Advisory Council. The report will develop an analysis, building on systems thinking, on current and planned actions and strategies for reducing emissions in the transport sector in Ireland. It will provide policy recommendations for triggering systemic change and increasing the likelihood of achieving both climate and well-being goals.

Objectives

The workshop aimed to: 

• Introduce systemic tools to foster innovative thinking and exchange
• Present key insights from the OECD analysis and obtain participants' feedback
• Co-design policy recommendations and ways forward
  
  

The workshop was structured around the three steps of the OECD well-being lens process: i) envision the outcomes that a well-functioning systems would achieve; ii) understand why the current systems do not achieve such outcomes; and iii) redesign the system via policy packages focused on reversing unsustainable dynamics.


Background information

Systems thinking, systemic tools, and concepts used during the workshop may be new to some of you. Below are two videos we encourage you to watch. The videos provide an overview of the notion of systems innovation, and introduce key concepts for describing and thinking in systems (e.g. feedback loops, stocks and flows, leverage points). 

• Systems innovation in a nutshell (13’)
• Introduction to systems dynamics (12’)
  
  

The workshop was based on insights from the OECD report Transport Strategies for Net-Zero Systems by Design. 

• Read the executive summary