Closing the Climate Data Gap | Panel Talk
Most people already want to act on climate. So why do most decisions still fail these interests?
As climate data (e.g., carbon reports, climate risks, and transition plans) moves through the information chain, interpretation errors compound, increasing risks and costs of climate action. It doesn't have to be this way. This evening brings together the producers, the formalisers, the translators and the users of climate data to discuss how best to translate this information into a form suited to the 21st century.
The communication tools we rely on (headlines, single figures, direct attribution, certainty) were designed for a world of straightforward causes and clear outcomes. Climate science describes something different: a world of ranges, margins, and probabilities, where what is likely matters more than what is certain, and where conditions shape conclusions. This tension creates misunderstandings, a category altogether different from a lack of information, misinformation, or disinformation, and one that is currently greatly underestimated.
The Climate and Cities team has spent the last 2.5 years researching this topic, alongside developing a methodology called science thinking. It is anchored on three principles that address the large majority of misunderstandings identified in the research: the ability to read statistics critically, the ability to reason with probabilities, and the ability to prioritise at the right scale.
The evening marks the work's public debut and will include paper copies of the Closing the Climate Data Gap white paper, along with two accompanying documents: The Field Guide for Decision-Makers: Working with Climate Evidence and The Toolkit for Communicators: Translating Climate Science. Digital copies will be made available shortly after.
Agenda:
5.45 pm: Doors open, with refreshments
6.15-6.25 pm: Short introduction to the Closing the Climate Data Gap white paper, the two accompanying documents, and the story of how designers ended up here, with Rebecca Lardeur, Creative Director at Climate and Cities.
6.25-7.30 pm: Panel talk and Q&A, chaired by Rebecca, with:
Dr Richard Betts, Professor at the University of Exeter and Head of Climate Impacts Research at Met Office Hadley Centre
Abbey Dorian, Head of Sector (Energy) at the British Standards Institution
Felix Preston, Director of Research and Programmes at Climate Arc
Marie Segger, Data Journalist at The Economist
7.30-8 pm: Conversation continues, with refreshments
About Climate and Cities
C+C is a collective of designers and researchers founded in 2019 to explore the impact of climate change on the urban environment. Through design and research, we question, experiment, and produce work that engages with climate action; developing methods and building new perspectives to understand and communicate the problem.
Any enquiries, please email [email protected]
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