The ‘law of requisite variety’ may assist climate change negotiations: a review of the Kyoto and Durban meetings

Abstract

Ashby wrote about cybernetics, during which discourse he described a Law that attempts to resolve difficulties arising in complex situations – he suggested using variety to combat complexity. In this paper, we note that the delegates to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meeting in Kyoto, 1997, were offered a ‘simplifying solution’ to cope with the complexity of discussing multiple pollutants allegedly contributing to ‘climate change’. We assert that the adoption of CO₂eq has resulted in imprecise thinking regarding the ‘carbon footprint’ – that is, ‘CO₂’ – to the exclusion of other pollutants. We propose, as Ashby might have done, that the CO₂eq and other factors within the ‘climate change’ negotiations be disaggregated to allow careful and specific individual solutions to be agreed on each factor. We propose a new permanent and transparent ‘action group’ be in charge of agenda setting and to manage the messy annual meetings. This body would be responsible for achieving accords at these annual meetings, rather than forcing this task on national hosts. We acknowledge the task is daunting and we recommend moving on from Ashby's Law to Beer's Viable Systems approach.

Keywords:

• Requisite variety
• Ashby's Law
• Beer
• climate change
• Viable Systems Model (VSM)

Additional information

Notes on contributors

John Kidd

About the author

John Kidd was educated in the United Kingdom and worked for several major United Kingdom organisations before returning to University scholarship. In the Universities of Birmingham and Aston Business School, his research focused on the development of IT use in SMEs, the management of projects and the softer management issues that concern multi-national joint ventures, especially Asia/European issues, including their views on Supply Chain Management. He has held visiting professorships in several European Universities and the China Europe International Business School, Shanghai.