To help the EPA inform a range of audiences, from policymakers to the general public, about Ireland's greenhouse gas emissions.
How do you show the carbon footprint of a country? That was the task set by Ireland's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA compiles Ireland's annual greenhouse gas emission inventories and projections, which allows the Government to assess progress against key targets, report to the European Commission and UNFCCC and informs policy development and mitigation measures. The EPA also aims to provide up-to-date scientific information to a wide range of audiences, from policymakers to the general public. A simple visual would help to get more people engaged in the issue.
Carbon Visuals created a short animation showing the daily emissions as a large pile of one tonne carbon dioxide bubbles - sitting next to the Poolbeg towers in Dublin bay.
See the EPA webpage here.
Each sphere represents one tonne of greenhouse gas as carbon dioxide equivalent - Co2(e). Greenhouse gases other than CO2 (i.e. methane, nitrous oxide and so-called F-gases) may be converted to CO2 equivalent using their global warming potentials.
To engage students, academics and staff, show emissions are real and that the University is endeavouring to achieve reductions.
Animation showing the footprint using the campus itself for scale and including a success story where emissions have been reduced.
The annual carbon reduction savings of 213,890 KgCO2e were achieved at the Babbage building after lighting and IT upgrade, installing voltage optimisation and connection to the Combined Heat & Power (CHP) plant. These savings are expected to equate to the annual emissions of the new Marine Building.
University of Plymouth Carbon Management Plan 2010 - 2015 here.
Sustainability pages for Plymouth University here.
Use social media to get young people interested in a 70 page report.
An animated drama set in Piccadilly Circus – a popular and iconic gathering place for young and all. The scene is transformed into a memorable moving picture that shows the UK Government's 2050 target on the scale of one person.
A still image from the film.
How do you create a stir on Twitter and other social media to get interest in a 70 page Report?
That was the task facing the UK Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) who wanted to commission a compelling image set and short animation to draw attention to a new Report - Paris 2015: Securing Our Prosperity Through a Global Climate Change Agreement.
A fast turn-round meant an immediate focus on a key compelling message that could be visualised. Fortunately the UK government has a particularly positive message on carbon - with an 80% reduction target for 2050 enshrined in law. So we set about clarifying the data and thinking through visualisation ideas.
The result: a visual drama set in Piccadilly Circus – a popular gathering place for young and all and itself a unique and iconic location. With captions and messaging appearing as adverts, this immediately recognisable scene is transformed into an eye-catching and memorable moving picture that shows the target on the scale of one person.
See Number 10 Storify page for these images in use.
Population figures and projections come from Office for National Statistics (ONS); GHG emissions from DECC.
A short animated film from Carbon Visuals is being used to engage managers around the world about the fundamentals of sustainability, how sustainability is relevant to their role and its importance to business success.Created for the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), the film shows the current and expected resource use and parking space of all the world's cars, as well as the CO2 emissions of cars today.
Under President Obama's Climate Action Plan, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposes a 30% reduction in carbon pollution from power plants by 2030. By any account this is a significant announcement. Inevitably with plans like this there is complex data behind the rationale. And the numbers are big.
A 30 percent reduction by 2030 amounts to about 730 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. Such a huge number can seem completely abstract to members of the public - so we wondered if we could show the actual volume of CO2 saved in a way that would be more meaningful for everyone.
It turns out that if you divide 730 million tons by the number of US households (132 million) you get almost 14,000 lbs. As 1lb bubbles of pure carbon dioxide, this would be a pile about 53 feet high. And what better place to illustrate this pile size than the White House, home to the most well-known US household.
We're not saying this is the answer to the communication challenge. But we hope it helps the conversation.
Full EPA Proposal is here.
It's important that people realize that the EPA plan relates to real 'stuff' – not just numbers.
In 2010 New York City added 54 million metric tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, but that number means little to most people because few of us have a sense of scale for atmospheric pollution.
Carbon Visuals, supported by Environmental Defense Fund, have created a film that makes those emissions feel more real - the total emissions and the rate of emission. Designed to engage the 'person on the street', this version is exploratory and still work in progress.