2011 contest overview

Introduction#

The green economy is one of two key themes chosen by the United Nations for its Rio+20 conference to be held in June 2012. A green economy is one that grows over the long term to provide good jobs and prosperity, while being environmentally and socially sustainable. The UN has articulated a broad general framework for the transition to a green economy and hopes it can be achieved by countries around world.

 

The 2011 Climate CoLab contest is inspired by the green economy vision. It poses the question:
How should the 21st century economy evolve, bearing in mind the risks of climate change?

Members of the Climate CoLab community are invited to submit two kinds of proposals:

• global proposals, which outline how the world economy should evolve,
• national proposals, which outline how the economies of individual countries, (such as the United States, China, or Bangladesh) should evolve; proposals in this category may also address trans-national group of countries like the European Union.

The contest will be open for six months from May 16 to November 15.

Winners will be selected based on voting by community members and review by a group of expert judges, with at least one Popular Choice and one Judges’ Choice winner named from among the global and national proposals. More winners will be chosen if the quality of the entries warrant.

After the contest, travel expenses will be paid for one representative of each winning team to present their proposal at one or more of the briefings being planned for policy makers. For instance, last year's contest included briefings at the United Nations and the United States Congress.

All other completed proposals will also remain available on the Climate CoLab web site to serve as a resource for policy makers and concerned citizens around the world.

To start a new entry to the contest#

Click on the Proposals tab, and a list of proposals in the 2011 contest will appear.

Select either the “Global”? or “National”? header to choose the kind of proposal you would like to create. Then click on “Begin a new proposal.”?

For background material on green economy, you can consult About the green economy.

Contest schedule#

• Proposal creation (May 16-September 15) In this phase, teams are invited to create proposals.
• Judging (October 1-10) Expert judges will review the completed proposals and select finalists. The judging criteria will be feasibility, novelty, and presentation quality. The judges will also try to select finalists that represent a diverse range of approaches.
• Improvement of finalists (October 11-31) Teams selected as finalists will be invited to improve their proposals.
• Voting (November 1-15) All registered users of the CoLab will be invited to vote for the proposal they prefer. The judges will also select the proposals they believe are best.

Content of proposals#

In the global proposals, teams are invited to imagine the evolution of the world economy by envisioning what will happen in several key realms during the 21st century:

• targets for future greenhouse gas emissions and deforestation/aforestation,
• international environmental, trade, and economic policy framework,
• mechanisms for financing clean energy,
• mechanisms for adoption and transfer of clean energy technologies,
• linkages with complementary national proposals (optional),
• spreadsheets or models that provide evidence the proposal is feasible (optional),
• artistic depictions of what life would be like if the proposed future global economy were to emerge (optional).

In the national proposals, teams are invited to address a range of topics for the country or group of countries under consideration:

• government environmental and economic policies,
• social/cultural/behavioral changes,
• role of clean energy technologies
• political, educational or media initiatives that can increase popular support and drive enactment of the actions listed above,
• how needed investments will be financed,
• spreadsheets or models that provide evidence the proposal is feasible (optional),
• artistic depictions of what life would be like if the proposed future national economy were to emerge (optional).

Please refer to 2011 contest rules for more detail on what to include in global and national proposals.

Prizes#

At least one Popular Choice winner and one Judges’ Choice winner will be selected from among the global and national proposals. More winners may be chosen if the quality of the proposals overall is high.

Winning teams and their proposals will be featured on the home page of the Climate CoLab and in a press release from MIT.

After the contest, travel expenses will be paid for one representative of each winning team to present their proposal at one or more of the briefings being planned for policy makers. For instance, last year's contest included briefings at the United Nations and the United States Congress. Translation services will also be provided if needed.

Events confirmed so far include:

• A briefing on Capitol Hill with Members and Staff to discuss winning Climate CoLab proposals (Washington, DC)

Teams#

Users are encouraged to form teams to develop proposals, though individuals may also create proposals on their own.

Full contest rules#

See 2011 contest rules.