Getting to net zero: a systems approach

What is 'systems thinking', and what happens when you apply it to the global climate crisis?

This series of short films from the National Engineering Policy Centre explores the complexity, urgency and opportunity of climate policy and why a whole-system approach is needed to shape the engineering contribution to sustainable societies and inclusive economies

Reaching net zero by 2050 means we need new ways of working to transform and develop our high-carbon systems of infrastructure; ways that engage everyone from local communities, government, industry and academia in an organised system transition to a net zero economy.

Policymakers, engineers, financiers and more will find in this series an introduction to delivering the transformative, positive and deeply interconnected change required to eliminate net greenhouse gas emissions from human activities in less than three decades.

The videos were produced and released in 2021 and 2022 as part of the Academy's Engineering Zero campaign.

Acknowledgements

These videos were produced by the National Engineering Policy Centre's working group on net zero and the Royal Academy of Engineering net zero policy team, with input from the Royal Academy of Engineering's systems approaches to policy working group. We are also grateful to the independent experts who offered to shape these videos and the many entrepreneurs, innovators and experts who feature.