1. Mr. Liam Skjellerup 18472099
‘Systems thinking is critical in developing solutions to sustainability challenges.’
TOPIC: Climate Change
Climate change is a rapidly growing challenge toenvironmental sustainability,whichhas risento
become one of the most debated environmental issuesinthe 21st
Century. The human impact on
the environmentthroughglobal warming isevidentthrough the rapidlymeltingpolar ice caps,
resultingin an increase in atmosphericwater vapour. An alterationto thisbalance will cause
changes inweather (hence climate change),risingsea levelsand significantimpact upon
ecosystems(NASA2010) – all of which affecthumanity. An issue such as climate change affects all
facets of the three pillar model of sustainability;most explicitly, the environment.These
environmental effectsconsequentlyimpacthumaneconomiesthrough governmentregulations,
taxes and restrictionssuch as the carbon tax. Socially, climate change impacts human wellbeing–
through environmental changesto our habitat - and our society – through impact upon the
economy,reflectedinthe microcosmsof our workplaces,homesand local communities.
Climate change is classifiedasa wickedproblem:an issue that is complex,difficulttodefine and
ever-changing.Like all wickedproblems,climate change must be approached iteratively – with a
focus on the wider effectsthat an implementedsolutionmayhave. This requires the effortsof a
wide selectionofstakeholders.To organise and leadthis implementationofchange,mankind will
needto employa systemsthinkingapproach: a framework designedto helphumans comprehend
the interrelationshipsbetweenobjectsandevents,rather than the objectalone, to see patterns of
change – rather than individual piecesofthe whole picture (ref).A systemis “…anorganized
collectionofparts (or subsystems) that are highlyintegratedto accomplishan overall goal” (Bajaj
& Wrycza 2009). This essay aims to evaluate the role of systemsthinkingin climate change
through; identifyingthe flawsin proposedsolutionswhich have provenunsuccessful; explaining
why climate change is a ‘wicked’problem;and explaininghowapplyingsystemsthinking may help
humanity resolve these issue.
In order to assess the efficacy of implementingsystemsthoughtin solvingwickedproblems,it is
necessaryto identifythe issuesrenderingcurrentsolutionsunsuccessful.
A proposedsolutiondevelopedinresponse to climate change, decideduponafter a UN meetingin
Copenhagen,was to gradually phase out the use ofunsustainable energysources infavour of
renewable,environmentally-friendlyalternatives.
The first ofthese issues is the exorbitantcost; a clear example beingGermanelectricitycustomers
having to pay an additional €23 billiona year due to the expansionof alternative energies (Junget
al. 2015). According to Nogee etal. In the year 1999, renewable energywas growingparticularly
sluggishly,“…,averaginglessthan 2 percentper year, primarily because of the low cost of fossil
fuels.Anothernotable issue is the sacrificesmade to jobs,negativelyimpacting not only the
economybut alsoincreasing unemploymenttherebynegativelyimpactingsociety.

2. Mr. Liam Skjellerup 18472099
The secondof these issuesiscontribution made by miningto sustainability – namely the economy
and social pillars.As seenin Australia, contributing8.5% to Australia’s GDP(total output), and
employingaround 2% of the workforce (Garnett2015). Consideringthese statistics,it seems
reasonable for Tony Abbott to tell us that coal is "good for humanity",and that it will be the
"world'smain energysource for decadesto come" while openinga $3.9 billioncoal mine in
Queensland(ABC13 October 2014). Withsuch a considerable dependence onthe miningand
consideringthe Global Financial Crisis,it is unlikelyforAustralia to move away from the mining
and usage of coal in the foreseeable future. Climate change isa wickedproblem,and these issues
merelyscrape the surface.
In short, climate change is a wickedproblemas it is “ill-defined,ambiguousandassociatedwith
strong moral, political and professional issues” (FitzGibbon& Mensah2012, p. 2). It is very clear
that climate change matches thisdefinition.
The first reasonis that the people attemptingto solve the issue are also responsible forit, in
today’s technologically-obsessedsocietythere are few thingsthat can be done without
exacerbatingthe problem– as put by Riedy (2013), “itis difficult,perhapsimpossible rightnow,to
live without creatingsome greenhouse gasemissions.” Due to thisfact, humans are to a certain
degree at war with themselvesastheyattempt to change their own behaviourwhich is
contributingto the issue.We are part of the problem.
The secondreason is that time isrunning out; eventuallythe effectsof climate change will become
so severe that they will be irreversible.Witheachyear the effectsofclimate change are growing
more significant,there will be no second chance – we only have one planet.The issue must be
dealt withnow, with urgency and dedication(Riedy2013).
The third reason isthe lack of administration and effective global leadership,mankindhasno
single authority to address the issue.The UnitedNationseffortshave thus far proven
unsuccessful,withsome countries electingtoignore the problementirelydue to its complexity,
inconvenience orsheerlack of understanding. This was clearly demonstratedinan ABC interview
with Australian Prime MinisterTony Abbott in regional Victoria inOctober 2009, stating that
"…the climate change argument isabsolute crap…” (7:30 Report 2010)
After identifyingthe aforementionedissues,itisimportant to explainthe conceptof systems
thinkingin order to know how best to apply it.
Systemsthinking enables problem-solverstoapproach problemsholisticallyrather than thinking
about individual parts separatelyor usinglinear thinking.It allows for innovative,flexible
solutionsbasedupon experimentationandevaluation.Systemsthinkers are able to identifykey
problemareas by analysingthe whole picture (Duguma 2014). Due to its long-termfocus,systems
thinkingholds a major advantage overother modelsof problemsolving (Gilbert2014). Beingable
to comprehendall aspects ofa problematicsituation helpssystemthinkersto developsolutions
that solve a problemwhile minimisingnegative repercussions.
Buildingupon the systems thinkingconcept,Petititet al (2012) suggestthe needfor a multi-scale
visualisationframeworkto respondto to effectsofclimate change on both the natural and man-

3. Mr. Liam Skjellerup 18472099
made landscape.They argue that this visualisationframework may be beneficial forresearchersof
climate change to aid in explanationto “…plannersdecisionmakersand communities…” whoneed
to act upon the research. Jeffery(2010) explainsthe potential of Carbon capture and Storage as
well as the necessityforfundingin these projects inAustralia. The Rudd governmentofferedover
one billiondollarsto any company willingto developcommercial carbon capture and storage
solutionsin Australia.Roger J (2013 pers. comm, 20 February) argues that an appropriately
designed,mandatory emissionscap,stating that with governmentincentives,agriculture could
“playa significantrole… through carbon sequestrationprojects[and] capturing emissionsfrom…
livestockfacilities”.
Witha combinedprojectutilising;a multi-scale visualisationframeworkbasedupon the systems
thinkingmodel;an effective carboncapture and storage solution;and both governmentand
industry support (suchas agriculture unions), a new potential solutionto climate change may be
formed.Firstly all stakeholders(i.e.politiciansand farmers) would needto be briefedusinga
developedmulti-scale visualisationframeworkusingsystemsthinking. Governmentfunding
carbon capture and storage solutionscould be developedforuse by farmers, the agriculture sector
could pave the way for all industriesto take action against climate change.
Initiallythis piece identified issueswitha currentlysuggestedsolution - the suggestionto
gradually decommissionunsustainable energysourcesand replace themwith sustainable
alternatives.These issuesincludedthe exorbitantcost of the solution’simplementationandthe
finite althoughnecessarycontribution made by miningto Australian economicand social
sustainability.
The secondstep made by thispiece was to identifywhyclimate change is a wickedproblem.This
is because of three primary reasons: the people attemptingto resolve climate change are also
exacerbatingthe issue;time to resolve the problemisrunning out; and a lack of administration
and effective global leadership isdiminishingthe effectivenessofany potential solution.
The final step was to explainhow systemsthinkingcould lead to a solution,then to apply it in a
potential solution.Systemsthinkingwas explainedasa model allowingproblem-solversto
developinnovative,flexible solutionsbaseduponexperimentationandevaluation through
identifyingproblemsfroma ‘big-picture’perspective. Thiswouldenable the developmentof
solutionswhile minimisingnegative repercussions.
The last phase ofthis paper was incorporate systemsthinking into a designedsolution,andto
outline the aspects of the proposal. A multi-scale visualisationframework,effective carbon
capture and storage solutions,and governmentand industrysupport could all be combinedinto
one initiative to stop climate change. The earth could once again be restoredto a sustainable
state, withoutsignificantchanges to the planetthat we know and love.

4. Mr. Liam Skjellerup 18472099
References
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Best Practices,InformationScience Reference,Hershey.
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3. Fitzgibbon,J.&Mensah,K. O.2012 ‘Climate Change asa Wicked ProblemAnEvaluationof
the Institutional ContextforRural WaterManagementinGhana’, SageOpen,Sage.Vol.2(2)
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12. Riebeek,H.2010, Global Warming,NASA,accessed1 September2015,
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/GlobalWarming/Guide
13. Riedy,C.2013, ‘Climate change isasuperwickedproblem, planetcentric, blogarticle,29
May, viewed31 August <http://chrisriedy.me/2013/05/29/climate-change-is-a-super-
wicked-problem/>
14. The 7:30 Report2010, televisionprogramme,ABC,Canberra,2February2010
Note:Tworeferencesare notincludedinthe reference listdue totheirformat(thisisexplained in
the Latrobe Library’s‘AcademicReferencingTool’under‘Other Sources’>‘Personal
communication’.