Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Pete Barbrook-Johnson @bapeterj.bsky.social · 16d

Applications Now Open

The Oxford Climate Society is delighted to announce that applications for the School of Climate Change (SoCC) are open until Saturday 11 October, midnight (11:59pm UK time)

oxfordclimatesociety.com/school-of-cl...

School of Climate Change — Oxford Climate Society

oxfordclimatesociety.com

1 2

Pete Barbrook-Johnson @bapeterj.bsky.social · 16d

www.theguardian.com/education/20...

Less than Greggs? Public have no idea of value of top universities, study finds

Belief that snack chain’s revenues exceed those of Oxford’s one of many misconceptions about UK’s HE sector

www.theguardian.com

1

Pete Barbrook-Johnson @bapeterj.bsky.social · 21d

Really excellent article on approaches to AI and the connections between geopolitics and academia...

www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte...

‘I have to do it’: Why one of the world’s most brilliant AI scientists left the US for China

In 2020, after spending half his life in the US, Song-Chun Zhu took a one-way ticket to China. Now he might hold the key to who wins the global AI race

www.theguardian.com

1

Pete Barbrook-Johnson @bapeterj.bsky.social · 29d

4) solar costs are most sensitive to sovereign bond yields and exchange-rate pass-through, whereas wind costs decrease with GDP per capita and foreign direct investment.

1

Pete Barbrook-Johnson @bapeterj.bsky.social · 29d

3) global learning accounts for 60–75% of country solar cost declines but virtually none of wind’s (local price pressures negating most wind power learning).

...

1

Pete Barbrook-Johnson @bapeterj.bsky.social · 29d

4 main findings:

1) country price dispersion is widening, roughly twice as fast for wind as for solar.

2) country cost rankings are highly persistent.

...

1

Pete Barbrook-Johnson @bapeterj.bsky.social · 29d

New @inetoxford.bsky.social working paper from the fantastic Brendon Tankwa.

“Who rides the renewable cost curve? Country evidence on prices, learning, and policy.”

In it, we kick around country-level cost data on solar and wind every which way we could think of!

www.inet.ox.ac.uk/publications...

No. 2025-17 - Who rides the renewable cost curve? Country evidence on…

How fast can every country benefit from renewable cost declines? Using the largest cross-country panel dataset assembled to date, this paper analyzes 34…

www.inet.ox.ac.uk

1 1

Pete Barbrook-Johnson @bapeterj.bsky.social · Sep 2

I want to give a huge thanks to all the people (staff and especially students) who made my nearly 5 years at Oxford such a joy, and all the people from CECAN, Surrey, Westminster, and beyond, before then who helped and inspired me. Thank you!

1

Pete Barbrook-Johnson @bapeterj.bsky.social · Sep 2

I will also be an associate at @inetoxford.bsky.social and hope to keep very much involved in The Agile Initiative (but we haven’t quite finalised plans there yet!).

1 1

Pete Barbrook-Johnson @bapeterj.bsky.social · Sep 2

I will be teaching my master's elective course on complexity and systems thinking for environment there once a year, and continuing to supervise a group of amazing PhD students.

1

Pete Barbrook-Johnson @bapeterj.bsky.social · Sep 2

I am sad to be leaving Oxford of course, but could not bring myself to break ties fully, so will remain at the @ecioxford.bsky.social, as a teaching associate.

1

Pete Barbrook-Johnson @bapeterj.bsky.social · Sep 2

Of course, the pull of a permanent post, close to home, in such an amazing institution, was a big factor too. I feel very privileged and lucky to have got such a position, given the crazy economics, precarity, and career options in academia.

1 1

Pete Barbrook-Johnson @bapeterj.bsky.social · Sep 2

I will be researching and teaching much the same stuff as I do already (phew!), and believe this new-ish department, with a radical commitment to interdisciplinarity, will be a great fit for my work.

1

Pete Barbrook-Johnson @bapeterj.bsky.social · Sep 2

🚨 Warning 🚨: cheesy career news post incoming 🧀 . Apologies in advance!

From mid-September, I am very excited to be joining UCL Arts and Sciences (UASc) as a lecturer in social economics!

@artshumsucl.bsky.social

1 4

Pete Barbrook-Johnson @bapeterj.bsky.social · Aug 8

New open access paper on how to identify and assess positive tipping points to catalyse the low-carbon transition.

This work synthesises a lot of ideas in this space and makes them practical and usable in research and policy work.

Check it out: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

A method to identify positive tipping points to accelerate low-carbon transitions and actions to trigger them - Sustainability Science

Meeting the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to “well below 2 °C” requires a radical acceleration of action, as the global economy is decarbonising at least five times too slowly. Tipping point...

link.springer.com

2

Pete Barbrook-Johnson @bapeterj.bsky.social · Jul 30

@doynefarmer.bsky.social @cameronhepburn.bsky.social @inetoxford.bsky.social @ecioxford.bsky.social @oxfordgeography.bsky.social

Pete Barbrook-Johnson @bapeterj.bsky.social · Jul 30

Fed up with economists using inappropriate methods to study climate change and net zero?

Here is a paper for you, "Economic models and frameworks to guide climate policy"!

We speak to governments about what they need, and show which economic methods can deliver.

academic.oup.com/oxrep/advanc...

Economic models and frameworks to guide climate policy

Abstract. Reaching net-zero emissions will involve a structural transformation of the global economy. The transition is complicated by deep uncertainty abo

academic.oup.com

1 3 14

Reposted by Pete Barbrook-Johnson

Pete Barbrook-Johnson @bapeterj.bsky.social · Jun 6

Shiny new report on 10 System Archetypes of the energy transition.

Addresses the questions, how can governments manage the transition, given its countless moving parts and complexity? Which actions will be self-amplifying, and which will be self-defeating?

www.scurveeconomics.org/publications...

System archetypes of the energy transition | S-Curve Economics

www.scurveeconomics.org

1 1 3

Reposted by Pete Barbrook-Johnson

Jan Rosenow @janrosenow.bsky.social · Jun 11

Why the energy transition is non-linear: Excited to share that an article I co-authored on how feedback loops & non-linear thinking can inform climate policy is now published by the @weforum.org. We dive into why systems thinking is crucial for real climate progress.

www.weforum.org/stories/2025...

How ‘feedback loops’ and ‘non-linear thinking’ can inform climate policy

Climate policy: The global shift towards a clean-energy system goes beyond technology to a transformation of markets, industries and societal behaviour.

www.weforum.org

4 21 77

Pete Barbrook-Johnson @bapeterj.bsky.social · Jun 6

Decision-makers who understand how to work with these dynamics will have the advantage in navigating the transition...

Pete Barbrook-Johnson @bapeterj.bsky.social · Jun 6

Shiny new report on 10 System Archetypes of the energy transition.

Addresses the questions, how can governments manage the transition, given its countless moving parts and complexity? Which actions will be self-amplifying, and which will be self-defeating?

www.scurveeconomics.org/publications...

System archetypes of the energy transition | S-Curve Economics

www.scurveeconomics.org

1 1 3

Reposted by Pete Barbrook-Johnson

Jan Rosenow @janrosenow.bsky.social · Jun 5

🚨 NEW RESEARCH: The energy transition is more disruptive—and could move much faster—than most people think.
It’s not just about swapping old tech for new.

Shift to clean energy is a complex web of feedback loops, tipping points & surprises.

Our new 📖 👇

www.scurveeconomics.org/publications...

🧵

15 70 180

Reposted by Pete Barbrook-Johnson

Anna Murphy @annamurph.bsky.social · Jun 6

The climate movement keeps saying 'stop talking about system change' and inaccessible jargon. Well, if this makes you sad then see 'system' and 'feedback loops' and 'levers' jargon put to excellent use in our new report.

Summary in @carbonbrief.org too

www.carbonbrief.org/guest-post-h...

1 9 16

Reposted by Pete Barbrook-Johnson

Jan Rosenow @janrosenow.bsky.social · Jun 6

Solar hit 700GW in 2020—10x what was forecast in 2006.

Why? Feedback loops & non-linear change, not just tech swaps, drive clean energy.

Our new @carbonbrief.org piece: Early policy support + smart market design + cross-sector links = faster decarbonisation.

www.carbonbrief.org/guest-post-h...

10 88 240