EEIST Project launches first stakeholder report at COP26

The aim of EEIST project is to use cutting edge advanced methods, which exist in the sciences of complexity and economics, to support government decision making around facilitating a rapid low-carbon transition.

EEIST launched its first stakeholder report initially at the WLS, or World Leaders’ Summit, and then on 4th November in the UK Presidential Pavilion.   This report, entitled ‘The New Economics of Innovation and Transition: evaluating opportunities and risks’, initially outlines the fundamental features of traditional economic appraisal. Three historic case studies, including off-shore wind energy, are presented and explored to demonstrate how the change occurred, and the role that government policy and appraisal played in each case.  It then suggests alternative approaches which better capture the real economics of innovation and transition in relation to the unprecedented challenge of meeting net zero targets.

Its key messages were included in the information package as part of the World Leaders’ Summit, closely aligned with the Glasgow Breakthrough agenda. The report was featured internationally in over 170 media outlets, including the Press Association, Der Spiegel, Daily Mail, Independent, China Daily, Estado and Brasil Energia. It was also featured on BBC Radio 4. The Guardian article generated significant interest on Twitter. This report has already attracted the attention of policy stakeholders worldwide, notably in Brazil and India, with widely viewed videos delivering key messages from our partners, namely by Professor Joao Carlos Ferraz (from UFRJ-Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), Professor Michael Grubb (UCL) and Ulka Kelkar (from WRI-India) . Ulka’s video can be seen here.