Cybernetic paradigm based innovative approaches towards coping with climate change

Abstract

Increasing carbon emissions from large-scale human activities have contributed to global climate change, which has resulted in an increase in significant human crises. Therefore, as carbon abatement is a public good, coping with climate change is also a public-good; however, it suffers from many free-rider incentives, leading to a tragedy of the commons. Overcoming this challenge from a systemic perspective, requires that all sectors such as industry, government, and citizens on global, national, and regional levels engage in low-carbon development and the implementation of fair and efficient climate policies. Through a theoretical exploration of carbon abatement and a systemic description of low-carbon systems, this paper developed a cybernetic framework for coping with climate change, which consists of a cloud platform for data analysis, meta-synthetic engineering for decision support, a polycentric approach to extensive consultation and various functional goal achievement modules. On this basis, by combining the “invisible hand” and “visible hand” and by integrating negotiation at the global level, cooperation at the national level and knowledge at the local level, a multilevel policymaking model is proposed to address complex climate change problems. This cybernetic paradigm based innovative approach could provide valuable illumination to stakeholders seeking to cope with climate change.