Understanding complex systems

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The climate emergency is so large it requires a rewiring of the whole economic and financial system. But to do this new risk models are required and old paradigms must be abandoned to make way for a better way of understanding complex systems. View Professor Hepburn’s presentations slides here[vc_quotes layout=”accordion” quotes=”%5B%7B%22name%22%3A%22Professor%20Cameron%20Hepburn%22%2C%22job_role%22%3A%22Professor%20of%20Environmental%20Economics%2C%20University%20of%20Oxford%20(United%20Kingdom)%22%2C%22content%22%3A%22Cameron%20Hepburn%20is%20the%20director%20of%20the%20economics%20of%20sustainability%20programme%2C%20based%20at%20the%20Institute%20for%20New%20Economic%20Thinking%20at%20the%20Oxford%20Martin%20School.%20He%20is%20also%20director%20and%20Professor%20of%20Environmental%20Economics%20at%20the%20Smith%20School%20of%20Enterprise%20and%20the%20Environment%2C%20a%20Fellow%20at%20New%20College%2C%20Oxford%2C%20and%20a%20Professorial%20Research%20Fellow%20at%20the%20Grantham%20Research%20Institute%20at%20the%20London%20School%20of%20Economics.%5CnHe%20has%20published%20widely%20on%20energy%2C%20resources%20and%20environmental%20challenges%20across%20a%20range%20of%20disciplines%2C%20including%20engineering%2C%20biology%2C%20philosophy%2C%20economics%2C%20public%20policy%20and%20law%2C%20drawing%20on%20his%20degrees%20in%20law%2C%20engineering%20and%20doctorate%20in%20economics.%20He%20is%20on%20the%20editorial%20board%20of%20Environmental%20Research%20Letters%20and%20is%20the%20managing%20editor%20of%20the%20Oxford%20Review%20of%20Economic%20Policy.%20His%20research%20is%20often%20referred%20to%20in%20the%20printed%20press%2C%20and%20he%20has%20been%20interviewed%20on%20television%20and%20radio%20in%20many%20countries.%5CnHepburn%20provides%20advice%20on%20energy%20and%20climate%20policy%20to%20government%20ministers%20(e.g.%20China%2C%20India%2C%20UK%20and%20Australia)%20and%20international%20institutions%20(e.g.%20OECD%2C%20UN%20organisations)%20around%20the%20world.%20He%20began%20his%20professional%20life%20with%20McKinsey%2C%20and%20has%20since%20had%20an%20entrepreneurial%20career%2C%20co-founding%20three%20successful%20businesses%20%E2%80%93%20Aurora%20Energy%20Research%2C%20Climate%20Bridge%20and%20Vivid%20Economics%20%E2%80%93%20and%20investing%20in%20several%20other%20social%20enterprises%2C%20such%20as%20Purpose%20and%20Apolitical.%20He%20also%20serves%20as%20a%20trustee%20for%20Schola%20Cantorum%20of%20Oxford.%5Cn%22%2C%22image%22%3A%2233617%22%2C%22linkedin%22%3A%22%22%7D%5D” title=”Speaker” el_class=””][vc_quotes layout=”accordion” quotes=”%5B%7B%22name%22%3A%22Amanda%20White%22%2C%22job_role%22%3A%22Director%2C%20institutional%20content%2C%20Conexus%20Financial%20(Australia)%22%2C%22content%22%3A%22White%20is%20responsible%20for%20the%20content%20across%20all%20Conexus%20Financial%E2%80%99s%20institutional%20media%20and%20events.%20She%20is%20responsible%20for%20directing%20the%20bi-annual%20Fiduciary%20Investors%20Symposium%20which%20challenges%20global%20investors%20on%20investment%20best%20practice%20and%20aims%20to%20place%20the%20responsibilities%20of%20investors%20in%20wider%20societal%2C%20and%20political%20contexts%2C%20as%20well%20as%20promote%20the%20long-term%20stability%20of%20markets%20and%20sustainable%20retirement%20incomes.%20She%20is%20the%20editor%20of%20conexust1f.flywheelstaging.com%2C%20the%20online%20news%20and%20analysis%20site%20for%20the%20world%E2%80%99s%20largest%20institutional%20investors.%20White%20has%20been%20an%20investment%20journalist%20for%20more%20than%2020%20years%20and%20has%20edited%20industry%20journals%20including%20Investment%20%26%20Technology%2C%20Investor%20Weekly%20and%20MasterFunds%20Quarterly.%20She%20was%20previously%20editorial%20director%20of%20InvestorInfo%20and%20has%20worked%20as%20a%20freelance%20journalist%20for%20the%20Australian%20Financial%20Review%2C%20CFO%2C%20Asset%20and%20Asia%20Asset%20Management.%20She%20has%20a%20Bachelor%20of%20Economics%20from%20Sydney%20University%20and%20a%20Master%20of%20Arts%20in%20Journalism%20from%20the%20University%20of%20Technology%2C%20Sydney.%20She%20was%20previously%20a%20columnist%20for%20the%20Canadian%20publication%2C%20Corporate%20Knights%2C%20which%20is%20distributed%20by%20the%20Globe%20and%20Mail%20and%20The%20Washington%20Post.%20White%20is%20currently%20a%20fellow%20in%20the%20Finance%20Leaders%20Fellowship%20at%20the%20Aspen%20Institute.%20The%20two-year%20program%20consists%20of%2022%20fellows%20and%20seeks%20to%20develop%20the%20next%20generation%20of%20responsible%2C%20community-spirited%20leaders%20in%20the%20global%20finance%20industry.%22%2C%22image%22%3A%2233531%22%2C%22linkedin%22%3A%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fin%2Famanda-white-101a7515%2F%3ForiginalSubdomain%3Dau%22%7D%5D” title=”Moderator” el_class=””][vc_empty_space height=”10px”]

Related reading

Principles to guide investment towards a stable climate Sensitive intervention points in the post carbon transition Will COVID-19 fiscal recovery packages accelerate or retard progress on climate change[vc_empty_space height=”10px”]

Key takeaways

• We need to piece together what nasties might be lurking ahead.
• We are pouring trillions into the rescue and recovery. Let’s make sure these trillions are directed into assets that are fit for the future.
• 80 per cent of people in China, Mexico and India want a green recovery. There is overwhelming appetite for a different and better future.
• We must achieve net zero. It is a question of when, not if.
• What theoretical ‘surgical interventions’ – legal cases or geopolitical actions – would accelerate the move to net zero?
• Government is a key actor in the system as it can potentially enforce mandatory initiatives.
• A carbon tax might be useful, but it is probably not the most important of effective tool. We have to paint on a broader canvas.

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Poll results

What percentage reduction in emissions from today’s levels is ultimately required to stabilise temperatures at 3°C[vc_line_chart x_values=”” values=”%5B%7B%22title%22%3A%220-20%25%22%2C%22y_values%22%3A%2217%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22blue%22%7D%2C%7B%22title%22%3A%2220-80%25%22%2C%22y_values%22%3A%2233%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22pink%22%7D%2C%7B%22title%22%3A%2280-100%25%22%2C%22y_values%22%3A%2250%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22chino%22%2C%22custom_color%22%3A%22%234cadc9%22%7D%5D”]