Barriers to Net Zero - Silos

15 March 2023

At Aether we have developed 10 observations on the barriers to society meeting its obligations to mitigate the impacts of human-influenced climate change. We aim to discuss and provide answers to these problems and point to where connections need to be made between government policy and private sector action. Our observations are a series of intertwined issues with the system we operate in. There is no hierarchy to these issues, but we have framed them between the organisational structures we operate in such as time, geography, and data and the human responses to these structures such as polarised thought, fear and learned helplessness.


The starting point to our white paper is an education system that celebrates specialists and linear thinking and derides the generalist. We see commentators decree the need for ‘whole system thinking’ as the answer to net zero. But in an education system that forces specialist thinking from a young age combined with a brain that’s success has evolved from logic and order, unilateral ‘whole system thinking’ is a fallacy.

Barriers-To-Net-Zero-1-silos.pngDownload: Barriers-To-Net-Zero-v3-part-1-silos.pdf

See all news

Testimonial

Don't just take our word for it...

“A heartfelt thank you to all the Aether team for this very comprehensive review – this is certainly turning out to be one of the most beneficial capacity building projects I have ever been involved in.”

Saviour Vassallo, Senior Environment Protection Officer, Malta Resources Authority

“If we have a need for any more reports in the future Aether will be first on my list.”

Alan Hardy, Kyson Design

“The team at Aether works very professionally and communicates very well which makes working with them a pleasure. Outputs are delivered on time to high quality. The team brings the rigour of technical knowledge and expertise and finds innovative ways of communicating complex messages. I would be happy to recommend the Aether team to organisations working on analysing and presenting emissions information in the public domain.”

Fiona Glover, States of Jersey

“Aether was a great asset in involving/engaging with Member States experts on highly technical subjects regarding GHG reporting. Very clear communication of issues and results.”

Andreas Pilzecker, DG CLIMA

“The Aether team were a joy to work with and I would recommend the consultancy - the service provided throughout the process was exceptional. Where there were problems, they provided solutions. The team were working to very short time scales but were able to deliver a high quality piece of work within the specified time frame.”

Sefton Council - for the Merseyside Atmospheric Emissions Inventory

“It is always an absolute pleasure working with Aether. I always know what is expected of me. Their work ethic is of a very high standard and projects are always handled in a very professional manner. I have learnt many skills in terms of project management, quality control and workshop training styles from Aether and I hope to carry these principles forward in my own work. I look forward to collaborating with Aether more in the future.”

Luanne Stevens, Gondwana

“Aether delivered training workshops and generated learning materials for our SSN members, providing technical content in a manageable and comprehendible format. We particularly benefitted from their extensive knowledge and ability to interpret the needs of our members into the training materials.”

Jennifer Anderson, Sustainable Scotland Network

“The Aether team were a joy to work with and I would recommend the consultancy - the service provided throughout the process was exceptional.”

Clare Bayley, Defra

“Both the face-to-face training and the online version have been of high quality, with dynamic methods and a practical orientation that have allowed students to reach a solid knowledge base. The products have been delivered within the stipulated deadlines with an excellent quality and the team has always shown willingness to make adjustments according to the requirements of CONAF. We are very satisfied with the work. ”

Javier Cano Martín, Professional Unit for Climate Change and Environmental Services, CONAF (National Forestry Corporation), Chile

“The professional service provided by your company was of very high quality and completed within agreed timelines.”

Matthew Dudley, UNFCCC Secretariat

Contact us

Get in touch

Call us on +44 1865 261 466, complete the short form below, or go to the Contact page

 Security code