Project Cygnus

Summary

Project Cygnus, funded by EIT Climate-KIC and led by Icebreaker One, demonstrated how data infrastructure can accelerate both Covid-19 economic recovery and progress toward net zero. Conducted in partnership with the Global Open Finance Centre of Excellence, Arup, ODI Leeds, and University College Dublin, the project created a framework for connecting environmental, financial, and policy data to support better local decision-making. It developed a suite of innovations, including the Comprehensive Climate Finance Facility (CCFF), the Open Energy Governance Platform (OEGP), and a new data explorer tool. These assets enabled analysis showing that “green” companies were more resilient during the pandemic, and that data-driven policy can strengthen both sustainability and economic resilience.

The project’s policy and engagement work established a model for evidence-based governance in crisis recovery. Through over 250 participants across five major events and extensive citizen outreach, Cygnus bridged public, private, and academic sectors, building shared understanding of how to align stimulus spending with net zero goals. Its open data and trust framework approach laid the foundations for scalable, cross-sector data sharing, directly helping to inform later initiatives such as Perseus and Open Energy, and remains a key example of how robust data infrastructure and good governance can underpin a sustainable, resilient economy.

Aims and outcomes

The aim of this Y2020 ’emergency’ programme was to explore how to stimulate a net-zero economic recovery from Covid-19 at a city and regional level. It was funded by EIT Climate KIC, commissioned in the second half of the year and delivered within six months.

The programme delivered the foundational data infrastructure that enables data flow and processes to enable data analysis and visualisation. This included:

Using merged UK & Irish up-to-date Companies House data, overlayed with the EU Green Taxonomy of environmentally sustainable activities and additional datasets sourced, we carried out the following activities in order to assess the economic impact of Covid-19 on small and medium enterprises (SMEs):

Using a newly developed and innovative classification framework to analyse economic impacts across green, grey and polluting industries, we revealed the main trends across the UK and the Republic of Ireland, both pre-crisis and since the advent of Covid-19. Key findings include:

As a result of our analytical research and events, we recommend 3 key policies to promote a net-zero Covid-19 economic recovery:

These were also validated through our polling of local councillors. 

Through events and convening, we focused on using clear and inclusive language that rejects jargon in favour of accessible, straightforward messages that make it easier for a wider range of people to engage with our materials. We engaged with citizens via a range of events and activities. These included:

Our events promoted an increased level of understanding between public and private sectors about the challenges and opportunities of a net-zero recovery;

In 2020, we accomplished everything we set out to do and exceeded the outlined work plan.

Solutions

Discussion: UK and Irish politicians discuss net-zero economic recovery from Covid-19, as part Project Cygnus—an EIT Climate-KIC funded programme

When: 26 November – 10.30am – 12pm GMT
Where: Online, sign up free via Eventbrite
Who:

What: 

No political party came into 2020 thinking it was going to be dominated by a pandemic that would result in the country going into lockdown and, as a result, an unprecedented economic downturn. Yet here we are.

We will discuss what political parties in the UK and Ireland are doing to ensure that economic recovery from Covid is also driving us towards net-zero? 

Icebreaker One – a non-profit focused on unlocking the data needed to deliver a net-zero future – will host a panel that spans the political spectrum to find out what government and opposition parties think are the best ways to combine economic recovery with net-zero. Nick Tyrone, research director at Icebreaker One, will chair the panel.

This event is organised as part of Project Cygnus, an EIT Climate-KIC funded net-zero Covid-19 recovery programme led by Icebreaker One in partnership with Global Open Finance Centre of Excellence at the University of Edinburgh, University College Dublin (UCD),  United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) , Arup and ODI Leeds.

[Online event] How can we deliver green economic recovery from Covid? – 16 November, 11.00am GMT

Speakers include:

Announcement: https://ib1.org/2020/08/03/announcing-project-cygnus/

Icebreaker One, University College Dublin (UCD), Global Open Centre of Finance (GOFCoE), and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) have joined forces to support cities, regions and countries to recover from Covid-19 while delivering their net-zero carbon emission goals.

We are looking for ambitious cities and regional governments, financial organisations, and both public and private financial institutions to join us in development.

Our goal is to develop analytical tools, data infrastructure, policy recommendations, economic modelling and communications that can be used worldwide. Your engagement will be central to the success of this programme, help prioritise work based on actual user needs and explore potential innovation and challenges.

What are we doing?

Phase One: throughout 2020 we will carry out user engagement with cities, investors, asset managers and economic institutions to understand:

The work will be developed in collaboration with GOFCoE, who will map resilience and adaptation needs for future-proof, sustainable finance and UCD who will provide statistical analysis at company, industry and regional levels to assess the economic impacts of Covid-19, and carry out comparative analyses across different industries to understand how green economic recovery can be fostered by policymakers and financiers. 

We will create analytics, tooling and policy recommendations for those trying to navigate the highly complex set of challenges in addressing both Covid-19 and net-zero. 

Phase Two: we will build on Phase One in 2021 to assist cities and regions to address their binding commitments to net-zero while addressing the greatest economic challenges of our time.

For more information: